Flemish Early Keyboard Music:
Dieudonné Raick
Dieudonné Raick (1702-1764) was born in Liège.
In his childhood his musical talent was recognized and his family sent him to sing in the choir of the cathedral in Antwerp. By age 19, his keyboard skills were good enough to earn him the position of organist at that same cathedral, and soon, he was also given a job as organist at another church in Antwerp.
He studied theology and law and became both a priest and a lawyer, though he continued to compose and to play organ and harpsichord.
He published five suites when he was working in Leuven, where he worked from 1727 to 1741.
His music is tuneful and easily accessible by performer and listener. I've only played one of his suites so far; the ending was rather weak and I had to do some editing to improve it for the piano. Nevertheless he's well worth investigating.
ND/Sep 2022
Thanks to David Bolton, 'The Digital Harpsichordist' (see Youtube) for some of this information. David is an experienced harpsichordist; you can't do better than listen to his performances.
