Since his sensational debut performances, French harpsichordist Christoph Rousset has been closely tied to the Oiseau-Lyre label for whom he recorded albums which became classics such as the complete works for harpsichord by Jean-Philippe Rameau, his anthologies dedicated to Johann Sebastian Bach and Pancrace Royer. It was in 1995 that Christophe Rousset recorded this album dedicated to the largely unknown composer Gaspard Le Rou. Published in 1705, his Pièces de clavecin (harpsichord) were contemporary with similar great works by Louis Marchand, Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, Clérambault and Rameau. The quality of Le Roux’s works has raised eyebrows, to the point that musicologists have asked themselves whether his name is not some mysterious pseudonym; a sort of Emil Ajar-Romain Gary before his time. This is opinion is shared by Christophe Rousset who puts forward the names of Marin Marais and the future regent Philippe d’Orléans in the recording's booklet. It seems, however, that le Roux is most likely Michel-Richard Delalande. Between the murders of Caravaggio, Stradella, Jean-Marie Leclair and the usurped personalities, the extravagant Baroque era has not finished fascinating us yet. © François Hudry/Qobuz