NICHELMANN: Harpsichord Sonatas [CD de audio] Michele Benuzzi and Nichelmann

When remembering the harpsichord music of the Baroque period, JS Bach's 24 Preludes and Fugues or Couperin's Harpsichord Pieces are perhaps the most immediate choices. However, the music of Christoph Nichelmann (who is said to have studied with Bach) is equally inspired, and this release is the first step towards a more substantial recording of his work. In fact, it is the first recording dedicated exclusively to its production. One of a large number of composers whose musics faded into oblivion after their deaths, Nichelmann is finally attracting the academic attention he deserves, thanks in large part to the current fad for discovering and promoting lesser-known repertoires. This recording brings together the two sets of six sonatas from Nichelmann's mid-life, printed in 1745, and representing the only two surviving collections of his music. The style of his compositions is intriguing and eclectic: on the one hand we can still hear the legacy of baroque music, and on the other the development of a more sensitive and expressive language, although it is not quite the bridge to the classicism that we hear in the music of Bach's son, Carl Philipp Emanuel.