A few of her favorite things
Miscellanées, Élisabeth Joyé, harpsichordist. L’Encelade (ECL2202E, ˇ18). Available from encelade.net.
Fantasia en ré (Amsterdam Harpsichord Tutor), Orlando Gibbons; Intonazione d’Organo: Nono Tono, Giovanni Gabrieli; Capriccio cromatico, Tarquinio Merula; Suzanne un jour d’après Orlando Di Lasso, Andrea Gabrieli; Alman, Gibbons; Puer nobis nascitur, Jan-Pieterzsoon Sweelinck; Prélude en ré, Prélude en la (Amsterdam Harpsichord Tutor), Pavan (Fitzwilliam Virginal Book), Gibbons; In Nomine (Fitzwilliam Virginal Book), Doctor Bull; Fantasia en ré (Amsterdam Harpsichord Tutor), Gibbons; Fugue deuxième, François Roberday; Transcription de la chaconne pour luth d’Ennemond Gaultier, Jean-Henry D’Anglebert; Aria detta la Frescobalda (Il Secondo Libro di Toccata), Girolamo Frescobaldi; Fantaisie VI, Johann Jakob Froberger; Prélude en sol mineur (Manuscrit Bauyn), Louis Couperin; Allemande (Manuscrit Bauyn), Estienne Richard; La Drollerie (Manuscrit Bauyn), Jacques Champion de Chambonnieres; Passacaille Del Seig. Louigi (Manuscrit Bauyn), Luigi Rossi; Chaconne en la (Musicalischer Parnassus suite de Melpomène), Chaconne en fa (Musicalischer Parnassus suite Euterpe), Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer; Chaconne en sol, Georg Böhm; Plainte (Musicalisches Blumen-Büschlein), Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer.
In her album Miscellanées, harpsichordist Élisabeth Joyé has assembled an exquisite and meaningful program, selecting a variety of pieces “with which I have a special relationship.” Her program notes go into some detail as to what each piece means to her, and the sensitivity, verve, and nuance with which she plays them makes this special relationship abundantly clear. The inspiration for this album began during the covid lockdown in Paris, France. Joyé recorded numerous videos of short harpsichord pieces, which when compiled would later become two concert programs. The first program became “Miscellanées”—though her compelling delivery of these personal expressions render them hardly “miscellany!” This album is a delightful record addition for the harpsichord aficionado and album collector.
So many aspects of this album are to be commended beyond just the playing, which is already breathtaking in beauty. The repertoire’s immense variety in regional style is remarkable considering most of the music was recorded on an Italian virginal! The choice of one instrument for multiple styles of harpsichord repertoire can have drawbacks depending on the program, but this virginal handled the Gibbons, D’Anglebert, Frescobaldi, and Froberger selections equally effectively. The very middle of the album, for instance, contains numerous successive selections on the virginal, all of contrasting regions and styles, and all beautifully interpreted.
The instruments used for this album are an Italian virginal made by Jean-François Brun in 2008 after an anonymous 1626 model, a polygonal spinet also made by Brun (date not included) after an anonymous 1560 model, and a 4′ pitch harpsichord by Amadeo Castille after a 1543 Domenicus Pisaurensis model. The audio reveals the exquisite quality of the instruments and the great care in maintaining them. Each instrument’s unique sound is captured with great clarity and lovely resonance. The listener can enjoy the sonorous, warm tone of the virginal, the projection and immediacy of the 4′ harpsichord, and the richness of the spinet. Additionally, the audio quality captures the acoustics of the room so completely that one can hear Joyé breathing at the beginnings of phrases—and such is never distracting! Would that more harpsichordists would follow Joyé’s example of letting their musical breath become as natural as breathing itself.
Several tracks on this album must bear mention. As stated before, the virginal yields a lush and resonant, yet very clear sound, and all the English selections benefit enormously from this richness and clarity. The Gibbons Alman’s character is stately, elegant, and singing—just what one would hope for in this dance—while the Pavan (“Lord Salisbury’s” in Parthenia) shows Joyé’s masterful handling of polyphonic texture with tasteful embrace of dissonance. Bull’s In Nomine showcases both resonance and crystal-clear melodic content, with a resemblance of bells ringing to the hymntune by the end. On a humorous note, the Fischer Chaconne in F Major highlights the virginal’s versatility given the instrument’s Italian design and performance of a German composer writing in a French genre!
The Gabrieli intabulation of Suzanne en jour played at a perfect-fourth below written pitch offers a slightly dark tone, but given the popular origins of this song, a sixteenth-century listener would have heard the original song in any tuning imaginable. The lower pitch also yields a more settled effect in Sweelinck’s Puer nobis nascitur, though Joyé most capably keeps one’s spirits lifted. Sprinkled throughout the album, the 4′-pitched harpsichord provides a delicate and imaginative contrast in timbre and sonority, as it handles a Gabrieli “intonation,” a Fischer chaconne, and more with lightness and clarity. The crown jewel of the album is D’Anglebert’s transcription of a chaconne by Ennemond Gaultier. Ornaments glisten, the virginal resounds, and the music dances. One may wonder if this is Joyé’s favorite selection; it certainly was mine.
Joyé chose to end the album with Fischer’s Plainte. Perhaps she was reflecting on the endless repetition of covidtide days spent in solitude and often sadness for so many. Fortunately for historical keyboard audiences, Joyé chose to spend her time in generosity, giving listeners a worthy album of personal connection at a time when such could often be very rarely enjoyed.
Michael Delfín’s website: michaeldelfin.com
