General Harpsichord and Clavichord Thread

[Gurn Blanston]

I played this one today -- I think the music is Empfindsamkeit style, it certainly has some of the unpredictability that I like so much.

I thought the performance was a bit workmanlike -- this is great music, it's a shame that a great keyboard pianist hasn't recorded it.

You should ask in a piano oriented thread; it is entirely possible that a pianist HAS recorded it. Mostly people like me who haunt this thread; I, for one, wouldn't have any idea about that. It is clavichord music, after all....

[Mandryka]

I don't have a problem with the instrument, I should have said keyboard artist rather than pianist.

Having said that I don't think Spanyi makes his  clavichord sound as nice as the one that Leonhardt uses for Boehm or Kirkpatrick uses for WTC. And it doesn't  sound as nasty as the one(s?) that Hogwood uses for J S Bach, Mozart and Handel.

I know that some of CPE Bach's keyboard music was writen for clavichord - but all of it?  I'd always assumed not since Staier for one uses piano and harosichord. I know CPEB liked the clavichord.

Hogwood recorded some CPEB solo keyboard music. Has anyone heard the recording?

[Gurn Blanston]

I don't have a problem with the instrument, I should have said keyboard artist rather than pianist.

Having said that I don't think Spanyi makes his  clavichord sound as nice as the one that Leonhardt uses for Boehm or Kirkpatrick uses for WTC. And it doesn't  sound as nasty as the one(s?) that Hogwood uses for J S Bach, Mozart and Handel.

I know that some of CPE Bach's keyboard music was writen for clavichord - but all of it?  I'd always assumed not since Staier for one uses piano and harosichord. I know CPEB liked the clavichord.

Hogwood recorded some CPEB solo keyboard music. Has anyone heard the recording?

Ah, I misunderstood you. Well, CPEB was very partial to the clavichord. He wrote pretty much all of it ON a clavichord and recommended its use, however, I don't know that he was adamantly opposed to other keyboard types.

I have that Hogwood recording. Not here at work with me though. Tonight when I get home I will play it again (it has been a couple of years) and report back. I certainly have no recollection of disliking the sound of his instrument though. There are so many different kinds of clavichords, and each one seems unique in many aspects. Moreso than fortepianos or cembalos, and way more than modern pianos. 

[Gurn Blanston]

The problem, as I understand it, is not the instrument itself, but recording it. 

Since it has such a delicate and soft sound, recording engineers try to increase the presence and end up capturing more than is naturally heard of the internal mechanism.  To counter-balance this, they employ equalization and and other effects in an attempt to weed out the unwanted sounds.  This so distorts the sound of the instrument that it is rare for it to come across on recordings as it really sounds. 

I too have not heard Hogwood's recordings is a while and don't remember them well enough to say what kind of job the recording engineers did.

I have always for myself, and recommended to several others, to listen at a lower volume than you would to regular music. This is very effective in eliminating the noise of the tangents and other internal mechanisms. Once the music starts, it only takes a short time before you can easily be accustomed to the quiet. That's what the instrument is about anyway, might as well go with it.

[Gurn Blanston]

Richard Troeger's recordings of Bach, I think, are some of the best clavichord (sounding). 

[asin]B00000JCG6[/asin]

He's also done the WTC Art of Fugue and other keyboard works.

Yep. I have his Toccatas disk from that series. It sounds very nice.

[Gurn Blanston]

Thanks, Mandryka, for reminding me of this disk;



Of course, sound of an instrument is so subjective that my own take on this may not match yours, but I think this is a great sounding disk. As mentioned earlier, I do play it at low volume, and the various mechanisms are silent, nothing but music.

[SonicMan46]

Richard Troeger's recordings of Bach, I think, are some of the best clavichord (sounding). 

 

He's also done the WTC Art of Fugue and other keyboard works.

Well All!  I really like the clavichord but recording the instrument is not easy - I have a number of clavichord recordings and really enjoy - would love to obtain some of Bach's music w/ Troegner; BUT, where to start? 

BTW, a 'clavichord' recording that I've loved and enjoyed for years is added above - the sound of the instrument is recorded beautifully by Pablo - Dave

[Gurn Blanston]

This is the one I have, Dave. Back when I got it (6 or 7 years?) it was readily available. I like it because I like the toccatas.



And as San says, he uses a nice sounding clavichord in there too.

[Mandryka]

Re CPEB,  although some of the symphonies are rhythmically surprising, and sometimes change dynamics and mood quite unexpectedly, I don't think I've heard any of his  music quite as harmonically savoury and tangy  as, for example, the 6th Wuttenberg sonata, at least as Bob van Asperen plays it. Of course I've only scratched the surface, and I'm sure that real CPEB experts will find the idea risible

Maybe those Wuttenburg sonatas are a sort of high point of some sort of style, though whether it's rightly called
Empfindsamkeit isn't clear to me.

[Gurn Blanston]

Well, you know, those works were composed in 1742, which is significantly earlier than what would become the pre-Classical Empfindsamkeit. Maybe they would be pre-Empfindsam? 

I'm no expert on CPEB either, although I have dozens of his CD's. I just haven't had time to explore his personal history. But I would expect them to be probably the beginnings of a style that would flourish in the 1750's and '60's rather than ideal exemplars of a full-blown style. I will say this, though, they are the works that made him famous. The ones on that Hogwood disk I pictured above are from the 1750's and probably more developed along the lines you seem interested in.

[Mandryka]

Here's the Hogwood wq 63 CD on youtube

http://www.youtube.com/v/I6tjAEDs4sA

Goverts's CD is on spotify.

It looks as though I have some listening to do 

[milk]

I have always for myself, and recommended to several others, to listen at a lower volume than you would to regular music. This is very effective in eliminating the noise of the tangents and other internal mechanisms. Once the music starts, it only takes a short time before you can easily be accustomed to the quiet. That's what the instrument is about anyway, might as well go with it.

I went to a clavichord concert a few years ago. The clavichordist explained that hearing it is like seeing in the dark: after a few moments your eyes adjust. I found that was true. At first, it was unbelievably quiet but my ears adjusted, as it were.

[milk]

Richard Troeger's recordings of Bach, I think, are some of the best clavichord (sounding). 

[asin]B00000JCG6[/asin]

He's also done the WTC Art of Fugue and other keyboard works.

I've never been able to able to fall in love with Troeger's AOF. However, I was just enjoying comparing Troeger's Chromatic Fantasy to Robert Hill's. They both perform on clavichords. Troeger's instrument is really something. It's very metallic and earthy sounding, much different than Hill's. The performances are quite different as well, quite a contrast - on the whole. Hill is very dreamy - he makes me feel like I'm floating though space. Whatever happened to Troeger anyway? I can't find any information about him anywhere. He seems to have just stopped. 

[Mandryka]

Well, you know, those works were composed in 1742, which is significantly earlier than what would become the pre-Classical Empfindsamkeit. Maybe they would be pre-Empfindsam? 

I'm no expert on CPEB either, although I have dozens of his CD's. I just haven't had time to explore his personal history. But I would expect them to be probably the beginnings of a style that would flourish in the 1750's and '60's rather than ideal exemplars of a full-blown style. I will say this, though, they are the works that made him famous. The ones on that Hogwood disk I pictured above are from the 1750's and probably more developed along the lines you seem interested in.

I like Hogwood's style in wq 63. I especially like wq 63/4. I suppose that the Probe-Stücke are examples of music in different styles, and only some (one?) are  in the harmonically rich style of Wuttenburg 6. I suppose I'd better try and get hold of a copy of the  Essay on the True Manner of Playing Keyboard Instruments

[Mandryka]

I've never been able to able to fall in love with Troeger's AOF. However, I was just enjoying comparing Troeger's Chromatic Fantasy to Robert Hill's. They both perform on clavichords. Troeger's instrument is really something. It's very metallic and earthy sounding, much different than Hill's. The performances are quite different as well, quite a contrast - on the whole. Hill is very dreamy - he makes me feel like I'm floating though space. Whatever happened to Troeger anyway? I can't find any information about him anywhere. He seems to have just stopped.

Where is Hill's recording of the Chromatic Fantasie on a clavichord -- I'd like to hear it?

Here's Hill on a clavichord playing a CPEB fantasie, a stunning performance IMO, of a stunning piece of music.

http://www.youtube.com/v/X53TvVY4_BY

[prémont]

Where is Hill's recording of the Chromatic Fantasie on a clavichord -- I'd like to hear it?

It is contained in the Haenssler cpt. Bach edition.

Hill recorded for this edition the BWV 903 on a harpsichord, but a variant (BWV 903a) on a clavichord.

[Mandryka]

There's a CD on spotify called "C.P.E. Bach: Rêveries pour connaisseurs et amateurs" by Jocelyne Cuiller which is stuffed with delicious music, more in the style I like than most of the wq63 sonatas, and played on a real nice sounding clavichord, with no nasty buzzing bass.

That CD has led me to think that I really need to hear the music CPEB wrote "Für Kenner und liebhaber", so I've ordered a big box by Gabor Antallfy, which is reviewed very positively by someone who sounds quite informed (or more informed than me) on amazon.co.uk. ( The CD, by the way, is very cheap through amazon.de. The German site is often seriously  cheaper than anywhere else, I've no idea why.)

[milk]

While we're at it, I'd like to put in a good word for this recording. He also uses an appealing instrument and he's a sensitive performer.

[milk]

This may belong in the Bach thread but since there is a discussion of clavichord recordings I thought I'd bring attention to this new one:

[Mandryka]

Lovers of New Wave may well like this wonderful CD from a new kid on the block, Leonardo Carrieri, which I found on spotify:



The agogics are strong but seem so natural you hardly notice that the flow is interrupted till you compare with other performers. The instrument sounds nice to me. He doesn't make it too lyrical --you know, the counterpoint is clear and not masked for the sake of bringing out the tunes. Bravura is avoided -- I think that's all to the good in Scarlatti. This is a contemplative musician , not a muscle man.

Leonardo Carrieri is a prof in Italy, where he was a student of Claudio Astronio. It wouldn't surprise me if the teacher has left a strong mark on him -- I'm going to listen to some Astronio tonight to see.

There's tons of stuff on youtube which I'm looking forward to sampling.