Intégrale de l'œuvre pour clavecin

Description

The very first survey ever recorded of the entire surviving output of an important contemporary of Rameau: a missing piece in the puzzle of French baroque. Christophe Moyreau (1700-1774) was born and died in the city of Orléans, and perhaps one reason he never achieved the fame of contemporaries such as Couperin and Rameau is that he never held a position in the French capital. A large part of his career remains shrouded in mystery, but he registered his profession as "organist" in the marriage register of his hometown church in 1726—becoming the father of 11 children over the next 18 years—and at some point, he became the titular organist at the important church of Saint-Aignan before taking the position of organist at the cathedral in 1737. It seems that the long restoration of the cathedral organ prompted Moyreau in 1753 to gather much of his previously composed music into six volumes of Pièces de clavecin. He published them in two volumes during a long period of forced inactivity; he also wrote and published a small but influential teaching manual the same year. The 126 distinct pieces from the six volumes are remarkably varied in style but consistent in the quality of invention. There are dances and character pieces, organized into long suites, but also standalone overtures, sonatas, and a solo concerto. The last of the suites concludes with a grand evocation of the bells of Orléans, which has become his most well-known work. The second volume includes six "symphonies" for harpsichord, also recorded here by Fernando de Luca, making this set by far the most complete collection of Moyreau's music ever published. The experienced Italian harpsichordist, Fernando De Luca, has recently received much critical acclaim for his equally groundbreaking study of the harpsichord music of Christoph Graupner, on a 14-CD set for Brilliant Classics (96131).