Bach on the harpsichord, lute-harpsichord, clavichord

[bioluminescentsquid]

Interesting comment here from Rubsam on his WTC

Listening to his harpsichord AoF today, I was impressed by how the fugues give the impression of two or three lutes playing. I think it may well be the most interesting harpsichord AoF since Leonhardt (DHM). The tone of the harpsichord he uses is very warm, I've not checked to see whether it's the same as the one he used for WTC.  The WTC one has this interesting feature

Agreed - I love it. In the WTC, the rubato occasionally gets in the way (a la Pamela Ruiter Feenstra), but it's excellent in the AoF.
But I think I might get used to the rubato in WTC after a few listens -- who knows?

[milk]

I've been loving this for a long time. There's nothing quite like it save Levinson's WTC (in terms of the choice of instrument).

[Mandryka]

Levinson's WTC

What?

[Jo498]

maybe Robert Levin who uses a fortepiano in some pieces (I think only in WTC II)

[milk]

What?

Ah. Levin, yes. Not that the playing is related. But Bach on Fortepiano is rare.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

I like the colorfulness of Concerto Transcriptions. Personally, I prefer the Transcriptions and Inventions and Sinfonias to Goldberg. To me, ironically, GV lack variation.

Those reviews I did took a huge number of hours; most folks don't want to devote so much time to one work or body of works.

I have to admit that, even if I was still doing those long reviews, I wouldn't tackle the harpsichord concertos.  You have to possess great love for music that you listen to for dozens of hours.  That wasn't any problem for me with works such the Goldbergs and WTC, but I would tire of the concertos long beftore the review process was concluded; that's exactly what happened to me when I tried it with the Brandenburgs.

The best I can figure, there have been 13 new recordings of the Partitas in the last six years, 7 for the French Suites and 53 for the Goldbergs.

Concerning the concerto transcriptions, I'm not a big fan and definitely prefer Bach's Toccatas.

Ha, in that case, yeah, they are fairly minor works, most of which are probably best heard in the original format anyway (those of Vivaldi for instance). The exception is the bwv 1065, where Bach actually improves on the original.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Indeed it is the same, Dave. 

I don't know the set by Elizabeth Farr, wasn't even aware of its existence.
I have the complete set of arranged concertos by Peter Watchorn - pictured below. Solid, serviceable performances in comparison to Baumont's utter elegance and charm.



Q

Farr, not solid. Watchorn, fair but not vivacious. I like Dirksen and Yates. Dreyfus is not bad either.

[prémont]

Farr, not solid. Watchorn, fair but not vivacious. I like Dirksen and Yates. Dreyfus is not bad either.

And what about Beaumont / Barchi ?

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

And what about Beaumont / Barchi ?

I have not listened them. I should!

[Que]

Farr, not solid. Watchorn, fair but not vivacious. I like Dirksen and Yates. Dreyfus is not bad either.

I am generally not a fan of Elizabeth Farr, I also agree on Watchorn's recording - the sparkle is missing there....

I need to seek out Pieter Dirksen... Olivier Baumont is absolutely brilliant, though just a single disc.

Q

[bioluminescentsquid]

Agreed - I love it. In the WTC, the rubato occasionally gets in the way (a la Pamela Ruiter Feenstra), but it's excellent in the AoF.
But I think I might get used to the rubato in WTC after a few listens -- who knows?

It just hit me, when listening to Rubsam's Pachelbel Hexachordum: the reason why Rubsam uses so much rubato and arpeggiates nearly everything is because he's trying to imitate the lute! I mean, he's playing on a lute-harpsichord - doh!
Now this has clicked, his recordings are quite ingenious to me.

[Mandryka]

It just hit me, when listening to Rubsam's Pachelbel Hexachordum: the reason why Rubsam uses so much rubato and arpeggiates nearly everything is because he's trying to imitate the lute! I mean, he's playing on a lute-harpsichord - doh!
Now this has clicked, his recordings are quite ingenious to me.

It's true that sometimes the music sounds like lute players, and the harpsichord sounds very like a lute. I think he's just experimenting with ways to make the music expressive. Conventions grew up about how to play harpsichord which he thinks don't always do the best by the music.

[kishnevi]

I am generally not a fan of Elizabeth Farr, I also agree on Watchorn's recording - the sparkle is missing there....

I need to seek out Pieter Dirksen... Olivier Baumont is absolutely brilliant, though just a single disc.

Q

Farr's set of concerto transcriptions is fairly good, and better than her set of lautenwerk pieces (=lute works played on a lautenwerk) which is marred by questionable registrations and stops.

[Mandryka]

: the reason why Rubsam uses so much rubato and arpeggiates nearly everything

Just seeing this and mention of Elizabeth Farr made me think of her Byrd recording, which was produced by Rubsam. Farr rolls chords to mark upbeats in Byrd. It's quite a bold experiment.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Farr's set of concerto transcriptions is fairly good, and better than her set of lautenwerk pieces (=lute works played on a lautenwerk) which is marred by questionable registrations and stops.

IMO, her execution is limited,  her performance sounds mechanical, and her interpretations lack playfulness. Ie., below.

https://youtu.be/JKWrCRI7axc

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

I don't know the first Pinnock recording. What I will say is that  I listened to Pinnock's recording of the Bach toccatas - not music I know very well or normally much enjoy. But I thought Pinnock's recording was fabulous!

Yes, I like his toccatas too though they are not sophisticated like the performances today, ie. Hantai.
Funny, you say you don't know Bach's Toccatas well.

[Mandryka]

I'm really enjoying Mario Videla's recording of the French Suites recording because he completely shies away from large scale gestures, everything is peaceful and intimate. Anyway I shouldn't wonder if this becomes a favourite.

[milk]

This seems forgotten but it's also good for me tonight. My favorite is no one else's I guess:

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

This seems forgotten but it's also good for me tonight. My favorite is no one else's I guess:

I like Leon's all the Seon recordings!

[bioluminescentsquid]

My favorite is no one else's I guess:

It's my favorite too! Such a great shame that it's out of print, since it was engineered so well too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shAg4vgpFpA