# Interesting recordings on clavichords.



## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

Hopefully we'll get a range of styles and instruments. 

Top of my list would be Siegbert Rampe's two Froberger CDs on MDG.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

This is certainly interesting










Blue Clavichord.

It's jazzy!


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

Love the Clavichord!

I always recommend Harald Vogel's Bach Circle CD on a Pedal Clavichord (his own Organeum label)









W.F. Bach - Polonaises with Steve Barrell on Globe (OOP?)









The Secret Bach: Christopher Hogwood, Clavichord (Metronome)









CPE Bach: Six Clavichord Sonatas Book 1 - Colin Tilney (Doremi)









/ptr


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## Michael Sayers (Jun 7, 2015)

Wim Winters's recordings of Beethoven piano sonatas on clavichord.


Mvh,
Michael


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> This is certainly interesting
> 
> 
> 
> ...


This looks interesting, it's on spotify so I'll listen soon. Will report back.



ptr said:


> I always recommend Harald Vogel's Bach Circle CD on a Pedal Clavichord (his own Organeum label)


Yes, it's good. Harald Vogel's always good IMO.



ptr said:


> CPE Bach: Six Clavichord Sonatas Book 1 - Colin Tilney (Doremi)


I have this and need to explore it some more. Generally I'm a fan of Tilney but in this one the music never seemed to take off, but it's probably me not in the mood. I enjoyed his French Suites (on clavichord)



ptr said:


> The Secret Bach: Christopher Hogwood, Clavichord (Metronome)


I really couldn't get on with Secret Bach . . .or Handel or Mozart. Maybe it was the instrument, the sound engineering or the playing (I'm not a great Hoggie fan) There was another clavichord recording he made of CPEB which I found equally dull.



ptr said:


> W.F. Bach - Polonaises with Steve Barrell on Globe (OOP?)


Don't know it -- shall try to hear it soon and shall post my impressions, if I have any worth posting.


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## manyene (Feb 7, 2015)

Thurston Dart's recital of music by Purcell and Croft on Argo, dating from the 60s, was one of my first LPs


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

Michael Sayers said:


> Wim Winters's recordings of Beethoven piano sonatas on clavichord.
> 
> Mvh,
> Michael


Well that was unexpected, and I found some on youtube -- very interesting. Too loud of course, one of the things about Siegbert Rampe's recordings that I mentioned is that the sound take is very truthful.But thanks, it's a great find


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

Complete solo keyboard music by the great Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach played by Miklos Spanyi. I have only listened to a few of these very enjoyable discs.


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

ArtMusic said:


> Complete solo keyboard music by the great Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach played by Miklos Spanyi. I have only listened to a few of these very enjoyable discs.


Ah yes. For CBEB on clavichord I tend to go these days to Jocelyne Cuiller.


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

manyene said:


> Thurston Dart's recital of music by Purcell and Croft on Argo, dating from the 60s, was one of my first LPs


Oh yes, he's an interesting performer, I know the French Suites and a Froberger recording. He always makes me think of Rene Clemencic, I don't know why, it may just be to do with the sound of the clavichord he uses for Froberger, like a lute or something - you can imagine he's opened it up and he's plucking the steings dorectly with his hands. Clemencic makes a similar noise when he recorded Cabezon on clavichord. I haven't heard the Purcell, but I like Purcell's music so I'll check it out. About Croft I know zero.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

ptr said:


> Love the Clavichord!
> 
> I always recommend Harald Vogel's Bach Circle CD on a Pedal Clavichord (his own Organeum label)


Yes, that Vogel disc is so illuminating - one of my favorite treasures from my Bach collection.


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## Selby (Nov 17, 2012)

Keith Jarrett's double-disk of improvisations:

Book of Ways


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## Klassik (Mar 14, 2017)

ArtMusic said:


> Complete solo keyboard music by the great Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach played by Miklos Spanyi. I have only listened to a few of these very enjoyable discs.


One of the Half Price Books stores near me has had several of the BIS Miklós Spányi CPE Bach solo keyboard CDs for quite some time now, but I'm not sure if they ever sold any of them. They've started to put them on clearance so I decided to pick up one CD, Volume 10. BIS has a reputation for dynamic recordings. Well, in this case, they decided to keep the dynamics of the clavichord fairly accurate! They are very quiet recordings which require the amp to be turned up quite a bit louder than normal to get a normal listening experience. I'm not sure how typical this is for clavichord recordings or if people prefer to listen to clavichord recordings in an accurate, fairly quiet way.

Anyway, I'm not an expert on the works included on this disc so I can't really give a good review of the recording, but I am enjoying the music. I may pick up some more CDs from this series if HPB still has them on clearance.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Seriously difficult to hear anything on a clavichord recording, unless the volume is turned way up.

I have the Bach WTC on CD with clavichord and it wasn't a pleasant listening experience.

The clavichord may be the perfect apartment/flat instrument, but on CD, not so good.


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

Really nice playing of some very good work of an obscure composer, Ernst Wilhelm Wolf.









Re hpowders, miking them is a challenge but it can and has been done well.


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## Klassik (Mar 14, 2017)

hpowders said:


> Seriously difficult to hear anything on a clavichord recording, unless the volume is turned way up.
> 
> I have the Bach WTC on CD with clavichord and it wasn't a pleasant listening experience.
> 
> The clavichord may be the perfect apartment/flat instrument, but on CD, not so good.





clavichorder said:


> Re hpowders, miking them is a challenge but it can and has been done well.


I can't say that I'm a seasoned listener to clavichord recordings. Do the recording engineers usually keep the recordings pretty quiet (requiring the listener to have audio equipment good enough to amplify the music well enough without distortion/noise) or do they make the recordings "hot" so that they can be played back at somewhat normal levels?

I would imagine that even more care would have to be taken to eliminate extraneous noise in clavichord records compared to piano/organ/harpsichord recordings.

Another question for those who listen to clavichord recordings - do you listen to the recordings at fairly quiet levels or do you really crank it up? This might seem like a silly question, but I'm just wondering how people enjoy their clavichord recordings. People who like their clavichord recordings quiet may not like it if recording engineers mastered "hot" recordings.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

The best clavichord recording I have ever heard (with a definite artificial sound boost) is Keith Jarrett's Book of Ways, in which he performs many improvisations on clavichord, ranging from simply okay to astonishing!


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## Daybloom (Mar 4, 2017)

Sort of off topic but I can't make threads yet. What is it about clavichords and harpsichords that makes them sound buzzy compared to a piano? They both use little hammers to strike strings right? So is it just the composition of the strings? Also, if part of the appeal of clavichords is that they are quiet I wonder if you can simply lay something fuzzy over piano strings to mute the sound for quieter playing? Just random questions that occurred to me.


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## Myriadi (Mar 6, 2016)

Clavichords vary so much, even more so than harpsichords in my experience. Some recordings I can't stand (Hogwood's secret series for instance), some I adore. Paul Simmonds' traversal of JE Wolf's sonatas is an absolute gem, in my personal top 10 CDs. I also love Georg Bohm's suites played by Leonhardt - there's a CD where he plays some works on a harpsichord, and others on a clavichord. Incredibly beautiful.

I wish I could afford a clavichord


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## Myriadi (Mar 6, 2016)

Daybloom said:


> Sort of off topic but I can't make threads yet. What is it about clavichords and harpsichords that makes them sound buzzy compared to a piano? They both use little hammers to strike strings right? So is it just the composition of the strings? Also, if part of the appeal of clavichords is that they are quiet I wonder if you can simply lay something fuzzy over piano strings to mute the sound for quieter playing? Just random questions that occurred to me.


Hammers are for clavichords and pianos, while in a harpsichord strings are plucked rather than hit. Also strings can be made of different materials, strung differently, notes can have one string to themselves or several, and so on. It's a complex issue. If you're ever interested, there's a box set of Mozart sonatas by Arthur Schoonderwoerd who chose instruments depending on the period of the sonata in question - from a harpsichord, to a tangent piano, to a pianoforte. Maybe you can find a page with audio samples - it's a great illustration of the evolution of piano sound.


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## Omicron9 (Oct 13, 2016)

Selby said:


> Keith Jarrett's double-disk of improvisations:
> 
> Book of Ways
> 
> View attachment 71050


A very good double-album. I was going to recommend it, but Selby beat me to it.


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## Omicron9 (Oct 13, 2016)

hpowders said:


> The best clavichord recording I have ever heard (with a definite artificial sound boost) is Keith Jarrett's Book of Ways, in which he performs many improvisations on clavichord, ranging from simply okay to astonishing!
> 
> View attachment 95979


+1. I'll again recommend it.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Omicron9 said:


> +1. I'll again recommend it.


Thanks!

As a side note, Keith Jarrett also recorded a very fine complete Bach WTC on piano, better than I ever expected.


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## Omicron9 (Oct 13, 2016)

hpowders said:


> Thanks!
> 
> As a side note, Keith Jarrett also recorded a very fine complete Bach WTC on piano, better than I ever expected.


I have heard it, and I concur.

Speaking of KJ and "better than you expected," his Goldbergs on harpsichord (ECM) are quite good. Beautifully recorded harpsichord as well.


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## Omicron9 (Oct 13, 2016)

Also: Herbert Howells composed a set of pieces for clavichord entitled "Lambert's Clavichord." Beware if you're buying on CD; the version I have (Hyperion, I think?) is inexplicably recorded on piano. That wasn't noted in the amazon listing when I bought it. Dang.


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## bioluminescentsquid (Jul 22, 2016)

Mandryka said:


> Well that was unexpected, and I found some on youtube -- very interesting. Too loud of course, one of the things about Siegbert Rampe's recordings that I mentioned is that the sound take is very truthful.But thanks, it's a great find


I've heard Winters' clavichord live in a concert at Belgium, and it's louder than what you expect with a clavichord and projects well, but the recordings are indeed somewhat too loud and close. But I think he's aware of it and prefers that sound. (he also doesn't talk as loudly as what the videos might make it seem) :lol:

One excellent one:








Quite a loud and close recording too.


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