Froberger: Suites & Toccatas
Froberger: Suites & Toccatas
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Alina Rotaru, harpsichord: Baroque suites and toccatas by Johann-Jakob Froberger (1616-67)
About the album
The harpsichordist Alina Rotaru plays selected works by Johann Jacob Froberger, one of the most enigmatic composers of 17th C. harpsichord music. A subject of countless speculations, his programmatic and personal music is a creation of an exquisite and sensitive mind, masterfully crafted with enigmatic and mystical elements, and points to Frobergers personal connections to thinkers and alchemists of his time.
Alina Rotaru shows with her interpretation a spirited and insightful image of the brilliant and profound thinker, virtuoso and traveler Froberger was. This recording was made on the original Ruckers harpsichord dated 1623/1745) at Musée d’art et d’histoire de Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
Music video
Watch Alina Rotaru play a piece from her album at the original recording location:
Music magazine review
"This impressive overview summarizes the essential aspects of the Austrian composer, namely the Italian influence dating from his extended stays with his teacher Frescobaldi, his attraction to descriptive music dominated by the depiction of dramatic or melancholic events, and his affinity for the French dance suite, which he organized in a very personal way.
This plurality of styles requires a deep understanding of the composer's writing and the often very subtle peculiarities of his notation. The young Romanian harpsichordist Alina Rotaru succeeds in combining breadth and originality of detail in the toccatas, which owe so much to the Italian style. More virtuosic than meditative, the free passages sing with a certain authority, while imperious accents aptly illustrate the jolts of harmony. The counterpoint remains absolutely clear in the most tense rhythmic superimpositions, and the sense of timing is particularly remarkable: the unique timbre and tone of the splendid Rückers de Neufchâtel are used to great effect.
This authority gives a somewhat aggressive aspect to certain dances (the courantes), while the excess of rhythmic stylization detracts somewhat from the flexibility and songfulness of the work as a whole. That said, what breath in the noble sarabandes and brilliant gigues, what eloquence in the lamentos, which rank among the most beautiful versions."
Philippe Ramin, Diapason
Release date:
Catalogue number: CD-16290
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tracklist
Tracklist of "Froberger: Suites & Toccatas"
1 Tombeau faît à Paris sur la mort de monsieur Blancheroche (FBWV 632) 06:42
2 Suite XIX (FbWV 619 ) Allemande 03:26
3 Suite XIX Gigue 01:46
4 Suite XIX Courante 01:06
5 Suite XIX Sarabande 02:38
6 Toccata II (FbWV 102) 03:14
7 Suite II (FbWV 602 ) Allemande 03:03
8 Suite II Gigue 01:11
9 Suite II Courante 01:15
10 Suite II Sarabande 02:22
11 Suite XII (FbWV 612 ) Lamento sopra la dolorosa perdita della Real
Maestà di Ferdinando IV Rè de Romani 05:22
12 Suite XII Gigue 01:08
13 Suite XII Courante 01:10
14 Suite XII Sarabande 02:05
15 Suite XIII (FbWV 613 ) Allemande 02:35
16 Suite XIII Gigue 01:42
17 Suite XIII Courante 01:17
18 Suite XIII Sarabande 02:22
19 Ricercar VII (FbWV 407) 03:09
20 Toccata XIX 03:14
21 Suite XIV (FbWV 614 ) Lamentation sur ce que j’ay été volé et se joüe à la discretion et encore mieux que les soldats m’ont traité 04:51
22 Suite XIV Gigue 01:13
23 Suite XIV Courante 01:03
24 Suite XIV Sarabande 01:59
25 Toccata XI (FbWV 111) 03:45
booklet text
recording information
press reviews
- 5 stars: 9 (100%)
- 4 stars: 0 (0%)
- 3 stars: 0 (0%)
- 2 stars: 0 (0%)
- 1 star: 0 (0%)
This recording has the most extraordinary harpsichord sound I have ever heard - rich, resonant, sparkling - coupled with pre-well-tempered tuning that ads a quirky charm of dissonances depending on the key of the piece. The works are rich in mood variation and beautifully played - all in all a marvelous journey in time travel. If you love baroque or if you just want to be mesmerized by something you never heard before, this is a must have.
フローベルガーのチェンバロ作品を美しい楽器で奏でてくださって、とても勉強になりました。
I never thought I could like harpsichord music, so often it's just too jangling; I've heard it said that harpsichord sounds like skeletons dancing on a tin roof. This harpsichord is deep, the music luscious. Froberger is a composer I was unfamiliar with but I highly recommend. Very enjoyable.
A découvrir absolument. Cette claveciniste a tout compris ! la musique vit et nom de D..... que c'est beau !!!!!!!!!!
I first heard these pieces 30+ years ago and very happy to hear this new interpretation. Looking forward to more from Alina Rotaru!
This disk of Froberger is a revelation. I hardly know where to begin in praising it. Rotaro has technique to burn; she plays a wonderful 1623 Ruckers harpsichord (refurbished in 1745), but what blew me away was the quality of her playing and her sheer musical insight. Froberger is a difficult composer for performers to truly get inside of. Rotaru plays these pieces as if she grew up in Froberger's household, learning them from the master himself. Froberger's music is both profound and exciting, and Rotaro has the musical maturity to do justice to them both. Before hearing Rotaru, I favored Leonhardt's magisterial Froberger above all. It may sound heretical to some, but I think Rotaru's playing, and the beauty of this recording, make it my first choice for Froberger.
Froberger played with numinous intelligence. Best of luck finding any better. Watch her on YouTube - expression from within the deepest soul. Highly recommended.
Complimenti alla clavicembalista per l'interpretazione, forse ancora superiore a quelle della Verlet per intensità espressiva e per valenza interpretativa con piena resa dello strumento storico originale Ruckers.
Es ist eine schöne Auswahl aus den alten Zeiten und aus aller Hinsicht wunderbar gespielt, technisch und stilistisch, man kann es richtig genießen!