IDAGIO | Sweelinck, J.P.: Harpsichord Works - Fantasia Chromatica / Echo Fantasia / Toccata / Variations 747313089475

Featuring

Glen Wilson
Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck
Lucas Osiander
Anonymous

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Compositional Technique

Sweelinck's keyboard music shows no clear idiomatic distinction between organ and harpsichord, as it was written to be played on any available instrument.

Composer Biography

Sweelinck's father, Pieter Swibberts, was an organist at the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam, a position Jan reportedly took over at age fifteen.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Sweelinck's music combines Renaissance forms with incipient Baroque dynamism, reflecting a tension between two opposing ways of life and thought.

Performer Biography

Glen Wilson, the performer on this album, studied with Gustav Leonhardt in The Netherlands and became the only person to sweep all three categories at the Bruges International Competition in 1980.

Composer Biography

Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, born in 1562, is considered to be at the pinnacle of keyboard music, alongside composers like Byrd, Frescobaldi, Froberger, and Bach.

Historical Context

Sweelinck was an employee of the city of Amsterdam, playing public organ concerts and presiding at the harpsichord for civic functions, even though the organ's doors were closed during Calvinist worship.