Christophe Rousset on the harpsichord

By Charles T. Downey, Monday, April 15, 12:31 AM
In the right hands, the harpsichord can be a mesmerizing instrument. Christophe Rousset, in two concerts over the weekend, took listeners on unforgettable musical journeys: through two centuries of French music for the harpsichord, through musical depictions of world cultures, through the portal of life and death.

(Eric Larrayadieu) - Christophe Rousset.

At La Maison Francaise on Friday night, which happened to be Rousset’s birthday, the French harpsichordist began with music of the 17th century, in a concert called “In Praise of Shadows.” The shades of the giants of the French harpsichord school were headed by a stately, pensive pavane by Jacques Champion de Chambonnières. The three suites that filled out the program, played without intermission, each ended with a “tombeau,” a musical tribute by one composer to another composer who has just died, like a sculpted portrait placed upon a tomb. To the dances of Johann Jakob Froberger’s 19th suite, Rousset appended Froberger’s tombeau for the lutenist Charles Fleury de Blancrocher. This cerebral piece ended with a crashing minor scale down the bass keys, a reference to Blancrocher’s death after falling down a flight of stairs, where he died in the arms of his best friend, Froberger.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/music-review-christophe-rousset-on-the-harpsichord/2013/04/14/fe438d16-a4ff-11e2-9e1c-bb0fb0c2edd9_story.html?tid=gog_ent_article_grid