Metamorphosis | Contemporary Music For Harpsichord, Vol. 1

The 20th-century revival of the harpsichord initially enabled the playing of 17th- and 18th-century keyboard music on the instrument for which it was originally composed. But its sound gradually began to inspire 20th-century composers, and a contemporary repertoire of original harpsichord music developed. Malcolm Lipkins Metamorphosis (1974) is not, as the composer explained, a set of variations, but rather the gradual transformation of a thematic subject having three melodic fragments. The first performance by the works dedicatee, Heather Slade-Lipkin, was given on a harpsichord from the John Feldberg workshop constructed in 1971 and thus similar in character the Goble mentioned above. Nevertheless, we chose to record the work on a harpsichord made in 1991 by John Barnes after an instrument by Albertus Delin of about 1750. Its crisp, resonant sound seemed to bring a particular clarity to the textures of Lipkins harpsichord writing.

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Details

Format: CD
Artist: Duncan Honeybourne
Release Date: 24 March 2023
Genre: Classical Music
Label: Prima Facie
Distributor: MGM Music