Pierre Hantaï – Händel: Suites pour clavecin (2020) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Pierre Hantaï - Händel: Suites pour clavecin (2020) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz] Download

By the time he issued his first collection of harpsichord suites in 1720, Handel had already focused his attention entirely on opera. As soon as it was published, the set delighted music lovers and became a bestseller all over Europe. It was such a success that it was reprinted many times. Alternating between the French and Italian styles, Handel does not respect the customary sequence of dance suites of the period. But he does touch the heart. On this recording, harpsichordist Pierre Hantai brings out all the direct charm and imaginative power of these these remarkable works.

The new album from Pierre Hantaï, who is momentarily moving away from his dear Scarlatti, is a veritable gem! The French harpsichordist opens this masterful recital recorded in January 2020 in Haarlem (Netherlands) by Nicolas Bartholomée’s team and dedicated to four suites by Georg Friedrich Haendel through one of the least known, HWV 426, the first issue of Book I of 1720. Immediately, his fingers immerse this eclectic, cosmopolitan world, where neighbouring Italy and France collide seamlessly, in a resplendent sunshine. Once again, the phrasing dazzles as much as the science that the worthy heir of Gustav Leonhardt displays in grasping the diversity of character as he does in painting landscapes in changing light.

Here, the Suite in F major, HWV 427 is a miracle. It is a moving, opening Adagio, with an unheard-of melancholy fullness, in which the “art of touching the harpsichord”, of singing, of making polyphony shine, is carried high. So much so that the perpetual movement of the Allegro that follows may initially startle you, Pierre Hantaï’s metrical regularity is astonishing, even in the more ornate repeats. However, the lines never seem tight, which makes you look at the choreography, undoubtedly reproducing the outlines of an imaginary Gavotte: an unforgettable sensation! The second Adagio is a sort of prelude, before a bugle fugue, not so distant here from the most joyful fugues of J. S. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier.

The focus of the recital is the spacious and rather sombre Suite in D minor, HWV 428; at first the traditional Präludium, Allemande, Courante, then suddenly, a long Air whose theme is tenderly unfolded, morphing into a strange world of “harmonic” ramblings, as if improvised, launched like rockets by the harpsichordist – a work in its own right!

On all levels, an enthralling recital, to be treasured, which will give many people the opportunity to enjoy Handel’s Harpsichord Suites once again. Pierre-Yves Lascar

Tracklist:

1. Pierre Hantaï – Suite in A Major, HWV 426: I. Prélude (02:27)
2. Pierre Hantaï – Suite in A Major, HWV 426: II. Allemande (04:21)
3. Pierre Hantaï – Suite in A Major, HWV 426: III. Courante (02:31)
4. Pierre Hantaï – Suite in A Major, HWV 426: IV. Gigue (03:20)
5. Pierre Hantaï – Suite in F Major, HWV 427: I. Adagio (03:05)
6. Pierre Hantaï – Suite in F Major, HWV 427: II. Allegro (02:43)
7. Pierre Hantaï – Suite in F Major, HWV 427: III. Adagio II (01:59)
8. Pierre Hantaï – Suite in F Major, HWV 427: IV. Allegro (Fugue) (02:46)
9. Pierre Hantaï – Suite in D Minor, HWV 428: I. Präludium. Allegro (Fugue) (04:00)
10. Pierre Hantaï – Suite in D Minor, HWV 428: II. Allemande (04:49)
11. Pierre Hantaï – Suite in D Minor, HWV 428: III. Courante (01:58)
12. Pierre Hantaï – Suite in D Minor, HWV 428: IV. Air & 5 variations (09:32)
13. Pierre Hantaï – Suite in D Minor, HWV 428: V. Presto (05:00)
14. Pierre Hantaï – Fugue in C Minor, HWV 610 (03:43)
15. Pierre Hantaï – Suite in E Minor, HWV 429: I. Allegro (Fugue) (04:13)
16. Pierre Hantaï – Suite in E Minor, HWV 429: II. Allemande (03:21)
17. Pierre Hantaï – Suite in E Minor, HWV 429: III. Courante (02:14)
18. Pierre Hantaï – Suite in E Minor, HWV 429: IV. Sarabande (03:35)
19. Pierre Hantaï – Suite in E Minor, HWV 429: V. Gigue (02:00)