Bach performed on the intended instruments.

Bach performed on the intended instruments.

In the recent Goldberg thread the issue of playing Bach’s Harpsichord music on the Piano was discussed.

It is a mistaken notion to think that simply transferring the performance of music designed to be effective on the harpsichord with its particular sound world, and constraints, to the piano, which has a completely different sound world, and set of characteristics will not lead to a transformation of the resulting performance. This may well have a significant effect on the perceived emotional thrust.

Several clear examples of this transformation can be found when considering various Preludes and Fugues from Book One of the Well Tempered Clavier. Perhaps the most striking example is the Prelude in E Flat Minor, where the even dynamic of the individual notes of the harpsichord mean that a truly hushed pianissimo is impossible. The music seems tragic, stately, and most of all stoically noble. Two performances that are similar in outer details and yet show a slightly differing emotional effect are the two by Helmut Walcha. In about 1960 on a recording issued by EMI, the result is verging on the defiant, in its response to anguish, while the later DG performance shows a more emotionally tragic response, being just a little slower, and less forward moving in its progress, but still essentially a noble and brave one.

Compare this to one the most famous performances with a piano on records – that by Edwin Fischer, recorded by HMV – which achieves a still quietness that is not part of the harpsichord’s capacity at all. The effect is very different, being very quietly and smoothly played, seemingly slower, though the tempo is not much slower, and produces an effect of almost total resignation in the face of some immense sadness only relieved at the entry of the Fugue. Fischer was one of the great Bach players on the piano, and considering he was pioneering the modern revival of the music at a time when Bach was a great rarity in the concert hall, it is a great pleasure to have the chance to appreciate and enjoy his own response in pioneering modern performance of the music, but it is certain that this is not quite what Bach had in mind when he wrote the music. The harpsichord naturally guides the player to comprehend the basic nobility and strength in the music, and base their very performance on what becomes inevitable and natural when a harpsichord is used. A very slow tempo is impossible because the harpsichord’s shorter sustain would produce a disjointed effect, so a slowest possible tempo is set by the instrument, and it is one which Bach understood and anticipated. Then the clear tone of the harpsichord gives an impression of lucidity and emphasises the brighter thoughts that somehow the sadness can be born.

Another Prelude from Book One which shows how a piano actually cannot work in the same expressive way as a harpsichord is the D Major in some cases. I have two piano recordings and two on the harpsichord [the two from Walcha]. On the piano I have Fischer and Schnabel. Schnabel and Walcha take a very similar tempo here, and the effect is entirely different. The bass-line has the slightly odd tendency to sound like a sort of vamp on a pub piano – believe me once you hear it, it becomes an almost laugh out loud moment! – while Fischer is faster, and still keeps the sense of a swinging beat. Walcha on the harpsichord produces a gentle swing in the bass, which merely underscores the rather joyful writing in the upper voices.

To show balance I can think of two very similar performances – one on harpsichord and one on piano – where the pianist completely produces the emotional effect of a harpsichordist in the music. In the First Partita, Dinu Lipati’s famous EMI recoding not only mirrors Walcha’s harpsichord performance as to tempi very closely but gets similarly lucid and joyful results. It remains true that pianists frequently play the First Partita and leave the rest for very rare performances, while harpsichordists tend to play them all equally frequently. The reason is that by some miracle Bach has written a work that is utterly suitable for the piano in this case!

Really these examples show that performing the music on the piano leads to a quite small or even great degree of transformation of the effect the music has emotionally. Bach knew what he was aiming for, and if we are really interested in seeking out Bach’s musical intentions rather than great playing as an aim in itself, then we will find the greatest clues by listening to performances on the intended instrument.

The issues of staccato and detaché as well as dynamic are well covered in the post linked to here: Link

It would be interesting to consider how much work Bach expends on re-composing music for new instruments, which should silence arguments about the myth that his pragmatism led to him not worrying what instruments were used for his music, and the prime example here is the recasting of Violin Concertos for keyboards where the scoring of the accompaniment is in some case entirely reworked, rhythms and themes completely changed, and the whole key structure adjusted. I think this indicates that for Bach even the key is vital for the expressive effect, and that he felt different keys suited the expressive capacities of different instruments optimally. He was keen to open up the use of all the keys of keyboard instruments in his pioneering of something akin to the modern keyboard tuning used now, even temperament, while he fully understood and utilised how certain keys suited certain moods on strings and winds.

Kindest regards from Fredrik