Shabaltina, Svitlana & Natalia Sikorska
The Art Of Harpsichord Duets: 18th-century Music
The instrumental combination of two harpsichord is relatively unusual, but also profoundly fascinating for the numerous timbral and dynamic possibilities it offers. These are abundantly demonstrated by the works in this Da Vinci Classics CD. There are two Concertos for two harpsichords, one by Johann Ludwig Krebs and one by Padre Soler, where the dimension of challenge, of positive rivalry and competition is more pronounced. There is a Sonata by Mattheson, with a more collaborative style; and there are shorter duets by two of Johann Sebastian Bachs sons, Wilhelm Friedemann and Carl Philipp Emanuel, as well as by Christoph Schaffrath; together, these works in their great variety concur in demonstrating the potential of this ensemble for both spectacular and more domestic interaction.