Rafael Puyana (1931-2013)

[Marc]

It seems we have to say goodbye to almost an entire music generation.

R.I.P. Rafael Puyana:

http://www.elpais.com.co/elpais/cultura/noticias/81-anos-fallecio-musico-colombiano-rafael-puyana

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Puyana

I admit I only have one disc with Puyana, but it's certainly a recommendable one:

Probably not the best recording sound quality (produced in 1967), but there's also plenty of drive on this disc, with Rafael Puyana playing Soler:

[Mandryka]

His death prompted me to listen to some of his stuff, mostly the early records he made on a Pleyel. I thought there was real fun joyful performances of uplifting and bouncy music, like some Scarlatti sonatas. It's in soulful music that I had problems -- in a Francois Couperin lament for example, he just seemed totally uninteresting compared with Sempe for example. It was as if HIP gave harpsichordists the licence to be expressive  . Mind you I shouldn't say that since I'm not really sure Sempe's performance is informed.

Same for some of his Bach -- I just felt he was competitive (in an overcrowded field) with the likes of Belder or Leonhardt or Gilbert or even Cates in the French Overture. In the adagio from the  Bach/Marcello concerto he was better than his teacher Landowska. In the CPE Bach chaconne on la folia, he wasn't anywhere near as good as Alessandrini.

I'll try to find the time to listen to some of his later records -- I have some Scarlatti. Maybe he got more expressive as he became influenced by the HIP movement, I don't know. I know he had recorded CU2 before he died -- I guess it'll be released soon.

[val]

I remember a double LP with works of François Couperin. It was a discovery for me, having heard before only some small pieces by Landowska and Gerlin.

[listener]

I remember a double LP with works of François Couperin. It was a discovery for me, having heard before only some small pieces by Landowska and Gerlin.

possibly this set on Philips

[val]

Yes. I also have that version in CD. The recording is from 1968.