PERSICHETTI: SONATA FOR HARPSICHORD; MUSIC BY ALBRIGHT,...

PERSICHETTI: SONATA FOR HARPSICHORD; MUSIC BY ALBRIGHT, ROREM, COWELL. Carole Terry, harpsichord, CRI SD-533. If most contemporary composers are daunted by writing for the harpsichord’s limited dynamic and coloristic possibilities, this quartet of musicians seizes the challenge and runs with it. This engaging recital revels in contrast. Persichetti offers a conventional three-movement format. Albright’s fancies lean to imitations of 17th-Century dance forms. Rorem chooses a toccata with a filigree line, while Cowell’s bitonal chords, wide intervals and busy arpeggiations deconstruct the harpsichord before our very ears. Playing on replicas of historical instruments, Terry whizzes through it all with bravura to spare, admitting to a bit of help from the tape editor. Her candor is as admirable as her playing.