(Hit the back button on your browser to return to product listing.) Harpsichord News: The Diapason, December, 1999 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. Larry Palmer Reprinted with permission from the J.S. Bach Homepage http://www.jsbach.org Performance: outstanding Recording: excellent The liner notes say this is the first recording of these works on the clavichord. The clavichord differs from the harpsichord in several ways. Rather than plucking the strings, as a harpsichord does, it strikes them and, unlike the harpsichord, is capable of vibrato and dynamic variation. Richard Troeger has given us a treasure. As well as the fact that the clavichord is rarely recorded, this is a delightful and exciting performance of The Partitas. His technique is stunning, it simply took my breath away. His performance is filled with vibrant tempos and flawless articulation. He is a master of this instrument; the sound is surprisingly full-bodied, contradicting my expectation that the clavichord can sound too frail and delicate. The liner notes say "The goal of this recording was to reproduce the effect made by the instrument in the room, as it would (be) heard by a nearby listener." He has achieved his goal and I appreciate the choice. I've heard clavichord recordings where it sounds like they put the microphone literally inside the instrument, thereby picking up extraneous mechanical noise and the musician's breathing, etc. That is not the case here, the sound is excellent. His excellent liner notes provide interesting information about the mysterious clavichord and include photographs. This is the first in a series called BACH ON CLAVICHORD, which will include all of the major clavichord-apt collections of J.S. Bach's clavier music. Vol. 2 will include the 7 Toccatas in their clavichord debut. This is an exciting series and I will be looking forward to each release. The Dallas Morning The clavichord is a notoriously difficult instrument to record. The way Richard Troeger approaches Bach's partitas, it's equally difficult to play. Both those challenges are part of the fun here. This was the usual domestic or practice keyboard instrument of the baroque period. It has a small compass, and it makes quiet sounds. To the extent Bach wrote his clavier music for training and home use, it's the most obvious choice. Yet these pieces have never been recorded on a clavichord before. The instrument's tiny voice contrasts sharply with Mr. Troeger' s rip-roaring approach to these suites. If a pianist attacked them this hard, he'd be criticized for being way out of 18th-century style. But this player's freedom to do so gives them a fresh, masculine aura. Probably nobody would want this as a first recording of the partitas, for all its insights and musicality. It can be irritating to strain to hear the music at the properly low playback level. But anybody who loves the music should hear these performances. They're a revelation - way more fun than any of the complete harpsichord versions. By Lawson Taitte / Staff Writer |