General Harpsichord and Clavichord Thread

[milk]

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.)

Cuiller really brings out the drama in CPE. Very interesting recording!

[Mandryka]

What I like about the music in that Cuiller CD is that the drama comes from harmonic colour. It reminds me of Gesualdo. Cuiller has recorded another CD of CPEB sonatas -- this time the music seems more conventionally Sturm und Drang, but that's not a problem. Some of them sound very much like Haydn. It's clear to me that CPEB is a major composer of keyboard music, probably of other stuff too -- he doesn't deserve his bad reputation at all.



Yukio, by the way, is Yukio Mishima. Cuiller argues that there's a strong affinity between Mishima and CPEB. I like that sort of thing!

[milk]

What I like about the music in that Cuiller CD is that the drama comes from harmonic colour. It reminds me of Gesualdo. Cuiller has recorded another CD of CPEB sonatas -- this time the music seems more conventionally Sturm und Drang, but that's not a problem. Some of them sound very much like Haydn. It's clear to me that CPEB is a major composer of keyboard music, probably of other stuff too -- he doesn't deserve his bad reputation at all.



Yukio, by the way, is Yukio Mishima. Cuiller argues that there's a strong affinity between Mishima and CPEB. I like that sort of thing!

How very strange! I've come to really dislike Mishima. But I won't hold it against Cuiller.

[Gurn Blanston]

I didn't realize he had a bad reputation.

I was going to say that. I have never heard anything but high praise for CPE. Every keyboard composer through Beethoven attributed their basic understanding of the Art to CPE. 

[Mandryka]

Schumann was negative about him. If you go to the CPEB thread here you'll see some negative suggestions.

[Geo Dude]

This is a great one for the CPE Bach fans to look into.

[Karl Henning]

Schumann was negative about him.

Well, you can't take as minted gold the negative opinion of one of those flighty Romantics.

[Gurn Blanston]

I can't get to the C.P.E. Bach thread, I get this message:

The topic or board you are looking for appears to be either missing or off limits to you.

Although I thoroughly enjoy and respect Robert Schumann as a composer, I am unswayed by his opinion.  C.P.E. Bach is (IMHO) a very important composer who is, unfortunately, underrated.

See if this link helps;

http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,10407.0.html

[Gurn Blanston]

Works; thanks, Gurn.  Don't know what was going on when I posted my earlier trouble getting in.

Weren't holding your tongue right is all...

The key to unlocking CPE Bach has eluded many men. 

[Gurn Blanston]

The problem is that the CPE Bach link in the Composer Index is broken.  It is a different URL from the one you posted:

http://www.good-music-guide.com/community/index.php/topic,13178.0.html

And leads to the error message.

Is there anyway to edit the bad link with the one that works?

Sure.

*fiddles about*

Done!

[Opus106]

A review I was reading contained this observation: Pay close attention to this recording, and you will hear the sound of a canary (or some such songbird) trilling along to the music. I could readily imagine what he was referring to, as I have many times heard something that would fit that description quite well and wondered what it was. Is it some part of mechanism of the instrument that's making the sound?

[Gurn Blanston]

A review I was reading contained this observation: Pay close attention to this recording, and you will hear the sound of a canary (or some such songbird) trilling along to the music. I could readily imagine what he was referring to, as I have many times heard something that would fit that description quite well and wondered what it was. Is it some part of mechanism of the instrument that's making the sound?

Is it a harpsichord or a clavichord, Nav? They operate on entirely different principles, and I can't think of a way that the harpsichord could make that sort of sound, but a fretless clavichord might.

[Opus106]

Is it a harpsichord or a clavichord, Nav? They operate on entirely different principles, and I can't think of a way that the harpsichord could make that sort of sound, but a fretless clavichord might.

I usually hear it in recordings involving harpsichords, and the review refers to one as well. (I'll see if I can upload a sample/find a YouTube link.)

[Que]

I'm intrigued by this disc with early Italian harpsichord music and the samples sound good - anyone familiar with this recording or composer?

[asin]B0027029NM[/asin]

Review Johan van Veen

Q

[Mookalafalas]

I've been reading through this thread out of curiosity. I know pretty much nothing about the topic.  I do know the name Leonhardt,  however, and I think he's only mentioned once in this thread so far.  Is there any reason? Like A). Everyone knows he's awesome so we don't even need to mention him, or B). He's a tedious reactionary dinosaur and we refuse to sully the pages of this thread with his name...

   I hope it's not B), because after reading about the topic here and having my curiosity piqued, I bought his 15 disc Sony box.  It should be here in a week or two.  Should I be excited-- or cursing my rashness

[Karl Henning]

I like that box a great deal.

[Mookalafalas]

I like that box a great deal.

   Good to know [imagine icon sighing with relief here]. 

[milk]

I've been reading through this thread out of curiosity. I know pretty much nothing about the topic.  I do know the name Leonhardt,  however, and I think he's only mentioned once in this thread so far.  Is there any reason? Like A). Everyone knows he's awesome so we don't even need to mention him, or B). He's a tedious reactionary dinosaur and we refuse to sully the pages of this thread with his name...

   I hope it's not B), because after reading about the topic here and having my curiosity piqued, I bought his 15 disc Sony box.  It should be here in a week or two.  Should I be excited-- or cursing my rashness

I think you'll find that if you search the site, instead of just the thread, he's mentioned quite a lot.

[Mookalafalas]

I think you'll find that if you search the site, instead of just the thread, he's mentioned quite a lot.

   I guess I've been lurking in the wrong places    Actually, my friend Billy Torrential just helped me get a copy of the Teldec/Das Altewerk box, and I'm pretty impressed.  As often seems to be the case these days, it's almost too much of a good thing--there aren't enough hours in the day to listen to everything.

[milk]

   I guess I've been lurking in the wrong places    Actually, my friend Billy Torrential just helped me get a copy of the Teldec/Das Altewerk box, and I'm pretty impressed.  As often seems to be the case these days, it's almost too much of a good thing--there aren't enough hours in the day to listen to everything.

His English Suites, WTC (I&II), Partitas, and (versions of) Goldberg Variations are all wonderful. I'm not sure I've ever seen anyone disagree with that view on this site. I think his French Suites are fine as well. I don't seem to get around to some of the other recordings as much as I want to. I have some recordings with fine performances of Rameau, the Couperins, etc.