My favorable comments on Angela Hewitt’s first of three projected Couperin piano releases (type Q6497 in Search Reviews) apply for Volume 2. Here she offers a selection of pieces from the fourth book of the Pièces de Clavecin, Couperin’s last published work, and proves how vibrant and expressive they can sound on a modern concert grand. Her ornaments bear the precision, point, and consistency of detail that the finest harpsichordists bring to this music. At the same time, from a pianist’s vantagepoint, Hewitt’s acute ear for tone color and dynamic shadings allows her to illuminate the composer’s subtle harmonic surprises and lyrical introspection in pieces like Les ombres errantes and La petite pince-sans-rire. You might imagine greater spring and surface pomp in L’Amphibie’s dotted rhythms, or more vitality in quicker, dance-oriented selections (you get this from Gregori Sokolov’s Couperin concert performances–unfortunately not available on recordings). It’s clear, however, that Hewitt has invested considerable time, effort, and care in this project, and her well-written, excellently researched annotations are no less valuable. She sets reference standards for pianists brave enough to poach what many harpsichordists consider exclusive territory. I eagerly await Volume 3.
