“Philippe LeRoy and Jory Vinikour play two harpsichords of the same builder, John Philips from Berkeley (California) which are based on Florentine originals. This is not the only plausible choice, but this recording indicates that they are probably musically the most satisfying option, also because there was little difference between Italian and Spanish harpsichords at the time. Pieces for two harpsichords are always in danger of being too noisy and short of transparency but that is avoided here, thanks to the choice of instruments – which have only one manual and only a few stops – and the excellent playing of these two harpsichordists. The good recording allows the listener to tell the two keyboards apart, but fortunately the division between left and right has not been exaggerated. Another nice feature of this recording is that all the repeats are observed which explains the long playing time. Other recordings I know – and there are quite a number in the catalogue – are mostly (much) shorter. All in all, this is the most satisfying interpretation of these concertos that I have heard.” —Johan van Veen, MusicWeb International
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