MUSICAL MUSINGS

My only quibble is that a recording cannot quite convey the subtleness, delicacy and sheer quietness of the clavichord sound, especially if you are tempted to turn up the volume. My tip – don’t! If anything, try turning it down for a more authentic experience. Even better, see whether you can find a clavichord to try for yourself and experience how it might sound in a small intimate space. You just might find the colours and touch control, and its sheer quietness, quite beguiling, and revelatory of the music in a different way. The clavichord did indeed offer more expressive possibilities than the harpsichord, including subtle volume control and even a subtle vibrato, all achieved through touch. It could even sustain notes a little, unlike the plucked action of the harpsichord. Which are all reasons why it was Bach’s favourite keyboard instrument. For most of us it could never replace the piano and all its possibilities, but it could certainly complement it.

It is said that part of the genius of Bach’s music is that it adapts well when transposed to all sorts of instruments and instrument combinations, both old and new. Bach is satisfying to listen to, also on what one could call a ‘mathematical’ level, and possibly even more satisfying to play, making it a constant pleasure to discover or rediscover Bach’s music on different instruments. This album helps us on this journey, with the added bonus of what will, for many, be the discovery audiokeyreviews.com of a new instrument with its soundworld.

Irina Kuzminsky

A brief postscript. Having listened to Bach on the clavichord I was in the mood for some meditative music and another recent release (from February 10, 2023) caught my eye, Meditations – Chants & Piano, with Tim Allhoff (piano) and Cantatorium under Fr Robert Mehlhart singing Gregorian chant (Sony Classical 2022). The album appears to try to build on the hugely successful recording from 1993, Officium, a collaboration of jazz saxophonist Jan Garbarek with the Hilliard Ensemble singing Gregorian chant. The timeless haunting quality of the saxophone’s voice weaving in and out of the soberly sparse chant was nothing short of mesmerizing and helped bring the spiritual rigour and beauty of Gregorian chant into the modern world. Meditations – Chants & Piano attempts a similar integration of Gregorian chant and jazz piano but to my ear, the melding is not there, that seamless integration of new and old, enhancing both. Here the elements somehow remain disparate, the piano intruding on the chant. However, it is an interesting concept, and maybe the piano parts on their own would form a fine jazzy meditative album for those who like that kind of sound.

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