KENNETH WEISS - CLEARE DAY: PIECES FROM THE FITZWILLIAM VIRGINAL CD

SKU/Barcode: 3760061191112

The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book is a collection of about 300 keyboard works from either side of the year 1600. It is of unknown provenance (it was named for a later owner), but it is unparalleled as a source of Renaissance keyboard music from England and even beyond. There are various single-album sets of selections from the book on the market, but this live recording (minus crowd noise) by American-French keyboardist Kenneth Weiss stands out in several ways. First of all, Weiss uses three instruments, all copies of period pieces: an Italian virginal (a virginal is a sort of portable tabletop harpsichord with single horizontal strings for each note), a Flemish harpsichord, and an Italian harpsichord. This is reasonable, for the word "virginal" to Queen Elizabeth I, its most famous player, would have meant any keyboard instruments, and harpsichords of both types would have circulated in England at the time. The variation in timbre adds a lot to the album, with the resonant, thick sound of the Flemish harpsichord effectively set off against the brighter, clearer Italian instrument. Quarter-comma meantone tuning is used for all three instruments. The biggest attraction is the program, which combines famous works (Byrd's setting of Dowland's ubiquitous Pavana Lachrymae, track 2) with some that are very rarely recorded. In the latter group would be the opening title track, a programmatic fantasia encompassing no fewer than 12 changes in the weather. This both works well with other more or less representational pieces (a genre generally neglected in performances of music from this period) and helps create enough variety and drama to balance the major virtuoso showpiece, John Bull's Walsingham (track 14), a work that can stand with anything else from the Renaissance era. The program includes dances and variations as well as a few unclassifiable pieces like Giles Farnaby's Woody-Cock and the little Why aske you? (track 5), a delightful piece that combines aspects of ground bass, variation, and song. Weiss matches instrument to music effectively and ends up with a swashbuckling Walsingham. Strongly recommended for everyone from lovers of Renaissance keyboard music to those looking for a fine exploration of this basic Renaissance repertory item.