Il cembalo transalpino Sophie Yates

• Sabbatini Galeazzo (1597 - 1662): Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, Vol. 1 (Excerpts):
• 1Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, Vol. 1 (Excerpts): No. 99, Praeludium02:26
• Peter Philips (1560 - 1628): Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, Vol. 1 (Excerpts):
• 2Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, Vol. 1 (Excerpts): No. 70, Tirsi, di Luca Marenzio02:50
• Anonymus: Tisdale’s Virginal Book:
• 3Tisdale’s Virginal Book: Passamezzo pavana02:22
• 4Tisdale’s Virginal Book: Galliarda passamezzo02:02
• Giulio Cesare Arresti (1619 - 1701): 18 Sonate da organo di varii autori (Excerpts):
• 518 Sonate da organo di varii autori (Excerpts): No. 18, Aresti01:57
• Peter Philips: Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, Vol. 1 (Excerpts):
• 6Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, Vol. 1 (Excerpts): No. 71, Freno03:07
• Giovanni Paolo Colonna (1637 - 1695): 18 Sonate da organo di varii autori (Excerpts):
• 718 Sonate da organo di varii autori (Excerpts): No. 7, Colonna di Bologna02:57
• Giulio Caccini (1551 - 1618): Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, Vol. 1 (Excerpts):
• 8Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, Vol. 1 (Excerpts): No. 82, Amarilli04:07
• Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583 - 1643): Toccate e partite d'intavolatura, Libro 2:
• 9Toccate e partite d'intavolatura, Libro 2: No. 7, Toccata in D Minor, F 3.0703:04
• Peter Philips: Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, Vol. 1 (Excerpts):
• 10Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, Vol. 1 (Excerpts): No. 76, Passamezzo pavana07:53
• 11Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, Vol. 1 (Excerpts): No. 77, Galliarda passamezzo04:44
• Alessandro Striggio (1536 - 1592): Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, Vol. 1 (Excerpts):
• 12Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, Vol. 1 (Excerpts): No. 78, Chi farà fede al cielo05:23
• Carlo Francesco Pollarolo (1653 - 1723): 18 Sonate da organo di varii autori (Excerpts):
• 1318 Sonate da organo di varii autori (Excerpts): No. 2, Pollaroli di Venezia02:51
• Peter Philips: Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, Vol. 1 (Excerpts):
• 14Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, Vol. 1 (Excerpts): No. 72, Così morirò01:47
• Giovanni Picchi (1571 - 1643): Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, Vol. 1 (Excerpts):
• 15Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, Vol. 1 (Excerpts): No. 95, Toccata03:54
• Domenico Zipoli (1688 - 1726): Sonate d'Intavolatura per organo e cimbalo, Op. 1, Pt. 1:
• 16Sonate d'Intavolatura per organo e cimbalo, Op. 1, Pt. 1: No. 11, Canzona in G Minor03:05
• Arcangelo Corelli (1653 - 1713): Violin Sonata in D Minor, Op. 5 No. 7 (Arr. for Harpsichord):
• 17Violin Sonata in D Minor, Op. 5 No. 7 (Arr. for Harpsichord): I. Preludio. Vivace02:18
• 18Violin Sonata in D Minor, Op. 5 No. 7 (Arr. for Harpsichord): II. Corrente. Allegro03:26
• 19Violin Sonata in D Minor, Op. 5 No. 7 (Arr. for Harpsichord): III. Sarabanda. Largo01:35
• 20Violin Sonata in D Minor, Op. 5 No. 7 (Arr. for Harpsichord): IV. Giga. Allegro02:35
• Total Runtime01:04:23

Info for Il cembalo transalpino

All the music in this programme comes from the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, and most of it was collected by its founder, Richard, Seventh Viscount Fitzwilliam of Merrion (1745 – 1816). A polymath, lover of music, amateur composer and harpsichordist, musically active from about 1760 until his death, Fitzwilliam created a legacy of exceptional importance to English musical culture.

The recording features the Boni harpsichord from the Fitzwilliam Collection, originally made by Giovanni Battista Boni who worked in Cortona in Tuscany. In some ways it is conventional for its time, having a slab sawn cypress soundboard and light cypress case, but its original set-up was a highly unusual one, with three sets of strings at the same (8 foot) pitch. During the last restoration, by Trevor Beckerleg in 1975, the third register, which had been out of use, was re-instated and this gives the player more resources than does the usual Italian harpsichord: both the front and back rows of jacks pluck the same set of strings but in different places, which gives them a distinctly different timbre, and the various combinations of the three registers provide the player with five distinct sounds to choose from.

Sophie Yates, harpsichord

Sophie Yates
began her career by winning the international Erwin Bodky competion at the Boston Early Music Festival. As a result she was invited to tour and broadcast throughout the eastern states of America. She now performs regularly around Europe, the United States and Japan.

Sophie is probably best know for her affinity with English and French music. She particularly enjoys playing antique instruments and has performed on most of the playable virginals surviving in Britain. She is also working on a long-term project to collect a book of contemporary English pieces for this instrument. In addition to her work as a soloist she performs with actors and plays in a variety of duo ensembles that explore everything from Bach's violin sonatas to contemporary works for harpsichord and piano.

What the reviews say ... "Sophie Yates plays with exceptional poise - ornaments are impeccably measured and fast figurations are technically flawless, yet such polish doesn't mask expressiveness. She draws out every emotional nuance ...". BBC Music Magazine.

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