Balbastre: Pieces de Clavecin, Book 1

Featuring

Sophie Yates
Claude-Benigne Balbastre

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Performer Biography

Sophie Yates, the harpsichordist on this recording, won the international Erwin Bodky competition at the Boston Early Music Festival.

Composer Biography

Claude-Bénigne Balbastre, the composer, studied with the illustrious Jean-Philippe Rameau upon his arrival in Paris.

Instruments

Balbastre may have helped invent the 'peau de buffle' harpsichord register, which uses leather quills for a very gentle sound, in response to the rise of the pianoforte.

Historical Context

Balbastre's career was heavily reliant on aristocratic and royal patronage, including teaching harpsichord to Marie-Antoinette.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Balbastre, a harpsichordist, famously predicted that the piano, which Voltaire called an 'ironmonger's instrument,' would never dethrone the majestic harpsichord.

Composition History

Ironically, one of Balbastre's last performances was his own arrangement of the revolutionary anthem 'La Marseillaise' on the organ of the newly deconsecrated Notre Dame.