Classical CDs: Big symphonies, archlutes and the healing power of the viola | reviews, news & interviews
Classical CDs: Big symphonies, archlutes and the healing power of the viola
Classical CDs: Big symphonies, archlutes and the healing power of the viola
Late romantic symphonies, a soprano's swansong and a 20th century classic reinvented
by Graham RicksonSaturday, 13 March 2021
Paolo Zanzu (harpsichord) (Musica Ficta)
I’m a recent convert to Bach keyboard music played on harpsichord, having recently immersed myself in the Erato box set containing Zuzana Růžičková’s Bach recordings made in the 1970s. Her preferred instrument was an iron-framed modern harpsichord, whereas Paolo Zanzu uses a 1995 copy of a German original built in 1735. It makes a soft, warm sound, his readings of Bach’s six English Suites correspondingly friendly and intimate. With a piano it’s easier to concentrate on Bach’s harmonic arguments, but the harpsichord allows for a wealth of textural detail to emerge. There are ear-tickling moments here. Suite No. 1’s tiny first “Bourrée” opens with shimmering, buzzing clouds of sound, and Suite No. 2’s famous opening number is dazzling in its clarity, the same work’s closing dance refreshingly informal. Zanzu’s Bach smiles.