(Hit the back button on your browser to return to product listing.) CD Now This is a most intriguing recording that may shed a different kind of light on Rameau's masterful music. Previous recorded efforts of this work, such as Rampal/Stern/Ritter (Sony/Columbia), Bruggen/S. & W. Kuijken (Teldec), Leonhardt/Harnoncourt/Fryden (Bach Guild), and Mackintosh/Dreyfus/Haugsand (Simax), use more or less sanctioned versions of the instrumentation specified by the composer. Harpsichord, violin and viola da gamba comprise the preferred combination, though Rameau authorized the substitution of a flute for the violin, and a violin for the viola da gamba. Harpsichordist Elaine Comparone, the force behind this new Lyrichord effort, decided to expand on Rameau's idea of supplying alternate combinations for accompaniment, arguing that the practice of substitution, because of unavailability of instruments, had a tradition reaching back to medieval times. Each one of the five concerts, or suites, features a different pair of instruments accompanying Ms. Comparone, thus clearly giving a dimension to these pieces you're not likely to encounter elsewhere. To some, of course, that "dimension" is not necessarily a positive thing, since tampering with a masterpiece is usually a dubious practice. Here, however, it works owing mainly to the fact there is really nothing radical in the changes. The Premier Concert features accompaniment of oboe and cello; the Deuxième Concert has flute and violin; and the last three feature two violins, oboe and cello, and oboe and flute respectively. All combinations work well, the music sounding about as Ramellian as the originals. Admittedly, at the start of La Coulicam the sound of the cello is especially startling, but one quickly becomes accustomed to it. The two-violin accompaniment in the Troisième Concert, though sanctioned by Rameau, may present the least colorful combination on the disc. Still, it works well in the second movement, La Timide, and the piece overall comes across with plenty of spirit. But the featured attraction of this recording isn't the unusual combinations in the accompaniment-it's harpsichordist Elaine Comparone. Her splendid artistry is evident throughout. Listen, for example, to the color and spirit she imparts to L'Agaçante in the Deuxième Concert, with her deft accenting and witty phrasing. Or try the mesmerizing fluency of her playing in La Timide, from the Troisième Concert. In the end, this disc features many rewards, and to those interested in a slightly different approach to this war-horse of Baroque chamber music, it will delight but offer only mild surprise. The Queen's Chamber Band players acquit themselves impressively in the accompaniments and Lyrichord provides excellent sound. The notes by Ms. Comparone are enlightening. -Robert Cummings |