With this new recording, Fernando de Luca fills a significant gap in the catalogue of French Baroque music. While sonatas of Tapray have been recorded on a modern piano, there is no recording of them on the harpsichord; all the more significant because Tapray stands as a pivotal figure in the history of French keyboard music, positioned at the crossroads between the harpsichord and the fortepiano.
Born in 1738, Jean-François Tapray worked in Paris, Besancon and elsewhere as an organist, until ill health forced his retirement in 1786. However, he continued to compose, at least until the turn of the century, and died in 1822. From 1773 onwards, he had embraced the new technology of the fortepiano and published a Keyboard Method (Op.25) for the instrument. All the same, he continued to write specifically for the harpsichord, too, such as a Symphony Op.12 for harpsichord and orchestra, from 1780. Thus his works such as the Sonatas presented here reflect both the culmination and the last flowering of the harpsichord tradition in France.
The Variations on Les Sauvages is often cited as one of the last great virtuoso works for the harpsichord in France. Tapray’s piece is both a transcription and a reworking of a famous air by Rameau, taken from his opéra-ballet Les Indes galantes (1735). The four variations embrace a diverse array of styles, from the cascades of the modern galant style to the unstable rhythms of the French Baroque, and finally a synthesis of both German and Italian style in the last variation.
In this sense, the Variations do not so much look back on the Baroque era as absorb its style within a rapidly evolving culture. The sonatas, likewise, capture a galant aesthetic with their alternation between spirited Allegro movements, graceful airs and highly stylized dances. For this recording, Fernando de Luca has chosen a harpsichord modelled after a Blanchet instrument of 1754, facilitating a precise articulation, expressive touch and dynamic responsiveness well-suited to Tapray’s music.
