The Not the EMS show ...

[Pegleg]

Taken my eye of the music ball recently, so I thought it might be worth mentioning the series of J.S.Bach recitals which took place at la Cité de la musique this March- http://www.citedelamusiquelive.tv/Se...rale-Bach.html The free to view webcasts are available until March 2015.

Amongst the array of talent at the manuals are: Pierre Hantaï, Rinaldo Alessandrini, Blandine Rannou, Olivier Baumont, Andreas Staier and Céline Frisch.

Various historic harpischords are used (ruckers/taskin/hemsch), but in the subdued lighting they cannot really be seen in their full glory - faded or otherwise. For those who understand these things, it's interesting to see how the instruments are adjusted during the course of the various rectials. (Explanations please)

There are many hours of wonderful music here. I picked Céline Frisch at random and was suitably impressed as she played from entirely from memory.

[MickyD]

Thank you for this, Pegleg...I am currently enjoying Kenneth Weiss' performance on a wonderful Taskin instrument. The recorded sound is very good.

[Pegleg]

I followed your lead and have just gorged myself on the banquet of Kenneth Weiss playing the 24 preludes and fugues of Das wohltemperierte Klavier II. Could that live performance have possibly been recorded for CD?

[MickyD]

I fear not, as it was mainly for France Musique, but I loved it too. I confess I have never heard Weiss play before, he is an artist I would like to hear more.
How wonderful to have the chance to hear those rare old instruments played in concert.

[Pegleg]

I wondered as one of his live performances of the Goldbergs is on disc - http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Satirino/SR091 - there a few extracts on youtube.

And there is this, which I've never seen/heard:

"In 1995 Kenneth Weiss’s recording of the Goldberg Variations (BWV 988) for Empreinte Digitale (distribution Harmonia Mundi) was acclaimed by Répertoire as "an astonishing and one of the most intelligent recordings (of the Golbergs), to be placed next to those of Leonhardt and Verlet"

MD, if you have a chance, I'd appreciate a precise of what Olivier Baumont had to say before starting his recital with the lautenwerk.

[MickyD]

Hello again Pegleg - just had a listen to the interview with Olivier Baumont. He is talking about the lautenwerk 'lute-harpsichord' instrument, which is played in the same manner as a lute or theorbo, not like a harpsichord. Thus the player feels that when he strikes a key, the string is being touched as it would be by a finger and not by a quill...and the resulting sound also hangs in the air as it would with a lute. His choice of music is from a score that was marked 'for lute-harpsichord'...it wasn't actually in Bach's handwriting, but came from an entourage close to Bach, and so Baumont is convinced that this music was conceived especially for this instrument by Bach.

This is a bit of a rough translation, but I think gives you the gist of what was said!

[Pegleg]

Many thanks for that MD. I can't remember hearing a 'lute-harpsichord' before. Whether or not Bach wrote the music especially for this instrument, accoding to this page http://www.baroquemusic.org/barluthp.html "The inventory of Bach's possessions at the time of his death reveals that he owned two such instruments, as well as three harpsichords, one lute and a spinet."

[MickyD]

I seem to remember a programme many years ago on R3 when a modern maker made a reconstructed instrument, very like the one we see on the current video, so I had vaguely heard of it. I must admit that I rather liked the sound, it worked very well. Did you? I have a lot of time for Olivier Baumont, and I particularly like him in French music ...Couperin, Rameau etc.

[Pegleg]

Did I like the sound of the lautenwerck? Very much, and would like to hear more. I have listened to Olivier Baumont on various occasions on R3 talking about the music at Versailles and Couperin le Grand etc. He has always struck me as a real gentleman, extremely knowledgeable and even when speaking in English his love of the music and times is clearly evident. Looking at his website, I'd happily attend all his concerts if I could. I have his "Couperin, F: Complete works for Harpsichord" on Warner Classics. CD1 is spinnng now. I'm off to powder my wig ...

[vinteuil]

Did I like the sound of the lautenwerck? Very much, and would like to hear more. ...

... I have on my shelves -

JS Bach : The complete keyboard trio sonatas performed on two lautenwerke, Shawn Leopard and John Paul, Lyrichord LEMS8045

JS Bach : "Aufs lautenwerck" - Suite in E BWV 1006a, Fugue in g min BWV 1000, Suite in c min BWV 997, Prel, Fugue, & Allegro in Eb BWV 998, Suite in e min BWV 996, Kim Heindel on Dorian DIS 80126

JS Bach Works for Lute-Harpsichord - Prel in c min BWV 999, Prel & Fantasia in c min BWV 921/1121, Prel, Fugue, & Allegro in Eb BWV 998, Suite in e min BWV 996, Fantasia & Fughetta in D BWV 908, Fantasia and Fughetta in Bb BWV 907, Suite in f min BWV 823, Partita in c min BWV 997 ; Robert Hill hänssler bachakademie edn CD 92.109

Certainly worth exploring...

[Pegleg]

Thanks for the recommendations. The Kim Heindel recording I was aware of, mainly because of the extracts that can be found on youtube, e.g. BWV 998, annd there's more inofrmation about the series of Lyrichord recordings here:http://www.bach-cantatas.com/NVP/Paul-J.htm.

I've just got round to rummaging around at http://www.jsbach.org/recommendedinstrumen.html to see what other recordings have been made.

Just found this: 24 mins of Gergely Sárközy, possibly from Hungaroton HCD-31616-17

[Pegleg]

I don't know if people have continued to watch/listen to these Bach keyboard work recitals. Last night I watched Jean-Luc Ho playing on a 1975 Jean Tournay copy of a 1751 Albertus Delin Clavicytherium held in the Musée des Instruments de Musique, Bruxelles. The Clavicytherium was completely new to me. It was an enthralling recital, my highlight was his rendition of BWV 825, together with BWV 659 which he played as an encore. Well worth watching.

[MickyD]

I think you will find that there is one of the very oldest existing clavicytheriums in the collection at the Royal Academy of Music, pegleg...I remember seeing it many years ago, though it was in a pretty pitiful state!