Gramophone Magazine
September 2025
Editor's Choice

Gilbert Rowland (early keyboard instruments)

Suite in G Minor, FbWV 614
Suite in E Minor, FbWV 622
Suite in F Major, FbWV 621
Suite in D Minor, FbWV 613
Suite in B-Flat Major, FbWV Anh. IV / 02
Suite in D Minor, FbWV 639
Suite in G Minor, FbWV 649
Suite in D Major, FbWV 611
Suite in A Minor, FbWV 628A
Suite in E Minor, FbWV 648 "Partita dolorosa"
Suite in C Minor, FbWV 644
Suite in F Major, FbWV Anh. IV / 08

The fourth and final volume in Gilbert Rowlands acclaimed Froberger series completes the landmark recording project on specialist early music label Athene. This double album is the latest instalment of Rowlands authoritative traversal of the complete Harpsichord Suites by Johann Jakob Froberger a composer of profound influence whose innovations shaped the very form of the Baroque suite later adopted by Bach and Handel. Praised for its glorious sound and energy and a good forward drive, the series has garnered widespread critical recognition. Recorded in the sympathetic acoustic of Holy Trinity Church, Weston, in October 2024, the album reunites Rowland with engineer John Taylor, whose audiophile-standard production has underpinned the previous volumes.

"An entire, complex and sympathetic personality is on show, whose assimilation of different musical influences is constantly evident. Rowland is a fluent guide, discreet though not entirely self-effacing." - Gramophone Magazine, September 2025