# Modern composers writing for 'ancient' instruments.



## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

Lately I have been listening a lot to Poulenc's Harpsichord Concerto which is a fabulous piece. It is coupled with an Organ Concerto, both very old instruments used for hundreds of years and, in the case of the harpsichord, even fallen out of disuse. 

The Harpsichord being such a light instruments was coupled with a big orchestra, while the heavy sounding organ is accompanied by strings only. I find this a very interesting concept, the composer has intentionally adopted two 'ancient' instruments and put them too work in a modern context, while still aiming to contrast them with their original settings. Occasionally the music sounds extremely Baroque before he smashes it up with some huge chords.

De Falla also has a Harpsichord Concerto, but are there any other modern composers who have contrasted the ancient with the new and possibly drawn new depths out of these instruments in todays musical context?


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

Off the top of my head I can only think of a lesser known soundtrack by Bernard Hermann, _Journey to the Center of the Earth, _ using a serpent ensemble at times. To my ears they just sound horribly out of tune compared with the rest of the orchestra.


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## Lukecash12 (Sep 21, 2009)

Barber, Schnittke, Mosolov, Casella, Britten, Hindemith, and Rautavaara have all written works for the Harpsichord (many of them concertos).


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## Sid James (Feb 7, 2009)

*Frank Martin's* _Petite Symphonie Concertante _ has a prominent part for the harpsichord (thus reversing the Baroque tradition of it merely being a kind of continuo instrument), & the score also includes the piano & harp, along with a string orchestra (or two?). It's a work which combines the atonality of Schoenberg with the more astringent aspects of the Neo-classicism of Stravinsky. One of my favourite works by Martin, definitely - it should be better known...


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## HarpsichordConcerto (Jan 1, 2010)

emiellucifuge said:


> Lately I have been listening a lot to Poulenc's Harpsichord Concerto which is a fabulous piece. It is coupled with an Organ Concerto, both very old instruments used for hundreds of years and, in the case of the harpsichord, even fallen out of disuse.
> 
> The Harpsichord being such a light instruments was coupled with a big orchestra, while the heavy sounding organ is accompanied by strings only. I find this a very interesting concept, the composer has intentionally adopted two 'ancient' instruments and put them too work in a modern context, while still aiming to contrast them with their original settings. Occasionally the music sounds extremely Baroque before he smashes it up with some huge chords.
> 
> De Falla also has a Harpsichord Concerto, but are there any other modern composers who have contrasted the ancient with the new and possibly drawn new depths out of these instruments in todays musical context?


Care to recommend a fine recording of the Poulenc Harpsichord Concerto, please? But I would expect the harpsichord assumed by Poulenc for his concerto would be a larger instrument, pitched differently to a period harpsichord (though still sounding "soft" as a solo instrument with a modern large band).


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

This subject has also been dealt with in the thread "Looking For More 20th Century Harpsichord Concertos". To my knowledge Barber, Britten or Mosolov hasn´t written anything concertante, but Popov has in his chamber symphony, and there is a chamber piece by Hans Krasa - or was it Pavel Haas - as well.


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## Norse (May 10, 2010)

HarpsichordConcerto said:


> But I would expect the harpsichord assumed by Poulenc for his concerto would be a larger instrument, pitched differently to a period harpsichord (though still sounding "soft" as a solo instrument with a modern large band).


I think you're right. The Concert Champêtre (Poulenc's harpsichord concerto) was written for Landowska, and as far as I know she used a large, not particularly "historically correct" harpsichord.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

Bump to an interesting discussion.


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## Aksel (Dec 3, 2010)

Thomas Adés has written a sonata for baroque oboe, horn and harpsichord, entitled Sonata da caccia. I can't say I'm overly familiar with the piece, but it was the first one that came to mind when I read member science's post in that other thread.


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## emiellucifuge (May 26, 2009)

I see that I never replied to HC's request for a good recording.

HC: if you havent yet bought a CD I would recommend to you Dutoit/Rogé with the Orchestre National de France


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## Aksel (Dec 3, 2010)

HarpsichordConcerto said:


> Care to recommend a fine recording of the Poulenc Harpsichord Concerto, please? But I would expect the harpsichord assumed by Poulenc for his concerto would be a larger instrument, pitched differently to a period harpsichord (though still sounding "soft" as a solo instrument with a modern large band).


I have a recording with The BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Martyn Brabbins, and I find it rather good. Haven't really heard any other recordings, though.


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## Rasa (Apr 23, 2009)

Michael Nyman wrote a film score with ancient instruments for Peter Greenaway's "The Draughtman's Contract"


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Gorecki has writen a fascinating short harpsichord concerto that I personally prefer over Poulenc and de Falla.


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## toucan (Sep 27, 2010)

There is a recording of the Poulenc concerto with Wanda Landowska and Stokowski, available on Music & Arts.

Penderecki did a Partita for Harpsichord during his great period, the 1960's that is. In those days Penderecki had a knack for creating new sounds out of old instruments that surpassed Xenakis. And the sounds he produces from the Harpsichord in this piece are reminiscent oof the computer-treated sounds Boulez draws offrom old instruments, in *Repons*.


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## Argus (Oct 16, 2009)

Thread title is misleading. Harpsichord, ancient? I was expecting music for lyres, qins, aulos, drums and really ancient stuff like that. Something like Cage's Three Constructions, Reich's Drumming or Varese's Ionisations are famous examples that could be said to use very old instruments.

Something like this from Raisanen, although using somewhat more modern instruments (recorders and guitar) strives for an ancient feel:






Harry Partch's classical philhellenism also is quite evident in much of his output.


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## arturs86 (Jan 26, 2011)

By the way, Paul Hindemith has a concerto for Viola d'amore.


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

The obscure but very interesting French composer Charles Koechlin (1867-1950) 
wriote a number of works for natural horn,despite the fact that this instrument was no longer in use and that he lived long before the revival of period instruments.
The great Barry Tuckwell has made a recording of them,but I don't remember the label.
Check arkivmusic.com,the best place to look for hard-to-find classical CDs.


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## toucan (Sep 27, 2010)




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## LordBlackudder (Nov 13, 2010)




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## toucan (Sep 27, 2010)

We can like or dislike Poulenc, Hindemith, de Falla, Barber, Britten, Schnittke, Mosolov, Casella, Britten, Koechlin, Rautavaara, Frank Martin, Penderecki, Thomas Ades or Gorecki but at least we cannot deny they are classical composers...


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## Argus (Oct 16, 2009)

toucan said:


> We can like or dislike Poulenc, Hindemith, de Falla, Barber, Britten, Schnittke, Mosolov, Casella, Britten, Koechlin, Rautavaara, Frank Martin, Penderecki, Thomas Ades or Gorecki but at least we cannot deny they are classical composers...


That may be so, but I can definitely deny that some of those are 'modern' composers (most of them are dead) and that they wrote for 'ancient' instruments. (The harpsichord is not an ancient instrument)


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