
Colin Tilney uses a clavichord which is certainly differentiated in all the registers, but is nevertheless extremely coherent, and I couldn’t help wondering if a more irregular instrument would have revealed more drama through counterpoint. Egarr’s harpsichord recording suggests to me that this could be really interesting.
That being said he exhibits here very well the magic trick he can pull off of making a very straight and
prima facie artless performance sound really expressive. How does he do that?!!!!! Evidently the artlessness is only
prima facie. Tempos which allow the listener to reflect on the gestures, clean articulation, no sense of virtuoso swagger, no intrusive embellishment. These are all traits which I’ve come to expect from Tilney, and this is no exception. I think it’s a very rewarding recording.