Hubert Bédard (harpsichord), recorded in Canada on a XVII Century Andreas Ruckers, Antwerp harpsichord.
Released on Pirouette (1964, not indicated in the documentation: Wikipedia Hubert Bédard) Stereo JAS 19019, distributed by Ambassador Record Corp., Newark S. N.J.

The harpsichord heard on this record was built in Antwerp, in 1646, by Andreas Ruckers, and is shown on the jacket. It is tuned in meantone, according to the practice of the Baroque period. This historic instrument was renovated by its present owner, William Post Ross of Boston.
*Editor: It was shipped in 1976 back to Antwerp for the Museum Vleeshuis but it is no longer in playing condition unfortunately (source Timothy De Paepe, 2018)*

Louis Couperin (1626- 1661) Suite en sol mineur :
00:00 Prelude
02:46 Allemande
04:29 Courante
05:06 Courante II
05:47 Sarabande
07:08 Branle de Basque
07:49 Chaconne
10:13 Gaillarde
11:03 Gigue.

Louis Couperin Suite en fa majeur :
12:00 Prelude
13:41 Allemande
14:52 Courante
16:24 Sarabande
17:56 Passacaille.

Georg Böhm (1661-1733) Suite no. 4, en re mineur:
22:53 Allemande
24:20 Courante
25:10 Sarabande
26:50 Gigue.

Georg Böhm Suite no. 7, en fa majeur:
27:41 Allemande
28:59 Courante
29:57 Sarabande et Double
31:30 Gigue.

Georg Böhm Suite no. 8, en fa mineur:
32:32 Allemande
35:09 Courante
36:14 Sarabande
37:23 Ciacona

Georg Böhm Suite no_ 11, en la mineur:
40:26 Allemande
42:50 Courante
43:48 Sarabande
45:24 Gigue

It is a strange fact that while the lute was the most
popular and most widely used instrument in 17th
century France, the great harpsichord school of the
same period has become much better known to us.
‘The names of Chambonnieres, Le Begue, and the
Couperin family especially, have remained as those
of the founders of a style for the harpsichord, which
was to become widespread all over Europe.
— Louis Couperin left a book of harpsichord pieces, in
which there are no suites as such, but only pieces
grouped in different keys. The performer has to make
up suites as he chooses. A suite will usually begin
with a Prelude, an Allemande, a Courante and a
Sarabande, after which an indefinite number of dances
may be added. Special mention should be made of the
Preludes. They are written in a most unusual way: a
series of notes, without bar lines nor rhythm, and
linked together by phrasings which indicate only the
harmonic progressions. Their interpretation is based
on improvisation, and the player must choose the expressive
phrases and oppose them to the strictly virtuoso
on s, using his own tempo and feeling.
Georg Boehm was born in Germany in the year of
Louis Couperin’s death. This fact is Significant, since
the music of this northern composer is a perfect
example of the influence of the French “Clavecinistes”
outside their country. Boehm writes “French” music,
as heard by German ears. Even the titles of his pieces
are French, and in them we find all the characteristics
of the French dances: the searching Allemandes, the
ever-changing rhythms of the Courantes, the nostalgic
Sarabandes and the near-diabolical Gigues. An exception
to this is the Ciacona, which shows us the typical
Italian long-flowing and singing lines.

Hubert Bedard has studied the harpsichord in Canada with
Kenneth Gilbert, and in Europe, with Isolde Ahlgrimm, Eta
Harich-Schneider and Gustav Leonhardt, on a Canada Council
scholarship. He has given recitals in Canada and in the
United States, and has been heard frequently on the CBC
radio networks. A scholar in the field of Baroque music
and’instruments, he has edited, for the CBC, Rameau operas,
“1’e·vising the complete scores from the original manuscripts
and first editions, and has made a special study of the
methods of construction of early harpsichords and their
adaptability to modern instruments, with the internationally
known Boston builder Frank Hubbard.

#Ruckers #HubertBédard