Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Scott Ross at Saint Guilhem-le-Desert: a 1976 recital



I never heard of or listened to Scott Ross prior a couple of months ago... my fault!


My friend Toni - a consumate and skilled melomane and records-as-truffles searcher introduced me to this recording.



It possibly came as for-free disk with "Diapason" french magazine which Toni reads since I know him...



I listened to this very recording at Toni's place and fell in love... now I also have my 1:1 burned'n'hacked copy, which I'm wildly enjoying, in loop-mode, since yesterday evening...



Scott - who sadly and untimely passed away years ago (1977) - so passionate and lively performance at the harpsichord, like I only appreciated from some live performances by Ton Koopman and VERY few others is so... rock;-)



He's full of joy and his awesome performing skill isn't heavy to the ear... it's not like a dull, pale musician would be performing 300 years old music written on dusty manuscripts... he owns the rare, so seldom heard gift to let music - also more difficult played on a sometimes boring instrument (like harpsichord may be in lesser hands...) - to flow uncorrupted, like it was written yesterday... Bach, Scarlatti... his drive is well captured at the live recording, whose recordist also deserves GREAT merits and kudos.



Also audience hand-clapping are true-to-life... BUT most impressive is how the music flows...

I'm an harpsichord freak... often, VERY often, I listen to music on such an instrument and used to lazily and lovingly visit a builder and restorer workshop in my area, listening also to new Delrin plectrums fine-tuning... waiting for some tune blooming from a freshly strung instrument, in awe.

The late Scott Ross is a truly, truly great performer and this very performance, recording and music is of HIGHEST quality... can't stop listening to this very disk, which I highly recommend to anyone, both new and deep in Baroque music.



Thanks for this precious hint, Toni: this balance me introducing you to Ludwig Streicher and his double-bass;-)))



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