Six Suites de Clavecin

French composer and harpsichordist Charles Dieupart spent much of his life in London, founding the opera season at the Queens Theatre in the Haymarket that was designed to rival that of Drury Lane. It was in London that he became especially famous for his performances of music by Corelli and was also held in high regard as a harpsichord teacher. However, Dieuparts most enduring legacy is his Six Suittes de clavessin, published in Amsterdam by Estienne Roger and dedicated to his former pupil the Countess of Sandwich, Elizabeth Wilmot. These suites were so renowned in Europe that they were heavily drawn on by J.S. Bach, influencing his English Suites and establishing a link between French 7thcentury harpsichord music and the early German 18th-century keyboard style. In general, the works follow the standard order of a Baroque suite: only one, Suite No.2, replaces a Menuet with a Passepied, an unusual practice for the time. Although clearly French in character, the pieces also reveal Italian and even German influences. Tender and delicate in expression, they display some lively moments in the animated Gigues and Ouvertures, in the latter of which the composer strives to recreate the fullness of the orchestra with the solo instrument and capture the variety and richness of their operatic models. Dieupart reveals a penchant for beautifully cantabile melodies, sophisticated harmonies and most of all some highly elaborate ornamentation, skillfully interpreted here by Portuguese harpsichordist Fernando Miguel Jaloto. Jalotos playing is based heavily on research; having studied with renowned musician Jacques Ogg, he completed his Masters degree before going on to study for a PhD in Historical Musicology, which greatly informs his approach to performance. Before starting on Dieuparts music, he carefully consulted contemporary treatises, thereafter taking the decision to vary the ornamentation, fill out the harmonies and adjust the inner parts. Performing these suites in their harpsichord only version (as opposed to the version with recorder, which is more frequently recorded), this is Jalotos first release with Brilliant Classics.