Harpsichord XX

The harpsichord, originally associated with the Baroque era, experienced a renaissance in the first three decades of the 20th century, inspiring the composers of that time: Justin Taylor has built the program of his new album around four significant 20th-century concertos (Falla, Poulenc, Françaix, Górecki), which are linked by pieces for solo harpsichord: Bartók, who in the preface to his Mikrokosmos—from which this Hommage à Bach is taken—suggests playing certain pieces on the harpsichord; Martinů; as well as a new work by Stéphane Gassot as a reference to Ligeti. The album concludes with a bow to Scott Joplin and his famous ragtimes. Justin Taylor, who always treats his instruments with great care and passion, recorded the entire program on a single instrument. He chose a harpsichord built in the 1970s by Anthony Sidey, a hybrid model between Pleyel instruments and the historical harpsichord, offering "a broad and highly variable palette of colors." With this album, he follows in the footsteps of Wanda Landowska and Elisabeth Chojnacka, who championed the harpsichord in all its modernity.