Some spring recital programs
George Lucktenberg played the dedication concert for the Philip Tyre double harpsichord at Kamehameha Schools, Honolulu, HI (March 12, 1999). His program: Passacaille in C, L. Couperin; Suite in A minor, Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre; La Couperin, La Régente, La Leclair, La Sylva, and La Mandoline, Forqueray; La Felix, La Cazamajor, La Forqueray, Medée, Duphly; Sonata in E, BWV 1016, for violin and harpsichord, and "Brandenburg" Concerto 5, J. S. Bach.
Ian Pritchard, Senior Recital, Warner Concert Hall, Oberlin Conservatory (April 3, 1999): Toccata, Picchi; Capriccio sopra Il Cucho, Toccata Nona [1637], Frescobaldi; Suite XIX in C minor and Tombeau Blancrocher, Froberger; On the Cut [1999], Manu Vimalassery; Ubik [1997], David Pritchard; Concerto in D minor, BWV 1052, J. S. Bach.
Larry Palmer, presented by Dallas Goethe Center at the Episcopal Church of the Incarnation (April 9, 1999), playing his Franco-Flemish double harpsichord by Richard Kingston. Preludes and Fugues in D, BWV 874, and B-flat, BWV 890, J. S. Bach; Seven Innocent Dances [1996], Rudy Davenport; La Couperin, F. Couperin; La Rameau, J-P Rameau; Passacaille in G minor, Georg Muffat; Menuet (Thérèse), Massenet; Dance, Delius; Gavotte from Capriccio, Richard Strauss; Concerto in D Major, BWV 972, Vivaldi-Bach.
Harpsichord Technique: A Guide to Expressivity
When Nancy Metzger's harpsichord method was published in 1989 it quickly became the tutor of choice for many of us who attempt to instruct "other" keyboardists in the subtleties of the harpsichord. It is a pleasure to report that the second edition of this fine instruction book is even better than the first! At exactly the same number of pages, it has, nonetheless, a completely different, easier-to-read type, frequent revisions of the text to aid in clarifying various matters, and a much-reduced complement of pieces to play (three, as opposed to eleven in the first edition).
To compensate for the smaller number of harpsichord pieces, an added Appendix lists recommended pieces and editions.
The heart of Metzger's method remains the thirty pieces originally published in Méthode ou Receuil de Connaissances elementaires pour le piano forte ou clavecin attributed to J. C. Bach and F. Pasquale Ricci (Paris, 1786). As the author writes, "Because these works blend absolute simplicity with thorough musicality, they are . . . ideal vehicles for the application of the principles presented . . ."
Topics covered in Harpsichord Technique include harpsichord touch (beginning with proper hand position and super-legato), style brisé, articulation, the differentiation of good and bad notes, and an excellent discussion of the elements of rhetorical playing, dance rhythms, and rhythmic alterations such as inequality and variable dotting. As conclusion Metzger offers a chapter concerned with musical expression: "prose and verse in baroque music: in which we beat time at the harpsichord (verse), in which we rhapsodize at the harpsichord (prose), and the stylus phantasticus."
Whether one proceeds from beginning to end of this well-organized method, or picks and chooses from the pedagogically-sound examples, Nancy Metzger's book will aid immensely in the journey toward artistic expression at the harpsichord. Published by Musica Dulce, orders may be addressed to 6827 Coachlite Way, Sacramento CA 95831. Information is available via email from [email protected]
Features and news items, as well as suggestions for topics to be featured in these columns, are welcome. Address them to Dr. Larry Palmer, Division of Music, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75275 or, via email, [email protected]
