Rigel’s keyboard music is a relatively neglected area within his oeuvre and deserves to be much better known, by players and listeners alike. The appearance of this new two-volume edition of his first published collection – a set of six sonatas for solo harpsichord or piano issued in 1767 – should help to remedy the lack of familiarity with this appealing repertoire. For these are highly idiomatic works, displaying the richness and pan-European character of the composer’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.

 Music example Sonata No. 1 (pdf)
 Music example Sonata No. 2 (pdf)
 Music example Sonata No. 3 (pdf)