F. Couperin, d’Anglebert, Marais and Rameau
Luckily not all French harpsichords ended up as firewood during and after the French Revolution! A survivor at Versailles, a Ioannes Ruckers of 1628, underwent a petit ravalement in 1706 , probably carried out in the Blanchet workshop. The original 1628 Ruckers was a large double-manual with chromatic bass, allowing for a less violent ravalement than was usual. The 1706 instrument thus retained much of its original voice: richness of overtones, sonority and clarity, expressiveness and vitality. Qualities magnificently captured by the Swedish builder Andreas Kilström, whom Ludmila commissioned to build a “Versailles Ruckers”. This superb-sounding instrument inspired her to record music of the period, including Rameau’s Suite in a minor published the same year as the ravalement in 1706.
For details on how you can order this CD, please mail: Ludmilla.Tschakalova@telenet.be