''It must be owned that the works of this incomparable man are of a taste far superior to all other. As they are set off to advantage on the harpsichord, I believed that I would be well considered to produce several of them here, in various styles.'' Thus wrote Jean-Henri d'Anglebert of Lully in the preface to his single harpsichord collection of 1689. On this new CD issue Kenneth Gilbert plays the complete set of d'Anglebert's transcriptions of pieces from Lully's stage works—17 in all, and which occupy nearly an hour's playing time. D'Anglebert is as good as his word and offers a fairlv comprehensive cross-section of instrumental forms current in mid- to late seventeenth-century France: ouverture, courante, sarabande, menuet, gigue, air, chaconne and a variety of ritournelles.
Gilbert, with his deep knowledge and long practical experience of French baroque keyboard music, is supremely well equipped to make the most of this repertoire; and he does so with a stylistic conviction and connoisseur's delectation which I found irresistible. It would be difficult to single out any particular type of piece which draws the most compelling performances from Gilbert; but the Sarabande from the ballet La naissance de Venus, the Chaconne from the tragedie-lyrique, Phaeton, another from the pastorale Acis et Galatee and the fine Passacaille from Lully's last tragedie, Armide are particularly arresting for the gravity, elegance, grandeur and sheer refinement which he brings to the music. D'Anglebert's arrangements, often unlike Lully's original, are no pushover for the performer; the keyboard pieces are characteristically ornate and require a highly developed technique to cope with the myriad agrements. Gilbert succeeds brilliantly in achieving a fine blend of rhythmic liveliness and textural clarity with minute detail and unfailing bon gout.
The harpsichord which Gilbert uses here is, I quote, ''inspired by French instruments of the beginning of the eighteenth century''. It was built by Anthony Sidey and Frederic Bal in 1976 and has a bright, authoritative voice at A = 413. Gilbert rings the registration changes effectively but, even so, I would recommend dipping in and out of the recital. The pieces, individually or in small groups, make a far greater aural impact in this way. The recorded sound is Harmonia Mundi's best, and that takes some beating. The cover picture is not of Lully but of the heavenly twins in a sculpture by Coysevox which Lully might just have seen at Versailles and of which, doubtless, he would have approved. Recommended.'