Harpsichord News

Earliest known harpsichord recording

The first publication of Wanda Landowska's 1908 Berlin cylinder recordings forms the rarest track of the compact disc included with Martin Elste's new book Milestones of Bach Interpretation [Meilensteine der Bach-Interpretation 1750-2000], (Metzler/ Bärenreiter, 2000). The great 20th-century harpsichordist committed her art to sixteen cylinders at the request of Carl Stumpf, founder of the Berlin Phonogramm-Archiv. The present disc gives us the the contents of two cylinders in a performance of the first movement of Bach's Italian Concerto, BWV 971.

So here we have documentation of the performance which led Albert Schweitzer to write, "Any one who has heard Frau Wanda Landowska play the Italian Concerto on her wonderful Pleyel clavecin finds it hard to understand how it could ever again be played on a modern piano." (Schweitzer: J. S. Bach [English translation by Ernest Newman of the 1908 German edition], v. 2, p. 353).

I wish that I could report great aural delight at hearing this historic issue, but, alas, there is almost as much surface noise as there is music to be heard here. But these near-four-minutes of harpsichordery now take pride of place as the earliest known harpsichord recordings, predating Violet Gordon Woodhouse's 1920 acoustic recordings by twelve and one-half years.

Sixteen additional musical examples serve as aural illustrations for Elste's 421-page traversal of the changing styles in Bach interpretation during the centuries since the composer's death. Schweitzer's own magisterial organ performance of Bach's Fugue in G minor (BWV 578) recorded in London in 1936, contrasts most sharply with Carl Weinrich's stringently no-nonsense contemporaneous reading of the ubiquitous Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565, recorded by Musicraft on the "Praetorius" Organ at Westminster Choir College, Princeton NJ. An absolutely dry and unforgiving acoustical enviroment makes the total accuracy of the playing seem even more astonishing!

Early music pioneer Arnold Dolmetsch's 1932 playing of the Prelude in B-flat minor (Well-Tempered Clavier, I) on the clavichord is splendid music making, complete with a wonderful improvised cadenza. Two contrasting performances of the Siciliano from the Sonata in C minor for Violin and Harpsichord, BWV 1017, showcase the art of Licco Amar and Günther Ramin (1928) and that of Alexander Schneider and Ralph Kirkpatrick (1948).

Among non-keyboard-specific examples, Alfred Cortot leads a Parisian school ensemble in a 1932 performance of the first movement of Brandenburg Concerto II (BWV 1047), treating us to an idiosyncratic lift before the entrance of the concertino, a musical view in sharp contrast to the third movement of the same concerto, led with unremitting staccato articulations, by Otto Klemperer in 1946. This conductor's work, too, is idiosyncratic (and unique) in that he employs soprano saxophone in place of the notated clarino trumpet part. Two recordings of a dramatic excerpt from the Saint Matthew Passion—the recitative describing the rending of the temple veil and and the resurrection of the saints—both employ the same Evangelist (Karl Erb) but show a marked trend toward a less romanticized aesthetic as one compares Willem Mengelberg's April 1939 rendition with the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra to a March 1941 performance conducted by Thomaskantor Günther Ramin with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra.

Elste's book is a fascinating and comprehensive contribution to the story of our changing expectations regarding the performance of earlier music. In the first part of his volume the author traces the development of historical musicology, urtext editions, the growing acceptance of harpsichords and historically-informed organs as musical media for concert performances, and details (in a ten-page, easy-to-read chart) important dates at which various "trend setters" of Bach performance in concerts and on recordings were achieved [beginning in Vienna, 1816, where the Kyrie and Gloria of the B-minor Mass were performed in houseconcerts sponsored by lawyer R. G. Kiesewetter; through such "milestones" as the first recording, in 1927, of movements from a Brandenburg Concerto with harpsichord as the keyboard instrument; and continuing to 1986, Gustav Leonhardt's first recording using a German-inspired harpsichord by William Dowd, based on the instruments of Bach's contemporary, Michael Mietke of Berlin].

In the second part of his study, Elste surveys nine decades of Bach recordings, genre by genre (vocal works, orchestral works, chamber music, works for keyboards), including an admirable number of recordings from this side of the Atlantic: among them The Haydn Society, Musicraft, Allegro, and Columbia, as well as English and German labels, some of which have been available here.

The text is, of course, in German (ISBN numbers: Metzler-Verlag: 3-476-01714-1 or Bärenreiter: 3-7618-1419-4). With its wealth of unusual black and white illustrations, its easily decipherable time lines and charts, and, especially, the fascinating compact disc of historic performances from the Bach repertoire, Martin Elste's book is a must for the connoisseur. And for the slight-of-German, it is still a desirable acquisition. Who knows? Perhaps an English edition might be hoped for in the future.

Features and news items are welcome for these columns. Send them to Dr. Larry Palmer, Division of Music, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75275, or via e-mail:

<[email protected]>.

Mark Stevenson

British harpsichord maker Mark Stevenson died of cancer on July 4, 2000, aged 56. Born in Cambridge in 1943, Stevenson studied art history at St. John's College. By age 30 he was working full-time as a builder of harpsichords. More than 200 of his finely-crafted, historically-inspired instruments are in use in many countries throughout the world.

Bruges 2001

The 38th Early Music Festival in Bruges, Belgium, will include the 13th playing of its well-known harpsichord competition, 1–8 August 2001, as well as a separate competition for fortepianists, 5–8 August. Both events are open to players born after 31 December 1968.  Members of the international jury include Borbala Dobozy, Jesper Christensen, Gustav Leonhardt, Davitt Moroney, Ludger Rèmy, Christophe Rousset, and chairman Johan Huys.

Harpsichord competition repertoire for the first round consists of François Couperin: Prelude 5 from L'Art de toucher le clavecin; J. S. Bach: Sinfonia 12 in A, BWV 798; and Domenico Scarlatti: Sonata in C, K 421 (L 252). Those advancing to the semi-final round will play G. Salvatore: Toccata Prima; Byrd: Fantasia number 46 in D minor; Chambonnières: Pavane L'Entretien des Dieux; J.S. Bach: Prelude and Fugue in B minor, WTC II (BWV 893); and Scarlatti: Sonata in B-flat, K 57 (L 38). Pieces by Rameau (Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, and Les Trois Mains from Nouvelles Suites, 1728) and the Bach Concerto in A, BWV 1055 are on the docket for the final event of the competition.

For application forms or further information, contact the Festival Office, Collaert Mansionstraat 30, B-8000 Brugge; telephone 0032 50/33 22 83; <http://www.musica-antiqua.com&gt;;  email:<[email protected]>.

Bärenreiter Urtexts of Bach Harpsichord Concerti now available

In light of the competition requirements above, it is well to note that the Neue Bach Ausgabe edition of Bach's complete Keyboard Concerti (NBA VII/4) is now available as separate, individual concerti from Bärenreiter-Verlag of Kassel. These scores reflect the scholarship and care expected from the new Bach edition, and the reductions of the string parts for a second keyboard avoid unwanted doublings and inappropriate slurs or other markings. Clean and easy on the eyes, these will doubtless become the editions of choice for most players who learn these concerti. (The Concerto in A, BWV 1055, is BA 5227, priced at DM 24, with string parts also available at DM 6.50 each.)

Recent Issues of Early Music

Early Music for May 2000 contains Andreas Beurmann's rebuttal letter concerning insinuations that his early Iberian harpsichords are not authentic. In the issue for August, Edward Corp's brilliant reconstruction of Couperin's probable early biography is to be found in "François Couperin and the Stuart Court at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, 1691–1712: A New Interpretation."

Bach's Last Cantata

French author Philippe Delelis has written a suspense-filled novel (completely fictitious) concerning the missing cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach. Set in modern-day Paris, the book is replete with references to musical craft and number symbolism, especially that found in The Musical Offering, as well as a goodly number of murders. There are clever connections, as well, to the lives and music of Mozart, Mahler, and Webern. I emphasize (as does the author) that the work is pure fiction, but it is a fascinating read, and an absorbing postscript for this Bach-celebratory year. The recent English translation (by Sue Rose) of Delelis's La Dernière Cantate is available from The Toby Press, London (tobypress.com). ISBN 1 902881 31 1 (Paperback).

News items and features for these columns are welcome. Address them to Dr. Larry Palmer, Division of Music, Meadows School of the Arts, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75275. Email: <[email protected]>.

Status Report on London's Handel House Museum

Director Jacqueline Riding reports in the latest Museum Newsletter that the interiors of both numbers 25 and 23 Brook Street have been transformed. Ceilings have been plastered on both the first and second floors of number 25. Panelling, based on profiles from the adjoining houses, is almost complete in the bedroom and parlor. Floorboards have been laid on the first floor.

Meanwhile, fabric has been ordered for the bed, curtains and window cushions in the Handel rooms. The design has been completed for the upholstery of a full tester bed, 8 feet 7 inches high, dressed in crimson harrateen with silk trimmings. A paint analysis has yielded some surprising results, bringing the project ever closer to recreating interiors that Handel might recognize.

£1.5 million are still needed. This sum will fund completion of the refurbishment of the two adjoined properties, help in the development of education and access programs, the acquisition of furnishings, artifacts, prints and drawings, the providing of live music, the design of exhibitions, and the ongoing maintenance and preservation of the Museum. American supporters may contribute through The Handel House Foundation of America, c/o Coudert Brothers, Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10036-7703.

Clavichord Day in Boston

At the Boston Early Music Festival, a concurrent event on Thursday June 14 will be devoted to the clavichord. The Boston Clavichord Society and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, in collaboration with the Festival, present speakers and performers, including Mikko Korhonen (Finland), Darcy Kuronen (Curator, Department of Musical Instruments at the Museum), Howard Schott, Peter Sykes, and Richard Troeger. Instruments to be heard include antique clavichords from the Museum collection and modern instruments by Andrew Lagerquist and Allan Winkler. Events are scheduled from 10:30 till noon and from 1 until 3:30 in Remis Auditorium. Admission is free.

Harpsichord-associated events at BEMF: Byron Schenkman (1999 winner of the Bodky award) will play a harpsichord recital (In the Shadow of the Sun King: French Harpsichord Music from the Time of Thésée) and give a masterclass; Alexander Weimann plays Couperin's Les Folies françaises in a concert titled Tragicomedia in France; and, of course, harpsichords (played by Peter Sykes and Alexander Weimann) will be prominent as the keyboard continuo for the Festival's featured event: the staged performances of Lully's tragedie en musique, Thésée. For information or tickets,

e-mail:

website: .

Here & There

* Jazz harpsichordist Stan Freeman was found dead in his home in Los Angeles on January 13. He was 80 years old. As Time magazine headlined it in 1960, "Come-On-A-Stan's House, He Give You Harpsichord," referring to Freeman's 1951 chart-topping record with Rosemary Clooney, "Come On-A My House" (Columbia Records). Freeman followed Clooney's hit with his own jazz version scored for harpsichord, guitar, bass, and drums (1960).

* Writing in Early Music News (UK) for January 2000, author Robert White made a case for dubbing the 20th century The Harpsichord Century! Harpsichordists Maggie Cole, Malcolm Proud, and Alastair Ross gave a Wigmore Hall (London) concert under that title on December 14, 1999, emulating the special event which had taken place exactly a century earlier when Violet Gordon Woodhouse gave what must have been the earliest "modern" performance of Bach's Concerto in C for three harpsichords in a house concert at 6 Upper Brook Street.

* The very useful one-volume Guide to the Harpsichord by Ann Bond is now available in a paperback edition (Amadeus Press, $17.95; ISBN 1-57467-063-8). There are no changes from the orginial 1997 edition, save for the soft cover (and lower price).

* Harpsichordist and organist Nancy Metzger has a new web site dedicated to promoting historically informed performances of Baroque keyboard literature. Through this site, located at , the viewer may access performance tips under the title "The 7 Wonders of the World of Baroque Music." Also on view are a full description and a sample page from Metzger's book, Harpsichord Technique: A Guide to Expressivity, as well as her current recital calendar. The online order form lists bargain prices for the book, companion cassette, and her compact disc Suites & Treats, packaged with the monograph "What to Listen for in Baroque Music."

* Richard Kingston Harpsichords has a new address: P.O. Box 27, Mooresboro, NC 28114; ph 704/434-0104; emails and

Features and news items are always welcome for these columns.       Please send them to Dr. Larry Palmer, Division of Music, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75275.

Email: [email protected]

When The Diapason published an overview of "Harpsichord and Organ Duos" by Bruce Gustafson and Arthur Lawrence (April, 1974), the authors noted "Unfortunately . . . this ensemble has not yet attracted many 20th-century composers. . ." but they were able to cite four works specifically composed for two harpsichords.

In Harpsichord and Clavichord Music of the 20th Century (Berkeley: Fallen Leaf Press, 1993), author Frances Bedford included 59 compositions in her listing of works for 2-6 harpsichords (of which five were composed specifically for the Gustafson/

Lawrence harpsichord duo). Bedford lists an unpublished Sonata (1948) by Dorothy Dushkin, composed for America's first harpsichord duo, Philip Manuel and Gavin Williamson of Chicago, a reminder that harpsichordists playing concerts together dates back at least to the 1920s.

The earliest recordings of multiple harpsichords are those by Manuel and Williamson, four albums issued by Musicraft Records. There have been other notable examples of this genre since then, including several marvelous excursions into the older repertoire by harpsichordists William Christie and Christophe Rousset (François Couperin: L'Apothéose de Lulli, L'Apothéose de Corelli; and their rousing pairing of Boccherini's six Quartets with his Fandango--both discs recorded by Harmonia Mundi in the 1980s).

Pour 2 Clavecins--Old and New Music for Two Harpsichords is the recent compact disc by duo harpsichordists Vera Kochanowsky and Thomas MacCracken issued on Titanic Records (TI-256). Playing fine two-manual harpsichords by John Phillips (1991, after Ruckers) and Willard Martin (1981, after Blanchet), the artists utilize instruments which are similar enough to blend well but with enough difference to be heard individually.

From the arresting first notes of Bartok's Dance in Bulgarian Rhythm (Mikrokosmos, Book VI) to the exciting conclusion of Peter Planyavsky's Caprice fugée (Quatre pièces pour 2 clavecins, 1978) this CD offers the pleasure of hearing a fresh and unfamiliar repertoire. If one harpsichord and harpsichordist is appealing, two making music together more than doubles that appeal!

First recordings of the Planyavsky work as well as of The Elements (1986), an engrossing 131/2-minute suite by San Francisco composer Léonie Jenkins, make this recording especially valuable. The composer writes, "The five Chinese elements [Earth, Metal, Water, Wood, Fire] form a continuum: from each the next is created, while each created element carries the seeds of destruction of another. The whole represents the universe, stemming from the void [the first movement], and at the end, falling back into the void." Jenkins's musical representations of these elements are strikingly characteristic: slow-moving and static for the void, hammering and repetitive for metal, a flowing 6/8 for water, pyrotechnics (!) for fire.

Three works from the earlier golden age of the harsichord complete a varied program: the Suite in F by Gaspard Le Roux (arranged for two harpsichords as the composer suggested in the preface to his Pièces de Clavessin, 1705); Concerto in D Major by Georg Philipp Telemann (from Six Concerts, 1734, a publication in which the composer offered varied possibilities for performance, although this arrangement for two keyboards is the work of the present performers); and Quintet in D Major (1774, originally for Flute, Oboe, Violin, Viola and Continuo) by Johann Christian Bach, in an arrangement for two keyboard instruments from an only-slightly-later manuscript now found in the Saxon State Library.

The striking cover features harpsichord lids decorated in chinoisserie and modern decor, photographed from above; the booklet offers excellent program notes by the two players; and the playing documents vibrant performances on superb instruments (with appropriate tunings by Barbara Wolf). Highly recommended.

Features and news items are welcome for these columns. Send them to Dr. Larry Palmer, Division of Music, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75275, or via E-mail:<[email protected]>.

Larry Palmer is a contributing editor of THE DIAPASON.

Celebrating the Couperin

Jane Clark and Derek Connon: The mirror of human life: Reflections on François Couperin's Pièces de Clavecin. King's Music, 2002.

School of Politesse: François Couperin Pièces de Clavecin (Ordre 1, pieces 1-6; Ordres 6, 13, 19, and 27 complete, played by Jane Clark, harpsichordist). Janiculum compact disc (JAN D206). Book and recording available in the US ($16.99 each, plus postage) from Rhinebeck Records <rhinebeckrecords@compu serve.com>.

Complete Seventeenth-Century French Unmeasured Preludes, played by Nannette G. Lunde, harpsichordist. Sparrow CD 101 (two compact discs issued in 2002) available from Skyline Publications <www.skylinestudio.com&gt;.

Armand-Louis Couperin: Pièces de Clavecin played by Brigitte Haudebourg. Arcobaleno compact disc AAOC-94352 (issued in 1999) <www.kuysleis.com&gt;.

Indispensable! One word characterizes this new book by Jane Clark and Derek Connon.

The largest part of the paperbound volume (pages 47-109) consists of a catalogue of movements making up the four books of François Couperin's Pièces de clavecin. From ordre to magnificent ordre, Jane Clark shares the most recent discoveries about the composer's often-elusive titles. In her introductory essay "Aspects of the social and cultural background" Clark writes of Couperin's connections to the Bourbon-Condé family, in particular to the music-loving Mlle de Charlolais (later the Duchesse Du Maine), facilitator, at the châteaux of Châtenay and Sceaux, of aristocratic theatrical entertainments, many of which have direct bearing on Couperin's music.

"Aspects of the literary scene" is Derek Connon's compendium concerning the increasingly-conservative French court during Couperin's time, the transvestite Abbé de Choisy, satiric offerings by the imported Italian theatrical troupes and their contrast to the style of the French Theatre, vaudeville, songwriters, the Fair theatres, and the Calotins. Both Clark and Connon note that Couperin had wide-ranging, non-highbrow literary tastes, and a particular interest in uniting Italian and French influences in his music.

In her choice of repertoire for the book's separate-but-complementary compact disc, Jane Clark "attempts to illustrate Couperin's theatrical sense" as it developed through the successive volumes of his Pièces de clavecin. In this traversal she succeeds elegantly, abetted by the properly-French timbres of her Feldberg Whale harpsichord after Jean Goujon.

Nannette G. Lunde's two-disc set comprising all the known 17th-century French unmeasured preludes for harpsichord is also a distinguished addition to the harpsichord discography. Beginning with sixteen "white-note" preludes of Louis Couperin, she continues with the multiple pieces in this style by Nicolas Lebègue, Elisabeth-Claude Jacquet de la Guerre, Jean Henry d'Anglebert, Louis-Nicolas Clérambault, Gaspard Le Roux, and unique examples from the pens of Marchand, Rameau, Siret, and Michel (?) Forqueray. Twenty-nine anonymous preludes from widely-dispersed manuscripts complete this comprehensive project.

Lunde plays with style, conviction, and, above all, musicality in this often problem-plagued repertoire. Her solutions for organizing the improvisatory works are sensible, her artistry subtle, and the sounds from her 1988 Willard Martin harpsichord (after a Blanchet instrument of 1720), appropriate. Tuning in 1/4-comma meantone temperament and her choice of a low "French opera" pitch (A=392) allow these works to sound both pungent and dark-hued.

A suggestion to listeners: approach these discs as you would a large selection of appetizers from a gourmet menu! Too many at one time could lead to aural distress. The preludes were intended to preface dance movements or to test tunings. Use them as introductions to other, more rhythmically-structured works; savor the preludes one or two at a time, thus avoiding an oversdose.

Harpsichordist Brigitte Haudebourg achieved a first prize at the Paris Conservatoire in 1963 (studying with Marcelle Delacour and Robert Veyron-Lacroix). Since then she has pursued a successful career as soloist, continues as artistic director of an international summer festival of baroque art and music in Tarentaise, and has recorded at least fifty compact discs! She gives annual master classes at American universities in Laramie and Houston.

Haudebourg's playing of the (nearly) complete harpsichord works of Armand-Louis Couperin gives much pleasure. (The only solo works omitted from this disc are four pieces comprising "Les Nations"—a somewhat tongue-in-cheek glorification of French music in which the composer saved the best representation for his own country, following less-flattering musical evocations of the English, Italians, and Germans.)

Gems in this collection include the virtuosic Les Cacqueteuses (fowl humor), l'Arlequine (a piece that stands up well in comparison to the work of the same name by Armand-Louis' predecessor François), and the wrenching l'Affligée (with its particularly poignant harmonies in the pathetic key of B-flat minor).

An "edition" by Haudebourg of these pieces for the French publisher Zurfluh consists of the original 1751 publication in facsimile, with slightly more than a page of commentary (in French) containing biographical information plus a few sentences about some of the people referred to in the titles. This same information, complete with English translation, may be found in the notes to the compact disc.

The harpsichord music of Armand-Louis Couperin presents a particularly felicitous choice for playing from facsimile, since most of the pieces utilize the familiar treble and bass clefs of present-day usage. Only three works detour into the alto (C) clef for a few measures (Allemande, Arlequine, and Affligée). For many years I have played from a facsimile issued in Basel, Switzerland by Mark Meadow (under the imprint Musica Musica). Like the readily available and clear facsimile edition published by Broude Brothers Limited in their Performers' Facsimile series (PF41; $17.50), Meadow based his reprint on an original in the Library of Congress, uniquely identifiable by the Couperin signature scrawled at the lower right of the first page of La Victoire, the opening piece in the volume.

To learn more about Mme Victoire, to whom A-L Couperin dedicated his Pièces de clavecin, consult the indispensable book by Clark and Connon! Thus we come full circle in this celebration of France's major musical dynasty.

Send news items or comments about Harpsichord News to Dr. Larry Palmer, Division of Music, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75275        ([email protected]).

Larry Palmer is harpsichord editor of THE DIAPASON.

Discoveries

The discovery of not one or two, but six Spanish 17th-century harpsichords is detailed in Andreas Beurmann's lavishly illustrated article for Early Music (May 1999). Concentrating his instrument-collecting efforts for the past decade on the Iberian peninsula, Beurmann found, and now owns, the six oldest surviving Spanish harpsichords: a double-manual instrument by Fray Raymundo et Fray Antonio, 1624; a double-manual by Fray Pedro Luis de Begaños, 1629; a single-manual by Ludovicus Muñoz, 1644; a double-manual by Fray Bartomeu Angel Risueño, 1664; a single-manual by Domingo de Carvaleda, 1676; and the only known surviving "vis-à-vis" harpsichord (two equal instruments, soundboard nestled to soundboard, in a single rectangular case) by Roque Blasco, 1691. Previously there were no known examples of 17th-century Spanish harpsichords in any collection, so this assemblage is not only unique and astonishing, but enlightening in terms of the sophistication of instrument-making in the Iberian peninsula.

Harvard University musicologist Christoph Wolff maintains his position as the Sherlock Holmes of Bach scholarship with the recent discovery, in the Ukraine, of a collection of manuscripts from the estate of C. P. E. Bach.  An article by Sarah Boxer in The New York Times (August 16) details the involved sleuthing required to uncover this international "who-stole-it." Moved from Berlin to safeguard them from destruction during World War II are several scores by J. S. Bach, unpublished manuscripts by his two elder sons C. P. E. and Wilhelm Friedemann, and a large number of works in manuscript by earlier Bach family members. Authorities in Kiev have agreed orally to let Harvard and the Ukrainian Research Institute microfilm the collection. The ultimate disposition of the originals, property of the Berlin Singakademie, remains uncertain--another hostage to the unstable political situation in the former Soviet Union.

Landowska and the Media

I hope that many of you saw the PBS showings in July of Landowska: Uncommon Visionary, a documentary about the great harpsichordist. Producers Barbara Attie, Janet Goldwater, and Diane Pontius spent several years making this feature, which includes much of John Pfeiffer's 1953 television interview with Landowska, as well as recent comments from her companion Denise Restout; long-time friend, singer Doda Conrad; Pfeiffer; biographers Alice Cash and Larry Palmer; harpsichord maker Willard Martin; harpsichordist Skip Sempé; and others. For the countless devotees of the unforgettable artist, this is a powerful reminder of her unique gifts. For those who know her only through recordings, this film offers an unequalled opportunity to complement the aural experience with a visual one.

And then there was the front cover of The New Yorker (May 31)--"Lost Times Square" by artist Bruce McCall.  A bevy of billboards proclaiming "Escar-to-Go," Rolls Royce, G. B. Shaw Tonite, and right there in the center: "World's Hottest Harpsichordist!! Wanda Landowska." Yet another reminder that, to much of the public she is THE symbol as well as THE sound of the 20th-century harpsichord  revival!

Bach on the Clavichord

For the Bach recording of the month I nominate J. S. Bach: The Six Partitas played on a Ronald Haas clavichord by Richard Troeger (Lyrichord Discs LEMS 8038). The artist, author of Technique and Interpretation on the Harpsichord and Clavichord (Indiana University Press, 1987), plays with conviction and vigor, giving exciting and forward-moving performances of these deservedly-popular keyboard works.  And how well they are served by the dynamic range of the clavichord!  Listen to the rollicking Gigue of the first Partita (B-flat): the melody created by the hand-crossings sings forth, as it rarely does on the harpsichord.  Or sample the rhetorical flair Troeger brings to the sometimes-stodgy Praeambulum of the fifth Partita (G Major).  The confrontation of the loud cadential chords proclaims "No wimpy, retiring instrument here."

Dance movements are both stylish and interesting: Troeger takes all the  repeats, but provides them with tasteful and stylistic ornamentation, often based directly on similar doubles by Bach himself (as in the English Suites, for example). This was precisely the formula suggested by Isolde Ahlgrimm, the fine Viennese harpsichordist and Bach specialist, who suggested jotting down written-out ornamental figurations when they were noted in various Bach works and then using these as sterling models for one's own added ornaments.

The accompanying notes indicate that this is the first recording of the complete Partitas at the clavichord. It is a splendid marriage of music, instrument, and artist.

Features and news items are welcome for these columns.  Send them to Dr. Larry Palmer, Division of Music, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75275, or, via E-mail: <[email protected]