The harpsichords and virginals pictured below are not my personal instruments. They are examples and prototypes of instruments that match the style of the corresponding composer, and would likely have been available to that composer.
WILLIAM BYRD (1539/40 – 1623)
William Byrd was probably the most important composer in Elizabethan England. He was prolific, both as a keyboard composer and a composer of vocal music (madrigals and larger choral works, including masses). It is difficult to categorize his style of composition. Some of his secular keyboard works carry titles such as “Jhon Come Kisse Me Now” and “O Mistris Myne,” as well as the infamous “La Volta,” Byrd’s setting of a lascivious dance. At the same time, Byrd was also writing music of a very different style, large scale choral works for the church. As with J.S. Bach (a century and a half later), perhaps Byrd perceived much sacred in the secular, and much secular in the sacred. Clearly, he was comfortable and prolific as a composer in both worlds. He has often been considered the “Father of Keyboard Music.”
Alman:
La Volta:
Callino Casturame:
A Gigg:
The Queene’s Alman
JAN PIETERSZOON SWEELINCK (1562 – 1621)
Sweelinck held the post of organist at the Oude Kerk (Old Church) in the city of Amsterdam, which was a major port and center of trade. Foreign tourists regularly visited the Oude Kerk to hear Sweelinck’s daily organ recitals at noon. In those days, there wasn’t much written music for organ, and Sweelinck’s recitals consisted of his masterful improvisations. Sweelinck was employed as organist by the city of Amsterdam, not by the church. Many of his keyboard compositions are suitable for both organ and harpsichord.
I have recorded the Sweelinck selections below on my Flemish spinet harpsichord, tuned to mean-tone temperament. I chose this lively little instrument for its presence of tone (i.e., “in-your-face” kind of sound).
Balleto del Granduca:
Unter der Linden grüne:
Mein junges Leben hat ein End (Six variations on an old Dutch tune):
Fantasia Chromatica:
In the following selection, Sweelinck treats the descending chromatic line as a fugue subject. The rhythmic motion varies from slow half-notes to rapid sixteenths, sometimes even runs of 32nds, in a rather idiosyncratic way. This piece is suitable for both harpsichord and organ, although the best organs for this music are early period instruments, typically Dutch. I have used my Zuckermann Flemish harpsichord for this recording, because the long decay of notes brings out the harmonies.
GILES FARNABY (1563 – 1640)
The English keyboard composers during Elizabethan and Jacobean England were known as the “virginalist school,” and included William Byrd, Dr. John Bull, Orlando Gibbons, Giles Farnaby, Thomas Morley, Peter Phillips, and others. The Fitzwilliam Book is a large and remarkable collection of hundreds of their works, including the virginal pieces in these recordings. .
Giles Farnaby is considered one of the great English virginalists. He graduated from Christ Church, Oxford, in 1592 with a bachelor’s degree in music. He was a joiner and cabinet maker by trade. The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book contains 52 of his keyboard compositions.
Tower Hill:
A Toye:
Giles Farnaby’s Dreame:
His Rest:
His Humour: (Humour signifies “disposition” or “mood”)
Farnabye’s Conceit: (Conceit signifies “trick,” joke,” or “prank”)
Rosasolis:
Loth to Depart:
MARTIN PEERSON (1571/73 – 1650/51)
The Primerose:
The Fall of the Leafe:
ORLANDO GIBBONS (1583-1625)
Gibbons was an English composer during the late Tudor and early Jacobean periods. He wrote madrigals, motets, keyboard works, and fantasias for viols. The great 20th century pianist Glenn Gould named Gibbons as his favorite composer. In one interview, Gould explained, “… one is never quite able to counter the impression of music of supreme beauty that lacks its ideal means of reproduction…. Gibbons is an artist of such intractable commitment that, in the keyboard field, at least, his works work better in one’s memory, or on paper, than they ever can through the intercession of a sounding board.” In other words, the music in the printed score represents an ideal sound that can never fully be conveyed by our earthly musical instruments.
The Lord of Salisbury His Pavin:
His Galliard:
Pavana in G Minor:
GIROLAMO FRESCOBALDI (1583 – 1643)
Partite 14 sopra l’Aria della Romanesca (14 variations)
JOHANN JAKOB FROBERGER (1616 – 1667)
Froberger was born and raised in Stuttgart, lived much of his life in Vienna, and travelled to Italy, France, and England. He spent four years in Rome studying under Frescobaldi. During his travels to France, he was strongly influenced by Chambonnières and his contemporaries. Froberger’s music therefore incorporates Italian and French influences of the time. His style is idiomatic, and some of his harpsichord pieces are programmatic.
The following piece is in memory of Froberger’s deceased friend Charles Fleury (Monsieur Blancrocher), who was a famous French lutenist. Blancrocher died by unfortunately falling down a flight of stairs in a tavern. Froberger was there, and Blancrocher died in his arms. Toward the end of this tombeau, a G in the bass and a G in the tenor alternately repeat for 7 measures, evoking the tolling of funeral bells. In the last measure, a two-octave descending scale depicts Blancrocher’s tragic fall.
Tombeau fait à Paris sur la mort de Monsieur Blancrocher
(recorded on Flemish spinet):
Lamentation faite sur la mort tres douloureuse de Sa Majesté Impériale Ferdinand le troisieme (Lamentation on the death of Ferdinand III)
Plainte faite a Londres pour passer la Melancholie:
Meditation, faite sur ma Mort future la quelle se joue lentement avec discretion (recorded on Flemish double manual harpsichord):
LOUIS COUPERIN (1626 – 1661)
Louis Couperin was the uncle of the more famous François Couperin. The style of harpsichord playing in Louis’s time was, in many ways, unique to that generation, and closely related to the style of the lute, or the lute family, which included archlutes and theorbos. A theorbo is a lute with a very long neck. The longest bass strings do not lie over the fretboard, so they can only be played as drones. These bass strings would give the theorbo a full, rich sound, and their resonance produced intriguing harmonies as illustrated in the C Major Passacaille (Passacaglia).
Passacaille in C Major:
Passacaille in G Minor (“Passacaille de Mr. Couperin”):
JACQUES CHAMPION DE CHAMBONNIÈRES (1601 – 1672)
Chambonnières was court harpsichordist in Paris and considered to be one of the finest musicians of his time. His fame extended throughout Europe. He is often considered to be the father of French Baroque harpsichord music, as he greatly influenced the next few generations of French harpsichord composers.
Chaconne in F:
Sarabande in G (Editions Senart No. 120):
Sarabande in G (Senart No. 121):
JEAN HENRI D’ANGLEBERT (1629 – 1691)
D’Anglebert’s Tombeau, written in memory of his deceased teacher Chambonnières, demonstrates a unique compositional style (compared to the other French clavecinists of his time). The abundant ornamentation becomes a vital, integral part of the music, transforming the music into something dense, strange, and deeply felt.
Tombeau de Monsieur de Chambonnières:
FRANÇOIS COUPERIN (1668 – 1733)
Les Baricades Mistérieuses (The Mysterious Barricades):
Le Rossignol en amour (The Nightingale in Love):
Double de Rossignol:
Le Carillon de Cithére:
La Mènetou:
Soeur Monique:
Les Regrets:
I chose to tune the harpsichord to equal temperament for the next piece, because it contains many F# Major chords. Francois Couperin’s Passacaille is an an exceptional work. The grandeur of this music reflects Francois Couperin at his best.
Passacaille:
The following piece is a lullabye. I have recorded it on my Flemish Double Manual Zuckermann harpsichord. It requires two manuals because it is a piéce-croisée, meaning that the two hands sometimes cross, or overlap.
Le Dodo, ou l’amour au Berceau:
La Garnier:
Les Tours de Passe-passe:
Allemande l’Auguste:
Les Idées Heureuses:
La Favorite:
Septième Prélude (from L’Art de Toucher Le Clavecin):
JEAN-PHILIPPE RAMEAU (1683 – 1764)
La Joyeuse:
Les Tendres Plaintes:
Fanfarinette:
Musette en Rondeau:
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685 – 1750)
All of the Bach recordings were recorded on my Zuckermann Flemish Double (see “Instruments” page)
The Well-Tempered Clavier, Preludes and Fugues, Book 1
No. 1 in C Major:
No. 2 in C Minor:
No. 3 in C-sharp Major:
No. 4 in C-sharp Minor:
No. 5 in D Major:
No. 6 in D Minor:
No. 7 in E-flat Major:
No. 8 in E-flat Minor/D-sharp Minor:
No. 9 in E Major:
No. 10 in E Minor:
No. 11 in F Major:
No. 12 in F Minor:
No. 13 in F-sharp Major:
No. 14 in F-sharp Minor:
No. 15 in G Major:
No. 16 in G Minor:
No. 17 in A-flat Major:
No. 18 in G-sharp Minor:
No. 19 in A Major:
No. 20 in A Minor:
No. 21 in B-flat Major:
No. 22 in B-flat Minor:
No. 23 in B Major:
No. 24 in B Minor:
In this last piece of Book 1, the fugue subject amazingly includes all twelve notes of the chromatic scale, perhaps as a parting gesture to the entire Book.
The Well-Tempered Clavier, Preludes and Fugues, Book 2
No. 1 in C Major:
No. 2 in C Minor:
No. 3 in C-sharp Major:
No. 4 in C-sharp Minor:
No. 5 in D Major:
No. 6 in D Minor:
No. 7 in E-flat Major:
No. 8 in D-sharp Minor:
No. 9 in E Major:
No. 10 in E Minor :
No. 11 in F Major:
No. 12 in F Minor:
No. 13 in F-sharp Major:
No. 14 in F-sharp Minor:
No. 15 in G Major:
No. 16 in G Minor:
No. 17 in A-flat Major:
No. 18 in G-sharp Minor:
No. 19 in A Major:
No. 20 in A Minor:
No. 21 in B-flat Major:
No. 22 in B-flat Minor:
No. 23 in B Major:
No. 24 in B Minor:
French Suite No. 2 in C Minor:
Allemande
Courante
Sarabande
French Suite No. 5 in G Major:
Allemande
Courante
Sarabande
Gavotte
Bouree
Loure
Gigue
* * *
DOMENICO SCARLATTI (1685 – 1757)
In a preface to one of his scores, Scarlatti writes about his keyboard sonatas:
To the performer: Whether you be dilettante or connoisseur, seek not profundity in these compositions but rather artistic ingenuity and delight with the object of exercising freedom on the gravicembalo (i.e., harpsichord). Neither personal interest or ambition so much as obedience has motivated me to publish these pieces. Perhaps they will cause you pleasure, in which case I will all the more gladly strive to meet further requests for a lighter and more varied style. Therefore, show yourself more well-disposed than critical and your pleasure will increase the more. ….. Vivi felice.
1. Sonata in A Minor, K. 3, Presto:
2. Sonata in C Minor, K. 11, Allegro:
3. Sonata in D Minor, K. 52, Andante moderato:
4. Sonata in B Minor, K. 87, Andante mosso:
5. Sonata in C Major, K. 132, Cantabile:
6. Sonata in G Major, K. 146, Allegretto:
7. Sonata in C Major, K. 159, Allegro: “La Caccia” (The Hunt):
8. Sonata in B Minor, K. 197, Andante:
9. Sonata in A Major, K. 208, Andante e cantabile:
10. Sonata in D Minor, K. 213, Andante:
11. Sonata in F Minor, K. 238, Andante:
12. Sonata in A Major, K. 268, Allegro:
13. Sonata in C Major, K. 308, Cantabile:
14. Sonata in A Major, K. 322, Allegro:
15. Sonata in E Major, K. 380, Andante commodo:
16. Sonata in D Major, K. 415, Pastorale (Allegro):
17. Sonata in C Major, K. 420, Allegro:
18. Sonata in D Major, K. 430, Non presto ma a tempo di ballo:
19. Sonata in G Major, K. 471, Minuet:
20. Sonata in D Major, K. 478, Andante cantabile:
21. Sonata in D Major, K. 479, Allegrissimo:
22. Sonata in G Major, K. 520, Allegretto:
23. Sonata in F Major, K. 525, Allegro:
24. Sonata in F Major, K. 540, Allegretto:
25. Sonata in G Minor, Largo (posthumous):
JACQUES DUPHLY (1715 – 1789)
La Forqueray (In tribute to another great French harpsichord composer, Forqueray, who favored the lower range of the harpsichord):
La Pothoüin (This piece was dedicated to Pierre-Salomon Pothoüin, a lawyer of the Parlement de Paris):