General Harpsichord and Clavichord Thread

[SonicMan46]

Check this out:
Elisabetta Lanzoni - harpsichord painter!!!   
These are some beautiful instruments (at least visually)!

http://www.elisabettalanzoni.com/index.htm

Lots of examples. Here are two:
[I WANT one of these! I would spend the rest of my life playing the harpsichord....]

 

Hi Moonfish - ya know, we have not had a new post in the Old Musical Instruments thread in over 6 months - yikes!  If interested, you might want to repost there and even add some further comments or pics - of course, completely up to you.  Dave

[Moonfish]

Hi Moonfish - ya know, we have not had a new post in the Old Musical Instruments thread in over 6 months - yikes!  If interested, you might want to repost there and even add some further comments or pics - of course, completely up to you.  Dave

Ah, thanks Dave. I completely forgot that there was such a thread...   

[Mandryka]

Kenneth Gilbert's first recording of the Purcell suites, I thought it was worth mentioning because I think it's the first time it's been off LP - you can buy it for peanuts from classicsonline. The Vaudry harpsichord is lovely, it's a slightly resonant recording but it's not a great problem for me. Recordings of this instrument are rare (Asperen did a Louis Couperin disc - is there anything else?)

Gilbert's style is an anteresting antidote to Richard Egarr's set - less English eccentric than Egarr, with  more conventional style luthé textures. But IMO no less affecting, no less poetic. Gilbert is firm and poised, of course.

His other recording of the suites is more transparently recorded, and is more extrovert in style I would say, it's quite different really, he clearly was thinking about Purcell a lot. The latter recording is more expressive.  I must say I enjoy the poise of the first, and the colour of the Vaudry harpsichord.

[Mandryka]

Scott Ross plays some Rameau on the anaonymous French or Flemmish instrument at the Chateau d'Assas. Minimal expressive rubato. The touch has minimal portamento. Perlé. The tempos let the notes resound and the articulation lets the music breath. The instrument, which is impeccably recorded, is silver sounding and transparent. The result is like hearing Birgit Nilsson in her prime, it's like being showered by diamonds.

But that's only the half of it. Ross manages to square the circle. He manages to make the music poignant AND he manages to make the music sound poised and classical. Hence I conclude that we have here the greatest recording of Rameau's suites ever made, the perfect style, the perfect instrument, the perfect sound quality, an interpreter who is, for once, touched by the muse.

The style is simple. Minimal. No distracting hesitations, no fancy ornaments, no drunken staggering of voices. It's tempting to say things like "he lets the music speak for itself", but that wouldn't do justice to his courage and the wisdom of his performance ideas.  There are few other recordings which are radical by virtue of their simplicity - some of Chorzempa's WTC has that quality, some of Walcha's Bach, but offhand I can't think of others.

In Musette en Rondeau, from book 1, there's a rest, a brief moment of silence. It's perfect, time stops still, you have to hold your breath. And after the rest, he gets such colour from the instrument, such warmth. Ross is a master of harpsichord colour here, a magician. And moments like that come all the time on these three discs. If ever a performance were orgasmic, to use Koopman's idea, this is it.

The downside is that it's practically unobtainable. It's on youtube but the sound's inferior, and that really matters. If anyone's interested let me know and I'll upload it onto symphonyshare.

[Mandryka]

I've been listening again to Glen Wilson's Farnaby recording, and this time round what's impressed me most is the music. It's like this sequence of fantasias constitutes one of those early music systematic exploration of a form, taking the form to the limits - like what Purcell did for Viol Fantasias and in nomines, what Bach did for Fugues, what Frescobaldi did for Capricci, what Scarlatti did for sonatas. As far as Glen Wilson's style is concerned, on the plus side there's suppleness, and a sense of moving forward logically, and a great feeling of inspiration and refinement.

Wilson's extremely muscular and tough. Heavy. That's partly a consequence of the harpsichord, which is a resonant instrument. But he chose it rather than a lighter English or Italian harpsichord, so weight must be part of his vision of the music.

As far as I can see, it's either Wilson or nothing in this music, the Farnaby Fantasias. Is that right? I mean, Belder may have recorded a couple, Tracey recorded a couple, but noone else has provided us with a big survey like Wilson. And IMO it's the scale of the survey which is most impressive.

[JCBuckley]

There are four fantasias on Timothy Roberts' selection of Farnaby pieces from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book - do you know that one?
   

[Mandryka]

There are four fantasias on Timothy Roberts' selection of Farnaby pieces from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book - do you know that one?

No I don't know it,  I'll try to find it. There are 5 Fantasias on Hantai's Farnaby CD, I,forgot before. He has a less rich harpsichord than Wilson and a lighter feel. I don't like that Hantai CD much though, Wilson's superior in every way. hantai's  a bit uninvolved soundng and even a bit buttoned up. Wilson's wilder, and more colourful, and Wilson tells a better story with the music.

[JCBuckley]

I'll be interested to hear what you make of the Roberts recording - I like it, but I'm very far from being an expert in this field.

[Mandryka]

Anyone up for thinking about Christophe Rousset the harpsichordist? I've been bowled over by a few  things recently - Gaspard le Roux, Francois Couperin Bk 4, the two Pancrace Royer recordings. And impressed, if not to the point of being bowled over, by the WTC 2 - though maybe my reservations there don't do him justice.

Anyway, we have here a thinking performer  - the two Royer recordings show real evolution in his ideas. And his way of playing is sometimes really original (as in the above mentioned F Coup.) I have no idea whether he sees himself as HIP or as someone casually following his intuitions. Or both at the same time.

I said in the first sentence of this post "Rousset the harpsichordist." But sometimes I think that his whole style in French music is operatic. Big, dramatic gestures; arias and recitatives. I know his work in German music less well. He seems very much at home with baroque - even when he plays earlier composers like Louis Couperin and D'Anglebert, he makes them sound more like heralds of the future more than people harking back to past styles. You wouldn't go to Rousset for gentle lyrical poetry.

His breadth of repetoire is impressive (there's even some WF Bach - if anyone can find a copy of his recording of the polonaises for sale at a reasonable price, please let me know. An upload would be even better!) He uses some great instruments and he's often pretty well recorded.

[Drasko]

But sometimes I think that his whole style in French music is operatic. Big, dramatic gestures; arias and recitatives.

He conducts French baroque opera a lot. That has to reflect in some way back to his harpsichord playing.

Any opinions on his Froberger disc on Ambroisie. Clips sound very nice for what's that worth.

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Ambroisie/AM148

[prémont]

Any opinions on his Froberger disc on Ambroisie. Clips sound very nice for what's that worth.

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Ambroisie/AM148

I think it is stylish and expressive, definitely worthwile. Much like his earlier Froberger CD on HMF.

[Mandryka]

He conducts French baroque opera a lot. That has to reflect in some way back to his harpsichord playing.

Any opinions on his Froberger disc on Ambroisie. Clips sound very nice for what's that worth.

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Ambroisie/AM148

Less emotional than the first one, more "abstract",  though by no means dry. Both of those  discs are exceptional for late Froberger, but I prefer the second I think.

[Drasko]

Excellent! Thank you both. On shopping list it goes.

[Drasko]

Scott Ross plays some Rameau on the anaonymous French or Flemmish instrument at the Chateau d'Assas. Minimal expressive rubato. The touch has minimal portamento. Perlé. The tempos let the notes resound and the articulation lets the music breath. The instrument, which is impeccably recorded, is silver sounding and transparent. 

But that's only the half of it. Ross manages to square the circle. He manages to make the music poignant AND he manages to make the music sound poised and classical. Hence I conclude that we have here the greatest recording of Rameau's suites ever made, the perfect style, the perfect instrument, the perfect sound quality, an interpreter who is, for once, touched by the muse.

The style is simple. Minimal. No distracting hesitations, no fancy ornaments, no drunken staggering of voices. It's tempting to say things like "he lets the music speak for itself", but that wouldn't do justice to his courage and the wisdom of his performance ideas.

I completely agree with all of this. The simplicity, seeming naturalness and rightness of his tempo choices, and not so easy to describe vocal quality of the playing is what got me. Have you heard his complete Francois Couperin, also on STIL?

[Mandryka]

Excellent! Thank you both. On shopping list it goes.

I think you can hear the influence that some of Leonhardt's recordings of Froberger had on Rousset in that second recording. Abstracted from emotion, distanced, and yet expressive. This thing that Busoni said which so impresses me, that the performer should express a feeling without appearing to suffer it himself. That's what I think Rousset got from Leonhardt.

[Mandryka]

I completely agree with all of this. The simplicity, seeming naturalness and rightness of his tempo choices, and not so easy to describe vocal quality of the playing is what got me. Have you heard his complete Francois Couperin, also on STIL?

I have heard some of his  Francois Couperin but I don't know it too well.

My latest Rameau discovery has been two recordings of transcriptions. One by Noelle Spieth not of the suites but of transcriptions for harpsichord alone of his pièces pour clavecin en concert that Rameau published in 1741. The other by Kenneth Weiss of transcriptions of orchestral music (Kenneth Gilbert also recorded this stuff.). The Weiss is really special.

The whole area of keyboard transcription on early music is interesting. Rameau and D'Anglebert and no doubt others (Bach I suppose.) Presumably the world of lute etc. is full of transcriptions too.

[Drasko]

I think you can hear the influence that some of Leonhardt's recordings of Froberger had on Rousset in that second recording. Abstracted from emotion, distanced, and yet expressive. This thing that Busoni said which so impresses me, that the performer should express a feeling without appearing to suffer it himself. That's what I think Rousset got from Leonhardt.

That is interesting quote from Busoni, and comparison with Leonhardt's Frobreger is only a plus. Leonhardt's first Froberger recital for DHM is one of my favorite harpsichord CDs, such an authority comes through his playing.

I have heard some of his  Francois Couperin but I don't know it too well.

I haven't heard all of it either, but what I did hear impressed me a lot. I though it was closer to his amazing Rameau, than to his later recordings which to me can sound bit hasty and impatient at times.

The whole area of keyboard transcription on early music is interesting. Rameau and D'Anglebert and no doubt others (Bach I suppose.) Presumably the world of lute etc. is full of transcriptions too.

I have some D'Anglebert and some Rameau transcriptions on disc but so far I haven't really been able to muster too much enthusiasm for any of it.

[Mandryka]

That is interesting quote from Busoni, and comparison with Leonhardt's Frobreger is only a plus. Leonhardt's first Froberger recital for DHM is one of my favorite harpsichord CDs, such an authority comes through his playing.

Everyone seems to like that first one but when I drew the comparison with Rousset2 it was withLeonhardt on Teldec, which is the one I like the most from him.  It's very different from the first recording, more abstract.

I haven't heard all of it either, but what I did hear impressed me a lot. I though it was closer to his amazing Rameau, than to his later recordings which to me can sound bit hasty and impatient at times.

One thing by Ross I'm quite curious to hear is his WTC. One other late (I think) recording I liked was the Bach partitas.

I have some D'Anglebert and some Rameau transcriptions on disc but so far I haven't really been able to muster too much enthusiasm for any of it.

Strangely enough I was listening to Gilbert's Lully/D'Anglebert just today and I love it, maybe more than any other Gilbert recording I've heard. I'm generally pretty keen on D'Anglebert, that early baroque music generally interests me more than Francois Couperin and Rameau in fact. The Rameau transcriptions are just fun, trivial but fun -- whether played by Gilbert or by Weiss or by Tramier. Listening to a CD of them is a bit like listening to Minkowski's Symphonie Imaginaire. Nice once a year max.

[Mandryka]

http://www.mennovandelft.com/

The above link leads to Menno van Delft's website. If you go the section of audio samples, you'll see there's a performance on clavichord of some variations by Froberger, and it seems to have been recorded on a CD from an early music festival in Utrecht.

Can anyone find the CD?

[prémont]

Can anyone find the CD?

A job for our Dutch members I think (Marc, Que, Harry).