For his disc of the Nouvelles suites, the second of Rameau’s two major books of harpsichord pieces from the 1720s, Joël Pontet uses a Taskin copy, a suitable instrument in every way, one would suspect, if only it were represented with more sympathy. The closeness of the recording – claustrophobic and with a nagging metallic ring – is certainly one thing that makes listening less than comfortable, but then Pontet’s playing of it is too often without necessary grace and fluidity. In the opening Allemande, the un-notated inequalities of rhythm (inégales) are excessively stiff, and elsewhere there is a clipped quality to many of the notes which not only irritates the ear (for example in Les trois mains) but also deprives the harpsichord of its full and proper tone. Pontet is more successful in noisier and more extrovert pieces such as La poule, L’égyptienne or Les sauvages but the probing L’enharmonique lacks mystery. Anyone with recordings of these pieces by, say, Sophie Yates, Christophe Rousset or Trevor Pinnock can leave their money in their pockets.

A better example of Rameau style is provided by Noëlle Spieth, whose 1988 Solstice set of the “complete” keyboard works was much admired but never released in the UK. In this new release she redefines the notion of “complete Rameau” anyway, by turning the Pièces de clavecin en concerts of 1741 into solo harpsichord works by simply dropping the accompanying parts for violin and viola da gamba, an option Rameau himself sanctioned in his preface but which hitherto has not excited the imagination of many artists. On this evidence it is hard to see why; with the other instruments absent these delightful miniatures stand revealed as idiomatic as any other Rameau harpsichord piece – whether tender in La livri or La cupis, or showy in La poplinière or La timide – added to which a player’s own subtleties of articulation and agogics come through more. These Spieth has in plenty, and right from the first notes of La coulicam, the opening track, she displays the elegance of tone and sense of flow that Pontet lacks, helped by the softer attack of her instrument (a Goujon copy) and a tendency to leave notes down for longer. Unique and expertly realised, this is definitely one to acquire for Rameau harpsichord fans.