5 favorite Well Tempered Clavier recordings and why

[Mandryka]

Christine Verlet

Blandine maybe. If so the answer is yes and it's on youtube.

[San Antone]

Blandine maybe. If so the answer is yes and it's on youtube.

Oops.  Too many harpsichordists this morning over-taxed my 67 year old brain.   

Thanks.

[Ken B]

Which Walcha version lives in this compilation?

[asin] B071LRS4YS[/asin]

If it's Warner it's the EMI, which is 1961 on a steel frame harpsichord slightly larger than the Lusitania, with the mic so close they had to use an electron microscope.

[Ken B]

Oops.  Too many harpsichordists this morning over-taxed my 67 year old brain.   

Thanks.

Complain to your senator. Direct taxation is unconstitutional.

[SimonNZ]

Walcha 2 can also be found as these:



I'm actually a big fan of Walcha 1 and don't think it should be dismissed outright.

[Moonfish]

If it's Warner it's the EMI, which is 1961 on a steel frame harpsichord slightly larger than the Lusitania, with the mic so close they had to use an electron microscope.

[Moonfish]

If it's Warner it's the EMI, which is 1961 on a steel frame harpsichord slightly larger than the Lusitania, with the mic so close they had to use an electron microscope.

The 1961 EMI recording. Even if the harpsichord is of revival type, the interpretations are certainly special and listenable. E.g. you get in this box a high voltage interpretation of the partitas, the English suites and much else.

The first one of course. This is the second one, it's on spotify

Thanks for clarifying!

[Jo498]

I never heart the later Walcha but while I am not a fan of the harpsichord in the 1961 recordings I find them perfectly listenable. And Walcha is special, especially in the more "severe" music, i.e. a lot of WTC or 5+6th English suites, 6th partita etc., less convincing in stuff like the French suites and the Italian concerto.

[Ken B]

I never heart the later Walcha but while I am not a fan of the harpsichord in the 1961 recordings I find them perfectly listenable. And Walcha is special, especially in the more "severe" music, i.e. a lot of WTC or 5+6th English suites, 6th partita etc., less convincing in stuff like the French suites and the Italian concerto.

I find that recording unlistenable but I quite agree with your comments about Walcha in general.

[prémont]

I find that recording unlistenable but I quite agree with your comments about Walcha in general.

Some of the problem with the sound is without doubt caused by the very close miking. I think, the engineer Eric Thienhaus had some ideas about minimizing the ambience in this way. He did the same with Walcha's organ recordings from Cappel, where the ambience likewise is kept to a minimum.

[Jo498]

I apparently became more tolerant to un-HIP harpsichords. When I first encountered Gould's Handel suites on a harpsichord (he had borrowed for this recording) I was appalled. I though it was one of the worst sounding things I had ever heard, it's also very directly recorded, extraneous noises and overall unpleasant sound.
Nowadays I occasionally listen to that disc, even on headphones. As for the Walcha, I might not always listen to a whole disc in one setting, but overall I was also surprised that I found it far more listenable than expected. (I think my two favorite discs with a "wrong" harpsichord as far as the sound goes, are Anton Heiller's Rameau and Couperin anthologies on Vanguard.)

[Mandryka]

According to Coppey and Kunz's hagiography of Walcha, he had a special liking for the fugues in WTC 2, when he retired he used to play them slowly as a spiritual aid, he wanted to achieve a mental state he called "contemplation" and he found the WTC2 fugues a great help apparently.

[staxomega]

I am curious what people think of Leonhardt's DHM recording, some critics regard it as one of the finest, but I find it a bit tonally grey and lacking in vertical momentum.

[Mandryka]

I am curious what people think of Leonhardt's DHM recording, some critics regard it as one of the finest, but I find it a bit tonally grey and lacking in vertical momentum.

When this thread started I listened to that recording, Bk 2. It is a great favourite of mine. I have a very good transfer, a Japanese transfer, and it is not grey, on the contrary, it makes other WTCs sound grey! What I like about it is that he pulls off a trick which Leonhardt excelled at, maybe more than anyone else before or since -- he is poignantly expressive, full of humanity. And yet the interpretation remains poised. This impression of self-abandon, abandoning the ego,  makes it sound like music which represents the human condition at its most universal and most profound, rather than a reflection of the arbitrary states of mind that the performer happens to find himself when he was playing.

I don't know what you mean by vertical momentum. Do you mean the sense of life and drama and tension and release which comes from the way that the voices respond to each other? Leonhardt's sense of counterpoint is more coherent than elastic, but each prelude and each fugue is nonetheless brimming over with inner life. There are, of course, other approaches to counterpoint, no less valid, and no more valid either.

Technically as well, Leonhardt is astonishing -- the variety of timbre, attack etc.   And the sound quality on my transfer is state of the art by today's standards.

I don't know his Bk 1 well enough to comment.

[staxomega]

When this thread started I listened to that recording, Bk 2. It is a great favourite of mine. I have a very good transfer, a Japanese transfer, and it is not grey, on the contrary, it makes other WTCs sound grey! What I like about it is that he pulls off a trick which Leonhardt excelled at, maybe more than anyone else before or since -- he is poignantly expressive, full of humanity. And yet the interpretation remains poised. This impression of self-abandon, abandoning the ego,  makes it sound like music which represents the human condition at its most universal and most profound, rather than a reflection of the arbitrary states of mind that the performer happens to find himself when he was playing.

I don't know what you mean by vertical momentum. Do you mean the sense of life and drama and tension and release which comes from the way that the voices respond to each other? Leonhardt's sense of counterpoint is more coherent than elastic, but each prelude and each fugue is nonetheless brimming over with inner life. There are, of course, other approaches to counterpoint, no less valid, and no more valid either.

Technically as well, Leonhardt is astonishing -- the variety of timbre, attack etc.   And the sound quality on my transfer is state of the art by today's standards.

I don't know his Bk 1 well enough to comment.

I will give it another listen, Ottavio Dantone was in my heavy rotation at the time, and his playing was quite colorful, had the propulsive drive, with lots of rubato and generous ornamentation. Not something I listen to in more than a handful of preludes and fugues these days.

I didn't have any issues on the sound quality of the rip I was listening to, guessing it was a standard release from the 90s.

[André]

I am curious what people think of Leonhardt's DHM recording, some critics regard it as one of the finest, but I find it a bit tonally grey and lacking in vertical momentum.

Yes. Unluminous sound, his tonal palette is clouded by overcast skies.

[Mandryka]

I will give it another listen, Ottavio Dantone was in my heavy rotation at the time, and his playing was quite colorful, had the propulsive drive, with lots of rubato and generous ornamentation. Not something I listen to in more than a handful of preludes and fugues these days.

I didn't have any issues on the sound quality of the rip I was listening to, guessing it was a standard release from the 90s.

Do you know what type of harpsichord Dantone is playing, is it Italian? I think Leonhardt gets a more colourful, varied and sensual sound out of his, though Dantone's sound is more muscular and bright. The embellishments are obvious, the question I have is are they effective? What is he trying to achieve with the hesitations etc? Are they supposed to be expressive? To me they sound random and intrusive (I have a similar problem with Jaroslav Tuma's WTC, which I want to like more!)

I'm only talking about Bk 2, by the way.

The issue with sound engineering in the Leonhardt is mostly in Bk 2, where the sound is not as good as the Japanese SACD, for me the SACD revealed Leonhardt's technique, the way he had mastered controlling timbre and attack by the time of this recording.

[milk]

 

Do you know what type of harpsichord Dantone is playing, is it Italian? I think Leonhardt gets a more colourful, varied and sensual sound out of his, though Dantone's sound is more muscular and bright. The embellishments are obvious, the question I have is are they effective? What is he trying to achieve with the hesitations etc? Are they supposed to be expressive? To me they sound random and intrusive (I have a similar problem with Jaroslav Tuma's WTC, which I want to like more!)

I'm only talking about Bk 2, by the way.

The issue with sound engineering in the Leonhardt is mostly in Bk 2, where the sound is not as good as the Japanese SACD, for me the SACD revealed Leonhardt's technique, the way he had mastered controlling timbre and attack by the time of this recording.

How do you feel about Watchorn? I try and try with that one. I'm looking for a reason to try again. Also, have you listened to Pienaar? I think he's really good. One more: have you delved into Suzuki? Suzuki really hits me as someone always in control of his message.

[Mandryka]

How do you feel about Watchorn? I try and try with that one. I'm looking for a reason to try again. Also, have you listened to Pienaar? I think he's really good. One more: have you delved into Suzuki? Suzuki really hits me as someone always in control of his message.

Of those the only one which has meant anything to me is Suzuki, which I remember thinking was outstanding. I last heard it about two years ago or more.

[Ken B]

How do you feel about Watchorn? I try and try with that one. I'm looking for a reason to try again. Also, have you listened to Pienaar? I think he's really good. One more: have you delved into Suzuki? Suzuki really hits me as someone always in control of his message.

I have the same reaction to Watchorn.
I have not heard all of Suzuki, but what I have heard impresses.