Trevor Pinnock – Journey review: warm, but wanting in edge and excitement

Journey
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Artist: Trevor Pinnock, Antonio de Cabezón, William Byrd, Thomas Tallis, John Bull, Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, Johann Sebastian Bach, Girolamo Frescobaldi, George Friedric Handel, Domenico Scarlatti
Genre: Classical
Label: Linn Records

English harpsichordist Trevor Pinnock, who will turn 70 in December, presents a personal journey through 200 years of harpsichord music.

The starting point is the European journeying of Spanish composer Antonio de Cabezón, and Pinnock's other chosen composers – Byrd, Tallis, Bull, Sweelinck, Bach, Frescobaldi, Handel and Scarlatti – take him through England, the Netherlands, Germany and Italy, though the network of musical connections runs far wider than that.

He uses a single, favourite harpsichord for everything, treating the 12-piece journey as a recital, and his approach to differences in style is on the lines of actor Sean Connery’s adaptability when it comes to accents.

The playing is warm but wanting in edge and excitement. linnrecords.com

Michael Dervan

Michael Dervan

Michael Dervan is a music critic and Irish Times contributor