# Harpsichordnaphobia



## Kieran (Aug 24, 2010)

On another thread, I described this as a serious condition of mine: the skeletal sound of the harpsichord keys seriously unravels me. It makes me think of Bela Lugosi and cobwebby dungeons and high-pitched noises that drive the dogs wild chasing bats. Anybody else got an instrument-aversion that brings 'em out in a dose of the trots? 

:devil::tiphat:


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

Well, not really. I can't tolerate the piccolo, but that's because it clashes with my tinnitus. Same deal with the soprano voice instrument, when it ascends toward scream.


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## LordBlackudder (Nov 13, 2010)

reminds me of stately homes and summer time.

the sound makes me happy not dark or horror.


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

LordBlackudder said:


> reminds me of stately homes and summer time.
> 
> the sound makes me happy not dark or horror.


Among other things (I am an admirer of Igor Kipnis), hearing a harpsichord is apt to remind me of Lurch.


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## pendereckiobsessed (Sep 21, 2012)

Organs. Their sound is just....
I don't like the Harpsichord's sound either.. Or high flutes or Piccolo


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## Renaissance (Jul 10, 2012)

Schumann in his later years experienced an intense and absurd fear for all metal instruments. So you are not the first with this "harpsichordophobia" :lol:


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## mamascarlatti (Sep 23, 2009)

I don't mind harpsichords as a continuo intrument, but by itself nonono. I love Scarlatti, but he has to be played on a piano.


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## Norse (May 10, 2010)

Harpsichord for me depends on the particular instrument and how it was recorded. It can be unpleasant, but also nice.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

As a solo instrument, no no thank you no. I have no 'LurchAssociations,' get no literal or pictorial -- good or bad -- when listening to about anything.

It is, as a highly accomplished musician friend calls the timbre, the very "plinkety-plonk" of it that just does not sit well in my ears. Ditto electric guitar, Banjo, and Sitar -- even though I love some Indian classical and there is amazing musicianship and repertoire there, for not much more than one number.

Conclusion: I do not personally care for the timbre of drawn metal threads on musical instruments (unaccompanied, that is.) 
Plinkety-plonk; twang twang twang.


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## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

Too much brass in Symphonies I don't care for. And the Harpsichord is awesome. So is the Organ. Love the Baroque Instrumentation.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

Spellbinding


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Probably everybody's heard this, but Beecham said: "The sound of a harpsichord: two skeletons copulating on a tin roof in a thunderstorm."


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## Kieran (Aug 24, 2010)

KenOC said:


> Probably everybody's heard this, but Beecham said: "The sound of a harpsichord: two skeletons copulating on a tin roof in a thunderstorm."


Exactly! It's the sound of the past rattling desperately to stay alive. I much prefer the old Joanna, and this presents me with a predicament now that I'm trying to get into Bach. His harpsichord work just sounds so _pre_-music (I know, serious credibility issue now :tiphat: )...


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## Kieran (Aug 24, 2010)

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> Spellbinding


Far be it from me to criticise Ligeti (very far, as it happens), but doesn't this sound a little like a burglar broke in and had about five seconds to hit every key on the harpsichord - at least twice?


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## Ondine (Aug 24, 2012)

Kieran said:


> On another thread, I described this as a serious condition of mine: the skeletal sound of the harpsichord keys seriously unravels me. It makes me think of Bela Lugosi and cobwebby dungeons and high-pitched noises that drive the dogs wild chasing bats. Anybody else got an instrument-aversion that brings 'em out in a dose of the trots?
> 
> :devil::tiphat:


Trumpets... gosh! provokes me migraine; a sad condition I have had since childhood. And really I dislike them very much.


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## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

So you don't like Telemann's (or Torelli's) Trumpet Concertos?


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

As mentioned by a previous poster things like high flutes and piccolo can also bother my tinnitus at times, though I don't actually dislike the sound of them. I generally like the sound of all instruments, and I genuinely LOVE the sound of a harpsichord (solo or not). Its a refreshing, and invigorating sound to my ears.


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Kieran said:


> Far be it from me to criticise Ligeti (very far, as it happens), but doesn't this sound a little like a burglar broke in and had about five seconds to hit every key on the harpsichord - at least twice?


A burglar with some pretty virtuosic keyboarding skills!


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Lutes and tin whistles. God knows what it would do to me if ever I heard a piece of music where both were featured together but I bet there must be at least one example of a ghastly Medieval/Celtic/World/New Age crossover/hybrid thingy somewhere. 

p.s. - that is neither a challenge nor an invitation to reply with a youtube link....


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## Ondine (Aug 24, 2012)

neoshredder said:


> So you don't like Telemann's (or Torelli's) Trumpet Concertos?


Mmmm... I have not heard them but I think they have a chance being Baroque. But for example... the use of them by Beethoven and others after him are not really enjoyable for me.


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## Kieran (Aug 24, 2010)

Ondine said:


> Trumpets... gosh! provokes me migraine; a sad condition I have had since childhood. And really I dislike them very much.


Yes, I looked this one up, it's called _parposis_...


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## drpraetorus (Aug 9, 2012)

Guy Lombardos bleating saxophones


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## Webernite (Sep 4, 2010)

Harpsichords vary a lot. Pre-HIP harpsichords remind me of Lurch more than the kind used today.


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

I love the harpsichord,what's the matter with you lot?


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## Webernite (Sep 4, 2010)

It's funny when people who listen to, say, Xenakis or Carter, complain that the harpsichord sounds too abrasive.


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## Kieran (Aug 24, 2010)

moody said:


> I love the harpsichord,what's the matter with you lot?


Let's face it, if the harpsichord was such a great instrument, we'd have no pianos, ya know what I mean? :tiphat:


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

Kieran said:


> Let's face it, if the harpsichord was such a great instrument, we'd have no pianos, ya know what I mean? :tiphat:


One of the piano's principle jobs during the 50 years after ~1790 was to accompany the human voice. It is much better at that than the harpsichord. The European middle class ensured its success.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

I haven't a problem with the harpsichord at all - in fact, I prefer it to the piano in Bach's WTC and I certainly like it as much as the piano in the GVs and I'm sure I'll like it in the AoF when I eventually get around to buying another recording.


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## Tero (Jun 2, 2012)

To get used to harpsichord, listen to some cello or gamba sonatas with harpsichord. It fills in the harmony nicely.

Vivaldi, Handel and Bach all have these works.


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

The harpsichord is a very evocative instrument if used in a cinematic context. Witness *Jerry Goldsmith's* _Back There_ from the original T*wilight Zone* TV series. Creepy cobwebs, like discovering some old, forgotten, horrible secret in a dusty attic. The harpsichord, as it is used here, seems to evoke the bright "moment of realization." It's just loaded with meaning, isn't it?


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## Morgante (Jul 26, 2012)

Harpsichord is Johann Sebastian Bach.


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## StevenOBrien (Jun 27, 2011)

I was pretty much forced to learn to play the trumpet as a child, and it always made my lips hurt immensely from the vibrations, so I retain a certain dislike for it.



Morgante said:


> Harpsichord is Johann Sebastian Bach.


Ugh. I personally can't listen to Bach's solo keyboard works being played on a harpsichord. On a piano or clavichord though, they're absolutely sublime.


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## Lunasong (Mar 15, 2011)

Our church has a bell choir and something about the ringing bells really bothers my ears. But I enjoy watching them play.


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## moody (Nov 5, 2011)

Kieran said:


> Let's face it, if the harpsichord was such a great instrument, we'd have no pianos, ya know what I mean? :tiphat:


But a lot of music was written for the harpsichord by Soler,Scarlatti,etc. and it sounds best on that instrument and not the piano.


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## Arsakes (Feb 20, 2012)

Harpsichord is love :angel:


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## neoshredder (Nov 7, 2011)

How about a electric guitar sonata with Harpsichord.  Best of both worlds.


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## Guest (May 11, 2013)

Kieran said:


> On another thread, I described this as a serious condition of mine: the skeletal sound of the harpsichord keys seriously unravels me. It makes me think of Bela Lugosi and cobwebby dungeons and high-pitched noises that drive the dogs wild chasing bats. Anybody else got an instrument-aversion that brings 'em out in a dose of the trots?
> 
> :devil::tiphat:


LMAO!!! We think alike Kieran.


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## GodNickSatan (Feb 28, 2013)

I've struggled to listen to Jazz for a long time and I realised it's because I don't like the sound of solo trumpet that much.


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## millionrainbows (Jun 23, 2012)

Kieran said:


> On another thread, I described this as a serious condition of mine: the skeletal sound of the harpsichord keys seriously unravels me. It makes me think of Bela Lugosi and cobwebby dungeons and high-pitched noises that drive the dogs wild chasing bats. Anybody else got an instrument-aversion that brings 'em out in a dose of the trots?


Here is a prime example of the harpsichord's evocative nature, as used in Jerry Goldsmith's _Back There_ from _The Twilight Zone_ television series. The best harpsichord part comes in around 3:25.

To me, the "cobweb" atmosphere is like a disturbing old memory in the dusty attic of one's mind, which was shut away and forgotten years ago. Suddenly, the cobwebs are lifted, and the disturbing realization comes to light...


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## Ukko (Jun 4, 2010)

*Blandine Verlet*. Can't get to the other harpsichord thread right now; Here on YouTube is Verlet playing Handel. Fairly enchanting.


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## Karabiner (Apr 1, 2013)

I love the sound of the harpsichord, I think it's my favourite instrument. 




Harpsichord sounds differ greatly between different regional styles, the German Staier plays on this recording sounds wonderful.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

neoshredder said:


> How about a electric guitar sonata with Harpsichord.  Best of both worlds.


Beat me to it, at least the part of my having an aversion to the electric guitar even greater than that of my aversion to the Harpsichord....


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Morgante said:


> Harpsichord is Johann Sebastian Bach.


Vrginal / Harpsichord is more than a century of a truckload of keyboard works by hundreds of composers.








and other composers than Bach?


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

I agree with the Scarlatti sonatas sounding quite wonderful and right on the instrument, but add they are each brief in comparison to a Bach Partita.

When Bach named something for Klavier, it was not a specific directive meaning the harpsichord: it generally designated any of the current types of plucked string keyboard instruments, i.e. "plinkety-plonk," in circulation at the time. Bach's most preferred plinkety-plonk keyboard (on record) was the clavichord, not the harpsichord. (The clavichord is so quiet it is just not suitable for projecting sound other than in a smallish and very quiet room.) The Bach harpsichord concerti are shrewdly accompanied by an obbligato string orchestra, which rarely (if ever) do anything but double the harmony, thus adding a body _and a sustain_ of which the harpsichord is incapable. [Footnote, most extended trills in the plinkety-plonk literature are a kind of half-way but workable solution to sustaining a pitch.]

Ralph Kirkpatrick recorded the Goldberg variations _on a clavichord_ and I found that completely listenable, where the best rendering on a harpsichord I find intolerable after several variations have passed by.

I do love these earlier modern chamber / concertante works, though - each with harpsichord and at least a handful of other instruments.
Manuel de Falla ~ _Concerto for Harpsichord, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Violin and Cello_

Poulenc ~ _Concert champêtre,_ for harpsichord and orchestra.





The rather fun and plucky (pun intended)
Bohuslav Martinů ~ _Concerto for Harpsichord and Small Orchestra_





Elliott Carter ~ Sonata for Flute, Oboe, Cello & Harpsichord (1952) 




another performance....









Stravinsky used the Harpsichord as continuo and to accompany recitatives in his opera _The Rake's Progress,_ and the similar sounding texture of the Cembalom in _Renard._
Kurtag has also used the Cembalom as part of a chamber ensemble in some of his songs, with delightful results.

Some later composers have used it, I think, knowing and depending upon our more contemporary perception that it is both a sound from eras past as well as a "Nervy" sound.
Ligeti ~ Continuum, a remarkable technical tour-de-force requiring serious finger independence of the performer, multiple simultaneous tuplet groupings as repeated notes demanded within each of the two hands. _It also lasts all of under four minutes._





Another extreme, now a somewhat famous milestone piece: 
John Cage ~HPSCHD (1969), a collaborative work for 7 harpsichords, magnetic tape and video. (the two top comments on the link say a lot, rather delightful 









Gorecki's Concerto for Harpsichord, in that East-European manner of 'minimalist,' seems to rely on the audience both being harkened back in time while still the music and the timbre of the instrument still sound very 'nervy,' the first half especially so, the second also while being onlyh a hair less pitched to angst. To my ears, the entire piece has a very manic-sounding quality.









The legacy of Wanda Landowska so aggressively being a pioneer in bringing the Harpsichord back into circulation, and her commissioning of many contemporary works (The De Falla, The Poulenc, and many others) should be acknowledged.

Add: Major oversight omission:
Elliott Carter ~ the Double Concerto for harpsichord, piano and two chamber orchestras.
(Here, link 1 of 3)


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Karabiner said:


> I love the sound of the harpsichord, I think it's my favourite instrument.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Sorry, it is still a harpsichord


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

I rather like the somewhat clinical tone of the harpsichord. It seems to me well suited to some kinds of music. It can get a bit grating if you listen to a whole CD of it, but that is perhaps true of many instruments.

Like others here, I quickly develop a headache and a squint when listening to shrill sounds like piccolos or, heaven help us, screeching sopranos. Such sounds have their place, but please, preferably not as extended solos. I also don't like the trumpet as solo instrument. 

As for the electric guitar: "The exhilaration (of the electric guitar) comes largely from the fact that at the flick of a knob you can positively drown out any other colleague that happens to be playing with you, not the most musical or charming sentiments, but exciting none the less. As for the sound - musical sound - I frankly find that to be the most boring, lifeless, phoney, vulgar noise that could have ever been contrived by humankind on this planet."

--Julian Bream

To add to the list of harpsichord concerti: Philip Glass wrote a very charming one; it is available on YouTube somewhere.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

millionrainbows said:


> Here is a prime example of the harpsichord's evocative nature, as used in Jerry Goldsmith's _Back There_ from _The Twilight Zone_ television series. The best harpsichord part comes in around 3:25.
> 
> To me, the "cobweb" atmosphere is like a disturbing old memory in the dusty attic of one's mind, which was shut away and forgotten years ago. Suddenly, the cobwebs are lifted, and the disturbing realization comes to light...


You'd require a mind-washing sort of Moonie style reconditioning to get over such deeply embedded cultural conditioning. Hear the Adam's family music first, Harpsichord forever at least a little "Lurch tainted."

Orchestral triangle in older literature, later in the era of telephones ringing (now the "Vintage" type ring) used to remind everyone of the telephone.... First world problems and intrusions


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