harpsichord

Issue #44

Last Update March 2, 2006

Arts Harpsichord Treat by Ginny Terrs April 18,2005 The harpsichord is a subtle instrument. Its low volume, lack of dynamics and plangent tone require that both composition and performance accommodate these qualities if the experience of listening to a harpsichord piece is to be rewarding. ARTEK, the early music ensemble dedicated to the art of the early keyboard, performed an evening of harpsichord works to perfection. In a concert titled “Extreme Harpsichords”, performed on April 16 at St. Michael's Church in New York City, Gwendolyn Toth, ARTEK's founding director, her husband Dongsok Shin, and the ARTEK ensemble performed three concertos, a quintet and a cantata, all scored for two harpsichords. It was harpsichord as harpsichord was meant to be heard.

The opening work, J. S. Bach's Concerto in C major for two harpsichords, illustrated the tension between ensemble and harpsichords. The well-rehearsed ensemble played with passion and intensity, while restraining its volume to allow the harpsichords to shine through. The second movement, a slow movement for harpsichords alone, had the peaceful, contemplative feeling that the best harpsichord playing can evoke. The third, fugal, movement was thrilling in composition, and again demonstrated the ensemble's ability to restrain its volume without compromising its intensity.

The second work, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach's Concerto in F major for 2 harpsichords, showed the difference a generation made in keyboard writing. A very pretty work, it was nevertheless less interesting the his father's composition. The first movement dispensed with the almost metronomic keyboard writing that the harpsichord's action favors; the music sounded like it was waiting for the piano to be perfected, and making do with harpsichords in the meantime.

A selection from J. S. Bach's Cantata #51, arranged for two harpsichords, soprano and strings, gave the opportunity for the harpsichords to interact with the human voice, a task for which this instrument is well fitted. Jessica Tranzillo, the soprano, had a warm and pleasing voice. Like all sopranos, she looked a lot more relaxed after nailing the piece's high note than before. Ms. Tranzillo's tonal accuracy and vocal flexibility made her a performer worth hearing and a strong contributor to the evening's perfection.

The second half of the program featured Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's Concerto in F major for two harpsichords. For this piece, the ensemble was supplemented by two natural horns. CPE Bach, though younger than his brother Wilhelm Friedemann, retained more of the baroque harpsichord feeling in this composition. It was a more complex and interesting piece as well.

The final work of the evening was a Boccherini quintet (Quintet in D arranged for two harpsichords and ensemble). An extremely enjoyable piece, its Fandango, complete with castanets (ably played by Danny Mallon) foreshadowed Manuel de Falla by over a hundred years. Originally a guitar piece, its translation to keyboard worked well; after all, the harpsichord is in fact a plucked instrument and is able to create some of the same sonorities.

ARTEK produces a weekly series of free early music concerts in New York, and tours here and abroad frequently. For more information, visit their website: www.artekearlymusic.org