Cromatica: The Art of Moving Souls – Works for Harpsichord
6/2/2017, 15 Tracks, 1:12:44
Featuring
Marcin Świątkiewicz
Emanuell Soncino
John Bull
Johann Jakob Froberger
Tarquinio Merula
Anonymous
Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck
Elisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre
Jean-Philippe Rameau
Antoine Forqueray
Sebastián Ramón de Albero y Añaños
Domenico Scarlatti
Johann Sebastian Bach
Padre Antonio Soler
Did you know?
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Compositional Technique
The chromatically descending motif within the interval of a fourth, known as passus duriusculus or pathopoeia, forms the structural basis for almost all compositions on this recording.
Composer's Artistic Vision
For 16th and 17th-century composers, chromaticism was particularly interesting for its counterpoint, harmony, melody, and color possibilities, serving as a means for intense emotions and rhetoric.
Performer Biography
Marcin Świątkiewicz, the harpsichordist on this album, is a leading contemporary harpsichordist, recognized for his solo, chamber, and basso continuo performances.
Recording & Production
The album is divided into two parts, with 17th-century repertoire played on an Italian harpsichord tuned in meantone temperament, and 18th-century repertoire on a Ruckers copy.
Instruments
The album features two harpsichords: one by Detmar Hungerberg (2012) after early 17th-century Italian models, and another by Christian Fuchs (2008) after Johannes Ruckers (1624).
Recording & Production
The harpsichordist, Marcin Świątkiewicz, made an anachronistic decision to retune the harpsichord for John Bull's Chromatic Pavan & Galliard to accommodate a specific note, despite it likely not aligning with the composer's original intention.
Performer Biography
Marcin Świątkiewicz won a 'Paszport Polityki' award for classical music in 2016 and a Gramophone Award in 2016 for his recording of H.I.F. Biber's Mystery Sonatas with Rachel Podger.
