| Naxos |
The art of the harpsichord reached its height in the later Baroque period, during the first fifty years of the eighteenth century, before the development of the hammer-action fortepiano and pianoforte, which were to replace it. Not only did it command the attention of virtuoso performers like Johann Sebastian Bach, Handel and Domenico Scarlatti, but it also benefited from the attention of some of the most gifted instrument makers. In 1719 Bach travelled from Cöthen, where he was Court Kapellmeister, to Berlin to buy a fine new two-manual instrument from the well-known maker Michael Mietz. The present recital, including compositions by three of the great keyboard virtuosi of their time, is given on a harpsichord by Bruce Kennedy, based on a Mietke instrument from 1704.
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