Céline Frisch's 2009 album of Jean-Philippe Rameau's harpsichord music is one of several fine recordings reissued in 2014 to mark the 250th anniversary of the composer's death. Rameau was a leading French composer of harpsichord music in the early 18th century, rivaled only by François Couperin, though he considered himself first and foremost a music theorist and regarded his Treatise on Harmony as his most important work. The suites for clavecin are delightful collections of Baroque dances and witty character pieces, from which
Frisch has selected three, the Suite in A minor (1706), the Suite in E minor (1724), and the Suite in G minor (ca. 1729-30).
Frisch's playing is generally lively in rhythm and sparkling with embellishments, though she also expresses the stately gravitas called for in the Suite in A minor, which offers some of the most melancholy pieces. However, Rameau's moods can change suddenly, to include the rustic dances of the Suite in E minor and whimsical portraits in the Suite in G minor.