Bach on the harpsichord, lute-harpsichord, clavichord

[Mandryka]

I love the sound of this cembalo. I wonder what this is. Sounds retro and octave-ish. Any other players playing this or similar instrument?

It's a Neupert. Check Karl Richter. And Gustav Leonhardt (Art of Fugue and Frescobaldi on Vanguard). And Huguet Dreyfus. And Edith Picht-Axenfeld. And Ralph Kirkpatrick. And Fritz Neumeyer.

[prémont]

It's a Neupert. Check Karl Richter. And  Leonhardt (Art of Fugue and Frescobaldi on Vanguard). And Huguet Dreyfus. And Ralph Kirkpatrick. And Fritz Neumeyer. And Luciano Sgrizzi.

@Dry Brett Cavanaugh,
Zuzana Růžičková's Bach harpsichord integral is played on a variety of revival harpsichords - and two PI instruments for the last volumes. I once found a list on the web about this, but I can't find it now. The most often used instruments were an Ammer two manual instrument (e.g. for WTC) and a Neupert also two manual instrument - the so called Bach model. Both these harpsichords had metal frame and steel strings. I don't recall which instrument precisely she used for BWV 906 but it may well have been the Neupert.

In the 1950es and 1960es as well as all recording harpsichord artists - with a few exceptions - used these revival instruments (the Neupert probably the best represented), so the recordings are not difficult to find.

Walcha used Ammer
Kirkpatrick used Neupert (see also Mandryka's list)
Galling used Sassmann
Malcolm used Goff
Robert Veyron Lacroix used Pleyel

Other than the instrument the engineering has a vital importance for the sound of a harpsichord recording, so if you want well sounding recordings you have to investigate the options and find out which sounds suit you the best.

[prémont]

Well, I found the list:

https://jsebestyen.org/ruzickova/bach.html

The recordings published in the 21 LP edition were also released by ERATO in single and multiple LP editions with the following reference numbers and programs:

ERA 9030-31 (2 LPs) [Well-Tempered Clavier Book I (BWV 846-69)]
Recorded circa 1969, Prague. Ammer harpsichord.

ERA 9032-33 (2 LPs) [Well-Tempered Clavier Book II (BWV 870-93)]
Recorded circa 1969, Prague. Ammer harpsichord.

ERA 9034 [Goldberg Variations (BWV 988)]
Recorded 30 November 1970 at Salle Adyar, Paris. Neupert harpsichord.

ERA 9035 [Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue (BWV 903), Fantasia in C minor (BWV 906), Toccata in C minor (BWV 911), Italian Concerto (BWV 971)]
Re-issue of ERATO STE 50295.
Recorded 18-20 October 1965 at Studio Hoche, Paris. Neupert harpsichord.

ERA 9036-37 (2 LPs) [French Suites (BWV 812-17)]
Recorded circa 1967, Paris. Neupert harpsichord.

ERA 9038 [Inventions and Sinfonias (BWV 772-801)]
Recorded in Paris. Neupert harpsichord.

ERA 9039 [Five Concertos after Vivaldi (BWV 972-73, 975-76, 980)]
Re-issue of ERATO STE 50250 (individual release only - not included in the 21 LP edition).
Recorded 15-17 February 1965 at Église Notre-Dame du Liban, Paris. Neupert harpsichord.

ERA 9040-42 (3 LPs) [English Suites (BWV 806-11)]
Recorded 21-24 March 1972 at Église évangélique allemande, Paris. Sperrhake harpsichord.

ERA 9043-45 (3 LPs) [Partitas (BWV 825-30)]
Recorded January-February 1973, Prague. Ammer harpsichord.

ERA 9046-47 (2 LPs) [Toccatas (BWV 910, 912-16), Aria variata alla maniera italiana (BWV 989)]
Recorded May 1973, Prague. Ammer harpsichord.

ERA 9048 [Four Duets (BWV 802-05), French Overture (BWV 831), Capriccio on the Departure of his Most Beloved Brother (BWV 992), Capriccio in Honor of Johann Christoph Bach (BWV 993)]
Recorded 1-3 October 1973 (or possibly May 1973), Prague. Ammer harpsichord.

ERA 9049 [Three Minuets (BWV 841-43), Scherzo in D minor (BWV 844), Prelude and Fughetta in E minor (BWV 900), Prelude in F major (BWV 901), Preludes in G major (BWV 902, 902a), Preludes (BWV 924-28, 930-31), Preludes (BWV 933-38), Preludes (BWV 939-43), Applicatio in C major (BWV 994), Prelude in C minor (BWV 999)]
Recorded 21-22 September 1973 at Église évangélique allemande, Paris. Hemsch harpsichord (1754).

ERA 9050 [alternate Minuet (BWV 813a), alternate Gavotte (BWV 815a), Suite in A minor (BWV 818a), alternate Sarabande (BWV 818), Suite in E-flat major (BWV 819), alternate Allemande (BWV 819a), Suite in B-flat major (BWV 821), Courante (BWV 840), Prelude (BWV 929)]
Recorded in Paris. Hemsch harpsichord (1761).

ERA 9051 [Prelude and Fugue in A minor (BWV 894), Fugue in A major (BWV 896), Fantasia and Fugue in A minor (BWV 904), Fantasia and Fugue in A minor (BWV 944), Fugue in B-flat major (BWV 955), Fugue in A minor (BWV 958), Fugue in A minor (BWV 959), Fugato in E minor (BWV 962), Sonata in D major (BWV 963)]
Recorded May 1973?, Prague. Ammer harpsichord.

[prémont]

It's a Neupert. Check Karl Richter. And Gustav Leonhardt (Art of Fugue and Frescobaldi on Vanguard). And Huguet Dreyfus. And Edith Picht-Axenfeld. And Ralph Kirkpatrick. And Fritz Neumeyer.

As far as I know most of Huguette Dreyfus' Bach recordings are played on PI instruments or PI copies (Hemsch, Bengaard and Schütze instruments).

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Thank you very much gents! I'm so excited to explore these performers.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

What's the first name of Malcolm?


I like the recording below!

[Mandryka]

George Malcolm.

@Dry Brett Kavanaugh

[Mandryka]

As far as I know most of Huguette Dreyfus' Bach recordings are played on PI instruments or PI copies (Hemsch, Bengaard and Schütze instruments).

Yes, I was thinking of Mikrokosmos.

[prémont]

I like the recording below!

The pieces on this recording are played on a variety of historical instruments, except the concluding Bach piece which is played by Robert Veyron-Lacroix on a modern Neupert revival instrument. Can be read on the back side of the cover.

https://www.discogs.com/release/8903123-Robert-Veyron-Lacroix-Laurence-Boulay-The-Harpsichord-and-Its-History/image/SW1hZ2U6NDAyNDg0MTM=?srsltid=AfmBOorqgk7eF4Lql59o1PhtvjSa4Y03qNyVMnRiJKDovvbxM3Z-1Ugo

[Selig]

When it comes to modern revival instruments, I have a soft spot for Isolde Ahlgrimm's recordings (mainly Ammer), one of Peter Watchorn's teachers...

[prémont]

When it comes to modern revival instruments, I have a soft spot for Isolde Ahlgrimm's recordings (mainly Ammer), one of Peter Watchorn's teachers...

Her Ammer harpsichord wasn't Ammer's standard two manual model, but it was specially produced for her - including the added pedalboard. Maybe I'm biased, but I think it sounds a bit less "revival" than the standard Ammer instruments Walcha and Růžičková used. And the main attraction of her recordings is of course her playing and not the instrument.

However Ahlgrimm's "integral" (Philips early 1950es) is a mixed bag partly because of dated recording technique. I have heard almost all of it (except the GV and the English suites) and the best part of it seems to be the WTC and The AoF - and yes, the passacaglia. Actually I listen to these now and then. It's interesting to compare her first AoF with Leonhardt's first version (for Amadeo). Both recordings were made in Vienna about 1952.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

@prémont (and other friends here), what do you mean by "less revival" ?

[prémont]

@prémont (and other friends here), what do you mean by "less revival" ?

Well, less revival or more period. Ahlgrimm's Ammer has got a better blend of the registers and less of the hard metellic sound revival instruments usually have. I wonder if it had a metal frame at all.