Marie-Antoinette (Queen of France) adopted the pianoforte at Versailles very early, with four instruments present at the royal court by 1780, according to tuner Pascal Taskin.
Composer Biography
Jean-Frédéric Edelmann, a composer featured on this album, was guillotined during the Reign of Terror for his political commitments and championing of ordinary people.
Recording & Production
This recording was made on a pianoforte from Marc Ducornet's workshop in Paris, which is a copy based on three instruments by Johann Andreas Stein, a builder admired by Mozart.
Historical Context
In the 1760s, French music lovers were wary of the pianoforte, believing it inferior to the harpsichord, even though it had already become popular in England and Germany.
Compositional Technique
Edelmann's earliest scores were written for either the harpsichord or the pianoforte, a practice common at the time, and he was considered a precursor of Romanticism.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Edelmann's musical style combined the modernism of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (a German composer and son of J.S. Bach) with the lyrical qualities of southern European music.
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