Harpsichord Recital

From Fantasia to French Suite: Keyboard Journeys Across Europe traces the evolution of keyboard music across two centuries, from the imaginative polyphony of the English Renaissance to the elegance and refinement of the French Baroque. Each work reflects a different national style and compositional approach, revealing how ideas travelled across Europe and transformed the possibilities of the keyboard.

The programme opens with William Byrd's richly inventive Fantasia, a masterpiece of Renaissance counterpoint that demonstrates the freedom and imagination of early keyboard writing. Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer's expressive Chaconne illustrates the growing importance of variation and dance forms, while Domenico Scarlatti's Sonata in B minor showcases the brilliance, drama, and technical virtuosity of the 18th-century keyboard.

At the heart of the recital is Johann Sebastian Bach's French Suite in B minor, a sequence of elegant dances that combines French grace with German contrapuntal mastery. The programme concludes with selections from François Couperin's Sixième Ordre, whose poetic character pieces – including the celebrated Les Barricades mystérieuses – capture the subtle colours, ornamentation, and expressive depth that define the French harpsichord tradition.

Performed on the harpsichord by Kiele (Ki) Sacco, this recital offers a journey through the rich diversity of European keyboard music, celebrating imagination, dance, virtuosity, and expressive character across the Renaissance and Baroque eras.