Press

A recent review of my FROBERGER unboxed album:

http://www.alte-musik-forum.de/index.php?page=Thread&postID=23388#post23388

“Among the surprise findings in the recently uncovered manuscripts of the Berlin Sing-Akademie was one including six toccatas and six suites of Johann Jacob Froberger, possibly from a copyist known by him personally. Since the toccatas are in the same keys as the suites, it is believed that they should each be heard at the opening of the corresponding suite. There are slight differences to other sources of the same pieces. The harpsichordist Dominic Eckersley, now living in Berlin, has begun a recording of these suites and, for the sake of simplicity they can be downloaded from the net; you pay a certain amount and then get sent a link to download. The music is in MP3 format, but also CD quality (flac) is available, the recording quality is excellent. The intention is to record the music in “realistic” form, rather than a typical studio product, in other words, the sound is rather intimate, akin to sitting in a clear space, directly in front of the musician and his harpsichord in a not too large room.

a very unpretentious approach to this rather difficult to convey music

The harpsichord is a replica of a typical French model of the 17th century, when the influence of the Flemish instruments did not yet dominate and it sounds very clear, more direct and more percussive than a Ruckers; a sound that fits very well to Froberger’s music which was heavily influenced by the Italian style at the time of his arrival in Paris. The low French pitch and Meantone tuning show how craftily Froberger has used pure intervals and fully exploited the sonority. Eckersley has made an excellent choice here, from my perspective the instrument sound and recording techniques are much more to my liking than, say, Andreas Staier’s 2013 CD, which included Froberger.

Eckersley has a very unpretentious approach to this rather difficult to convey music. His allemandes are appropriately at a very slow pace, without rhythmical compromise, the style of an Allemande is always recognisable. The other characters of the dance movements he expresses very well with ornaments at exactly the right places, he does not celebrate the music, but lets it flow in natural gesture – this is a recording I can recommend as highly as Bob van Asperen’s album of the complete works.

By purchasing the album as a download directly from the musician we incidentally provide support to him in the financing of the completion of the second half of the suites.”