Bach on the harpsichord, lute-harpsichord, clavichord

[PaulSC]

In the Goldbergs, I particularly enjoy Ottavio Dantone's Italian take.
Caveat: issued on Decca Italy, would be very hard to find - but it is an awesome interpretation IMO.



Q

I would love to hear the Dantone GVs. I admire his WTC recordings and have spotted recommendations for the GVs before (I think Don/Bulldog speaks highly of them). But I'm not prepared to jump through the necessary hoops to track them down from here in the USA right now. Besides, I was just looking at all my GV recordings side-by-side in my iTunes library and realizing I can't conjure up a clear sense of what some of them sound like in my mind, which tells me I should get to know the ones I own better before acquiring more.

[PaulSC]

Thanks for your reply. I appreciate it. I see what you're saying. I kind of lost her from the beginning in the aria. I kept hoping I would find her groove but I never did. However, I'll give it another shot down the road. Perhaps I'll come to appreciate it the way you do after some time. 
Speaking of Van Asperen, I recently downloaded his French Suites. I was blown away by his recording of the French Suites. I just absolutely love it. And his harpsichord sounds divine. I can't say enough about that recording. I wonder if the new Watchorn will match it- I'm waiting for it in the mail.
A question for you and others here: I've seen rave reviews of Benjamin Alard's Partitas. I'm wondering what people think of this recording. My favorite recordings of the partitas are Suzuki's and Leonhardt's. Is Alard in the same Ballpark?

I think it's nice, even, to have a few recordings in our libraries that puzzle us — so we can check in with them every once in a while and see if they make more sense. (However, recordings that repel us, are another matter.)

I'm with you on Van Asperen's French Suites — beautiful playing on a beautiful instrument. I'm late to reply, and several of my favorite recordings of these pieces have been mentioned in the interim. Two that haven't (although they are discussed earlier in this thread) are Wjuniski and Moroney. The former I just spotted among premont's recent purchases, so I'm interested to learn his take on it. The latter is a tad severe but still a rewarding set.

I don't know the Alard Partitas. I'll have to check them out.

Finally, I'm not a huge fan of Watchorn in the French and English Suites. I'm sure he understands the dance elements of this music intellectually, but I find his performances ponderous and lacking in momentum. His WTC and Inventions/Sinfonias work better for me; they have the same "heavy" quality, but for the most part it serves this repertoire better. Anyway, I know his recordings of the French Suites have admirers, and I hope you find them enjoyable.

[PaulSC]

Not at all. The sound (style) of the instrument and the way the harpsichordist uses this are important parts of the interpretation.

The tuning, too, can be an important part of the equation.

[prémont]

The tuning, too, can be an important part of the equation.

Certainly. In my wiev the tuning is part of the sound (style) of the instrument.

[PaulSC]

Ah yes, I had confused Antoine's news with yours.

[milk]

BTW, Pascal Dubreuil (Ramée) delivers an excellent rendition of the harpsichord partitas. One of the best that I have listened to in the last time: "sunny", with perfect tempi and outstanding clarity. I recall that Premont defined this interpretation as "easygoing"; that said, I think some people could find this interpretation a bit lack of gravitas.

The sound quality is just perfect.

Thanks for these clips. I'm going to look into Dubreuil.

[Bulldog]

I would love to hear the Dantone GVs. I admire his WTC recordings and have spotted recommendations for the GVs before (I think Don/Bulldog speaks highly of them). But I'm not prepared to jump through the necessary hoops to track them down from here in the USA right now.

I was lucky to find the Dantone when on vacation in Rome 3 years ago.

[Bulldog]

I have owned all of Hewitt's Bach keyboard works for a number of years now - individual sets, not the big box.  IMO, she is one of the best interpreters of Bach keyboard works of her generation. 

I'd say Hewitt's Bach recordings are pretty good, but far from being among the best on piano. 

[prémont]

I was lucky to find the Dantone when on vacation in Rome 3 years ago.

I got it from Amazon a couple of years ago, I think it was Amazon.fr

[Bulldog]

I got it from Amazon a couple of years ago, I think it was Amazon.fr

It is a shame that the Dantone hasn't been available in the U.S.  But we do get a huge dose of Hewitt, Ashkenazy and Barenboim.

[prémont]

It is a shame that the Dantone hasn't been available in the U.S.  But we do get a huge dose of Hewitt, Ashkenazy and Barenboim.

These are also readily available on my side of the Pond, they seem to be ubiquitous.

[Karl Henning]

I've come to enjoy my Bach a little jangly.

[milk]

I'd say Hewitt's Bach recordings are pretty good, but far from being among the best on piano.

I don't often listen to Bach on the piano anymore but I do feel lucky enough to have caught Hewitt playing the Goldberg variations
in Sienna while on vacation. She happened to be performing there so I waited online for standing-room seats. I don't remember much about it
except that her variation 25 was searching and moving.
Here in Japan, I'll get to see a young harpsichordist performing Bach selections next month. It'll be my first solo harpsichord concert!

[Opus106]

I don't often listen to Bach on the piano anymore but I do feel lucky enough to have caught Hewitt playing the Goldberg variations
in Sienna while on vacation. She happened to be performing there so I waited online for standing-room seats. I don't remember much about it
except that her variation 25 was searching and moving.

That reminds me of a recording of a recital (Hewitt/GV) I downloaded a couple of years ago perhaps. It was early days (for me) and her use of repeats from the get go sort of bored me, and I never gave it another listen. (The duration was over an hour long. Even taking into account the applause and maybe some commentary, that's quite a long playtime for someone like Hewitt.)

[Mandryka]

I love Leonhardt's 1953 AoF because of the austere simplicity of the style, and the sense of discovery and awe of the music.

AFAIK he made just one other Bach  recording at roughly the same time -- the 1953 Goldberg Variations.

Does it have the same style -- limited ornomentation, rubato etc?  Does it have the same feeling of discovery and wonder? 

[Bulldog]

I love Leonhardt's 1953 AoF because of the austere simplicity of the style, and the sense of discovery and awe of the music.

AFAIK he made just one other Bach  recording at roughly the same time -- the 1953 Goldberg Variations.

Does it have the same style -- limited ornomentation, rubato etc?  Does it have the same feeling of discovery and wonder? 

Yes to all questions.

[milk]

It's not available yet, I guess we have to be patient.

I love the new Rannou Goldberg Variations. Sure, they're outrageous in the degree of ornamentation/improvisation she brings to them. But I think she has the vision and the technique to pull it off. The rhythmic feel is very "French", but that's true of other recordings I enjoy, including Van Asperen and Booth. At this point, I own enough "middle-of-the-road" recordings that I'm happy to find performers who can balance a respect for the text with a sense of adventure and spontaneity.

Well, tonight I listened to the Rannou again and I have to admit I had a pretty wonderful time. I think I really had to do some mental adjustment for this recording.
I wonder, do you think this is the most radical rendering of the Goldbergs on harpsichord, or are there others that go this far with ornamentation? I remember reading somewhere that Joseph Payne has a recording that's pretty radical...
Well, I'm glad I didn't give up on it.

[Kontrapunctus]

I just bought this for $34 on Amazon...down from $84! Not bad for 2 discs.

[Karl Henning]

$84 for two discs was an atrocity, though : )

[Kontrapunctus]

I just bought this for $34 on Amazon...down from $84! Not bad for 2 discs.

Now that he has retired, I'm even happier to have acquired this recording. Well, once it shows up...