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The English harpsichordist and organist, Terence Charlston, was drawn from an early age, he was to the sound and repertoire of old instruments, especially the harpsichord, which he first experienced through recordings and Radio 3 broadcasts. He studied piano and organ from childhood and later took degrees in Oxford and London, specialising in Early Keyboard performance. He was organ scholar at Keble College and Westminster Cathedral.
Terence Charlston has a wide interest in keyboard music of all periods. He is a specialist performer on early keyboard instruments and widely acknowledged for his engaging and expressive performances. Terence Charlston is widely acknowledged as one of Britain's leading Early Keyboard players. His sympathetic command of original instruments has made him a frequent performer at collections of early keyboard instruments all over the world. As a solo harpsichordist and chamber musician he has toured extensively within Europe, as well as to Japan and the USA.
Terence Charlston's harpsichord and organ recordings have been well received in the musical press. His recorded repertoire is particularly broad (over 40 commercial CD's on harpsichord, organ, virginals, clavichord and fortepiano) and can be heard on the Deux-Elles, Harmonia Mundi, Naxos, ASV, Channel Classics and BIS labels. For the National Trust, he has recorded all the playable keyboard instruments of the Fenton House Collection in Hampstead, London. His solo harpsichord recordings of J.S. Bach and François Couperin for the Deux-Elles label have been greeted with critical acclaim. Recent recordings include Baroque music on the Silbermann style organ belonging to the St. Albans International Organ Festival and a recital of Italian harpsichord music by Monza, Pasquina and Monari. For the National Trust he has recorded all the playable keyboard instruments of the Fenton House Collection in Hampstead, London.
Since 1995 Terence Charlston has been harpsichordist with the ensemble London Baroque with whom he has given nearly 400 concerts and appeared on many acclaimed CD releases. He has worked at the Royal Academy of Music since 1988 where he presently teaches harpsichord, basso continuo and clavichord. He has given master-classes in Germany, Italy, Greece, USA and Mexico and is a tutor at the London Centre of Lawrence University, Wisconsin.
Terence Charlston's fascination with 17th century English music has resulted in a number of pioneering concerts and recording projects. These include a recording of all Matthew Locke’s organ and harpsichord music (Deux-Elles) and an edition of his keyboard pieces from manuscript sources. He is currently preparing a complete edition of the keyboard music of Albertus Bryne for Norsk Musikforlag. This book will include an interactive CD-Rom prepared by Heather Windram and a audio-CD recording. |
