Balbastre的家族和祖先多是做木匠用的工具，或是做(及修理)馬車輪子維生的。不過，他爸爸決定從事音樂，當了家鄉幾個教堂的風琴師。Claude Balbastre是家中19個小孩中排行第16位的。不知道是不是他爸想不出要別的名字還是沒創意，Balbastre的三位兄弟也叫Claude。
不用說，他的啟蒙音樂老師，自然是他的老爸，跟他學了風琴。而他爸爸去逝之後，他繼續和Claude Rameau(有名的Jean-Philippe Rameau(拉摩)的弟弟)學習風琴。他立刻在鍵盤樂器上展現出他的才藝，不僅能彈奏，還能即興和作曲。他知道Dijon這個鎮會埋沒他的才華 ，於是他到首都巴黎去發展。
在巴黎，他立刻受到同鄉人，前輩及大師拉摩的讚賞，便立刻將他介紹給巴黎最重要的音樂圈。沒多久，他便是巴黎最有名聲的音樂家之一，不僅相繼在幾個重要的教堂擔任風琴家(St-Roch, Notre Dame)，宮廷教堂的風琴師，兩個修女院的大鍵琴老師，更是Marie Antoinette(瑪麗．安東妮皇后，路易十六的太太)的大鍵琴老師。他在許多宗教儀式中彈風琴，常常擁入大批人潮前來聽他彈奏，使得主教有時很頭痛。
不幸，他在聲望最高的時候，法國爆發出了大革命。由於他和皇室的關係，險讓他送了命。不過，Balbastre也很機警，識時務地將許多大街小巷在唱的革命歌曲，改編成鍵盤曲，並且在各個場合彈奏出來。他安然存活下來，但他之前一切的頭銜和職位都被去除，之後大多靠著他在法國革命前所累積的財富生活下去。
他在革命之後，被聘為國家藝術委員會裡風琴部的委員，其任務之一是保護現有的風琴，不被受到破壞。也因為這樣，今天法國許多大教堂裡的風琴，能保存至今，也得感謝Balbastre的功勞。但，比起當年紅極一時，Balbastre生命最後十年過著很普通的生活，他音樂才能早已被世人所遺忘，下場甚是淒涼。
Balbastre除了是優秀的風琴家，也延續了法國十七世紀以來的法國大鍵琴傳統，也是這個鍵盤文化的最後一位作曲家之一。他的大鍵琴曲子裡，除了有傳統的法國色彩，也開始加入義大利音樂的元素，風格更是有早期古典時期的影子。
這張CD收錄著他1759寫的這本大鍵琴曲子集。裡面共有十七首，雖然算是分成兩首組曲，不過嚴格上來說，這些曲子已經沒有傳統組曲的形式了，倒像是十七首獨立的小品。這些曲子，標題都是當時的一個人名或是家族名。常常，音樂史學家為了要找出這些人倒底是誰，都會費盡一番工夫，有時還不一定有答案。
彈奏音樂家Jean-Patrice Brosse，是風琴家和大鍵琴家，錄了多位較不為人知的法國鍵盤作曲家的音樂，讓我大開眼界。他的技巧非常精湛，所以處理有難度的快曲子，一點問題也沒有。可是，他在許多該柔和點的地方，卻還是感覺在催促著音樂，踩著油門不放。另外，他彈奏的風格，會過份斷句，使音樂感覺比較尖銳，跟我在法國鍵盤音樂期望的平滑感有點小落差。只能說，他在處理比較細膩的樂句，會較草率地帶過去。除此之外，這張Balbastre的錄音整體而言品質相當高，跟市面上幾個不同的版本比較過，我覺得Brosse的整體表演我還是比較喜歡。論如何，能聽到Balbastre有特色的曲子，已經相當值得了。
Claude Balbastre (1724-1799) was a late French Baroque composer who was one of the most well-known musicians of his time. He was born in Dijon, where his father was also an organist. He took his first music lessons from his dad, and continued with Claude Rameau (brother of the great Jean-Philippe Rameau) after his father died.
Balbastre had bigger ambitions for his career and knew that Dijon was too small a town for him. He left to Paris, where the great Jean-Philippe Rameau immediately introduced him to the most important figures of the capital's music world. He became the organist of several important churches (one being Notre Dame), taught harpsichord at two convents, and lastly, was the harpsichord teacher of Marie Antoinette. His keyboard skills on the organ was so great that at Masses, people would flock to come hear him perform, something that the archbishop was not very happy about.
At the height of his fame, the French Revolution broke out. Being closely associated with the royal family, he had the immediate danger of being put on the guillotine. He was smart to start playing the revolutionary tunes and composer patriotic songs on the keyboard. It was also no accident that he married a daughter to a man of law that lived on the same street. It was a move to make sure that in the chaotic times, he had means to make sure his family would be safe from any kind of prosecution.
After the revolution, his title was stripped, and he no longer had regular means of income. He was able to live off the amount of wealth he accumulated prior to the revolution and also his wife's income. He was, however, called to the Commission of the Arts and was appointed a member of the organ department. Their task was to prevent the existing organs in the nation from destruction, and we very much owe to them that these organs can still be seen today in many of the historic churches in France. Other than that, Balbastre's last years were uneventful, as he was virtually forgotten by the people.
Balbastre was considered one of the greatest organists of his time, but he also represents the long lineage of great French harpsichordists tracing back to Chambonnieres. Crossing over to the early classical period, he was literally one of the last composers of the French keyboard music dynasty. His music inherits the French flair but acknowledges Italian influences and certainly that of the emerging classical style.
This CD recording includes all the pieces in his first book of harpsichord works, published in 1759. Even though the 17 pieces are divided into two suites, they can be thought more as separate pieces. The pieces titled "Overture" actually are technically not even French overtures in form. All the pieces are named after someone, possibly an important figure at the time or an acquaintance of Balbastre. Certainly, the first piece "La de Caze" was the name of the person the whole book was dedicated to.
Jean-Patrice Brosse is a French organist and harpsichordist, and he has recorded many CDs of the other "lesser greats" of the French keyboard genre. His playing is technically brilliant, but I feel that he could enjoy the moment of some of the slower pieces better. He tends to blaze by certain passages that could be played just a tad softer and smoother. His phrasing also tends to be more punctuated and bouncy than I am used to hearing on French harpsichord pieces. However, I have heard snippets of other complete recordings of Balbastre's first book, and I must say that I am quite satisfied with Brosse's interpretation of the set as a whole. Certainly, the music itself by Balbastre is one good enough reason to listen to it.
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