The instruments used in this recording are by Michael Johnson. The one used for the Elizabethan pieces is an Italian copy with a single manual and two 8′ stops*; the other is after the so-called “Couchet-Taskin” now in the Raymond Russell collection at Edinburgh. This instrument is apparently a rebuild by the Parisian maker Pascal Taskin of an earlier harpsichord. Such instruments, combining French and Flemish characteristics, were highly-prized in 18th century France. As with the original, there is a sliding coupler to the upper manual, which comprises a single 8′ stop and, in addition to the 8′ and 4 ‘, the lower manual 8 ‘ has a Peau de Buffle (Buffalo-hide) and a buff stop, special effects that are not employed in the present recording. The instrument is tuned to the pitch of Taskin’s own tuning
fork, A = 409, and the Italian harpsichord has been set to the same standard for the sake of pitch continuity on the gramophone record.

Released 1975 by Saga Records 5402
Sleeve notes by Elizabeth de la Porte, copyright Art & Sound Ltd , 1975
Pressed by Allied Records Ltd, 326 Kensal Road , London W.10.

Side one
00:00 Präludium, Fuge und Postludium in G minor (7’54) – Georg Böhm (1661 -1733)
08:01 Le Tombeau de Monsieur de Blancrocher (5’30) Louis Couperin (1626-1661)
Four Pieces from “The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book”*
13:33 Amarilli di Julio Romano (3’04) Peter Philips (c.1565-c.1635)
16:41 Wolsey’s Wilde (2’34) William Byrd (1543 – 1623)
19:22 Loath to Depart (4’07) Giles Farnaby (c.1563-1630)
23:29 The King’s Hunt (3’49) John Bull (c.1563-1628)

Side two
27:09 Toccata in D major, BWV912 (12’02) Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Four Sonata’s by Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757)
39:17 Sonata in B minor, K87 (L33) (6’33) Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757)
45:55 Sonata in G major, K201 (L 129) (4’57) Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757)
50:51 Sonata in E flat major, K370 (L316) (3’23) Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757)
54:13 Sonata in E flat major, K371 (L17) (3 ’28) Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757)

Thanks to Daniël who let me browse the famous Daniël Beuman harpsichord collection

ELIZABETH DE LA PORTE is recognised as a harpsichordist of unusual
talent and personality. The Daily Telegraph described her at her first
Purcell Room recital as “a mind that both contemplates and acts
imaginatively on intimate stylistic knowledge, ” and her playing combines
authenticity With an exceptional musical instinct.
Her affinity for the Baroque goes back to her childhood in Johannesburg:
when she won the University of South Africa’s Overseas
Scholarship in 1960, it was on the strength of her Bach C minor Partita.
Three years at the Vienna Academy and three 1T)0re at the Royal College
of Music, London, led to private study of the harpsichord with Jane
Clark and Rafael Puyana, and she subsequently became harpsichord
tutor at Morley College, a.post that she held until recently.
She has established her reputation through public appearances and
broadcasts in a number of countries. She has appeared several times
on BBC television and has broadcast as soloist or concerto player in
Switzerland, Austria, Germany and South Africa. She has given South
Africa one of its few full-scale harpsichord recital tours, and plays
regularly in London at the Purcell Room or St. John’s, Smith Square. In
Vienna, where she is known both as soloist and as a member of the
Vienna Kammertrio, she has recently enjoyed outstanding successes,
and has been asked to play at the Festivals of Vienna, Bregenz and
Salzburg .
Her special interests are Bach and François Couperin, but she is
equally authoritative in harpsichord music of many periods and on this
record, her first for Saga, she was invited to choose her own
programme.

#MichaelJohnsonHarpsichord #ElizabethDeLaPorte