Keyboard Works

Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683 - 1764) was born in Dijon two years before the births of Bach, Scarlatti and Handel. He is probably best known for his operas, but also wrote chamber music and over 60 works for harpsichord. These keyboard compositions, which he wrote between 1706 and 1728 and spread over three volumes, differ greatly from the style of his contemporaries. Rameau's intellectualism and technical brilliance of composition, allied with passion and tenderness combine, in his words, to produce 'true music... The language of the heart'. This release features pieces from three of the four suites Rameau wrote for the harpsichord. Virginia Black has selected these to illustrate Rameau's extraordinary talent in descriptive, innovative and often virtuosic writing, and to show how the piano can enhance the works through singing tone and tonal nuance.