COMPOSERS: Graupner
LABELS: Analekta
ALBUM TITLE: Genevive Soly
WORKS: Partita No. 4 in D minor, GWV 104; Partita No. 5 in E flat, GWV 105; Partita No. 7 in E minor, GWV 107
PERFORMER: Geneviève Soly (harpsichord)
CATALOGUE NO: AN 2 9116
No one at the moment is striking such forceful blows for the rehabilitation of Christoph Graupner than Canadian harpsichordist Geneviève Soly. This is her fourth volume of keyboard partitas – Graupner wrote some 40 such suites, altogether – and the seventh disc in her current survey of Graupner’s music.
The keyboard style of this modest, generous and self-effacing composer who, after Telemann, was the preferred candidate for the post of Leipzig Thomaskantor (eventually taken by Bach), is predominantly French. Indeed, we might almost be forgiven for mistaking the Allemande of the Fourth Partita as being by Couperin. Soly’s playing is thoughtful and stylistically rigorous without ever sinking into anything resembling routine. While, happily, she eschews exaggerated gestures and intrusive, quirky mannerisms, the concentration of her approach and her strong rhythmic sense yield richer, more lasting rewards. Committed Graupner fans will require no further blandishments from me, but I urge readers free from completist pressures to explore this slenderly known and hitherto unrecorded repertoire. Nicholas Anderson