Mattheson is one of a number of fine baroque composers who, while never quite entirely forgotten (he was an important theorist as well as composer), has still to receive his due in recordings. He and Handel were close friends, a friendship that survived an oft-told incident from their youth when they got in a brawl after an opera performance and took it to the street, the future composer of Messiah saved from death only by a large button on his coat. These harpsichord suites hardly suffer by comparison to Handel's and can be commended without reservation to all admirers of baroque harpsichord. The style is mostly German in character, with heavy elements of French influence, but Mattheson's own distinctive voice almost always surpasses the conventions of the genre with his own distinctive and uniquely personal genius. Brazilian harpsichordist Holtz has not only made a wonderfully varied selection from Mattheson's suites but performs them with great verve and sensitivity. He lets these gems speak for themselves in a varied but consistently eloquent voice. It also doesn't hurt that the gorgeous sound of the Bruce Kennedy harpsichord (1989, after Mietke) is so wonderfully captured with a variety of registrations that bring out the character of each piece. If you love Handel, Bach, Graupner, Couperin or Baroque harpsichord in general, don't hesitate to get this disc!
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