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American Record Guide

There are 8 fantasias and 6 canzonas from Froberger’s 1649 book. The first Fantasia, Ut Re Mi Fa Sol La (the rising scale), was pub­lished by Athanasius Kircher in his gigantic Musurgia Universalis, 1650, presenting it as an expert composition.

Charlston’s delivery is mostly calm and undemonstrative, letting listeners find our own ways through these contrapuntal pieces. It’s persuasive, emphasizing the noble dignity and intellectual rigor of the compositions. Charlston is a terrific clavichordist. His con­trol of this difficult instrument is as good here as it was in his CD from a few years ago (“Mersenne’s Clavichord”).

Only two pieces are available in a compet­ing recording on clavichord by Johannes Bogner Fantasia 4 on Sol La Re, and Canzona 6. Bogner played both of these pieces much faster than Charlston, and with more volatility of expression—making them sound more passionate. Both these comple­mentary interpretations work well. Charles­ton’s tuning is meantone, and Bogner’s is less extreme in its inequality.

Bob van Asperen played all of these piec­es on organ in Volume 5 of his complete set of Froberger’s music. I’m not fond of his registrations or the intonation of that organ. Richard Egarr on Globe (36 years ago) switched between an organ and two harpsichords to bring out different characters of these pieces. Other performers mostly skip over these pieces, typically selecting only a few of them in mixed programs in favor of the Suites and Toccatas. So, getting all of these together on a single CD is most welcome, and this is the only way to hear them all recorded on clavichord.