Rigel’s keyboard music is a relatively neglected area within his oeuvre. This edition of his first published collection – a set of six sonatas for solo harpsichord or piano issued in 1767 – seeks to bring it to the attention of players and listeners. These highly idiomatic sonatas display the richness and pan-European character of Rigel’s musical inheritance. In them we hear a blend of influences drawn from the Italian tradition of galant keyboard music, the drama-filled world of the German symphony and the intimate milieu of French pièces de clavecin.
