Couperin (L): Dances from the Bauyn Manuscript

I am not much interested in music of this period and I only bought this because I came across some enthusiastic reviews. I can't stop playing it - it's addictive. I have no idea how authentic it is - obviously the music was not written for the piano, and at times I wonder if Pavel Kolesnikov is making it a bit romantic. But I really don't care: he plays with a wonderful delicacy and sensitivity and the whole disc is captivating. He pays tribute in the booklet to Yamaha engineers who adjusted the piano to produce just the sound he wanted, and it sounds perfect to me - not a harpsichord, obviously, but with a more percussive edge than you might expect from a modern concert piano. I love this disc.

Were it possible, I would give this 6 stars. I have had the complete Louis Couperin harpsichord suites by Moroney and a selection by Hogwood for many years and so, yes, I am a devotee of this composer's music. There is much Bach on the piano, but I believe an extremely small amount of Louis Couperin. We all recognise that a good and meaningful performance of 'early' music requires more than simply playing an instrument from the period of composition. The task of the pianist who tackles Baroque harpsichord music, it seems to me, is to reveal more of the music, and the composer, than we already know from the harpsichord versions. We get this here in good measure, and we instantly forget the issue of instrumental authenticity after the first few notes. Pavel Kolesnikov displays a great sensitivity for this music, and is immaculately recorded on this CD. I can't praise the piano sound highly enough; at times the bass notes appear to capture the gorgeous timbre of the deep strings of the harpsichord. Kolesnikov manages to layer the musical strands without any hint of overlapping sonority, all given superbly nuanced volume levels, using the flexibility of the piano tone to create and define all the emotion and structure in the pieces with clarity, whilst staying beautifully within what may be considered the idiomatic confines of Baroque keyboard music.

Louis Couperin's instrument was the harpsichord, Pavel Kolesnikov's instrument is the piano, two distinct sound worlds, but under Kolesnikov's hands these little pieces might have been written for the piano such is the affinity he seems to have with them.If occasionally those acquainted with Couperin's music played on a fine French instrument might miss the resonant bass and pungency of the upper register, the beautiful Yamaha instrument, very well recorded here, is more than adequate compensation. The dances from the Bauyn Manuscript, mostly under five minutes in length, have been organised into three suites with a few separate pieces. Kolesnikov notes " I've chosen the order of pieces considering the dramatic structure and build up of tension, as well as the colour shifts ". The booklet numbers the pieces to indicate their position in the Bauyn manuscript. Pavel Kolesnilov is fast gaining a reputation for the beauty and artistry of his playing of a wide ranging repertoire and here this recital, taken on its own terms, may be said to have the refinement and subtlety of a fine French perfume. Perfect late night listening. Five stars J.H.

This is an exemplary recording. I barely knew the works of Louis Couperin before listening to Pavel Kolesnikov's interpretation of these pieces. I first heard Pavel play at St Luke's in London last year and it was a very impressive concert; he is such a talented musician. He plays Couperin with great sensitivity and beauty.

Louis Couperin was the uncle of the more famous Francois, and his music has a wilder streak, pushing towards emotional abandon, where Francois tends towards shapely, smaller-scale pieces with picturesque titles. It is great to have this new release of the more nebulous uncle, his music being a peak of soulfulness from the baroque. There are many trills and other ornaments, and strict forms like the chaconne occur several times, but are treated with great freedom. Both the precision and the emotional openness are conveyed by Pavel Kolesnikov, using a Yamaha piano. Heard on a modern instrument, the parallel with a work like Schumann's Kreisleriana is all the more apparent - both composers seem to be driving at the same core of emotion and intimacy, in spite of living almost 200 years apart. Kolesnikov's scrupulousness makes him ideal, but he also gets the transport very well. This is just what is needed to present Couperin as a visionary composer for all ages, a 17th century voice as vivid as his 19th century counterpart. Hyperion have done a great job with the recording, and, apparently, the Yamaha technicians, who allowed Kolesnikov to work with two different actions, extending the range of tonal possibilities.

An extraordinarily beautiful recital by Pavel Kolesnikov. I have much enjoyed his musicianship in recitals at Wigmore Hall. I also love Couperin. Bring the two together and you have this marvellous, unique gift. Listened to on a damp Good Friday in glorious sound (the 24bit download from the Hyperion website). One of the most heart warming hours one could hope to experience. I bought the CD for my mum!