I don't know what you, fair review reader, know, but most folks know about Pinnock's masterful harpsicord playing. He is a true virtuoso. Yes, he is "masculine" in style. But on this CD you have more variety than you would expect. Rameau's compositions themselves are inspired. And very different from each other. Very! Like a painter who can do impressionism, expressionism, photorealism, and a few other isms. I never knew Rameau was like this. Pinnock's virtuosity is present for all the different varieties of Rameau. I disagree that you need a few listenings to "get it" like one reviewer said. But you can return to this CD many times and enjoy it each time. And again, remember: the pieces are of all different moods and styles -- not subtle differences, but major differences. Three final points: (1) I've listened to several other CD's with Pinnock (and others) that I bought recently; only THIS CD and one other are worth getting (2) the Harmonious Blacksmith (which I've had for years) is the other Pinnock Harpsicord CD worth getting [Arkiv Production CD] (supreme virtuosity and absolutely the most "masculine" harpsicord, but boy the Harmonious Blacksmith as performed by Pinnock sends you into a spinning revery; Scarlatti on that CD is great too; so is the lute-stopped piece which hypnotizes you) (3) the title piece of this CD has one remarkable property: it will scare you! Now, I'm a 49-year old person, not a little kid. Kids have a limited perspective on the world; their world is quite small. When something behaves out of the ordinary -- that can be very scary for a kid (like when I did a funny voice I scared my little 2-year old brother). Now, I'm plenty well acquainted with bass on a harpsicord. Not only recordings, but I've heard live harpsicords. Bass is not absent like some folks would think. And at long last, my patient reader, the punchline: it is not because there is bass, but when that walking bass line shows up in the midst of the other doings of Les Cyclopes -- that monster slowly, methodically, stamping its way, step-by-step towards you, well it's scary.Though that last tidbit of my review was idiosyncratic, it gives you evidence of what I mean: the compositions are very different from each other -- so it is not "all the same with slight variations you're calling 'variety' ". No, there truly IS real variety. This CD and The Harmonious Blacksmith (with Pinnock) [Arkiv Production] are the best harpsicord CD's to get, period!