E. Power Biggs (pedal harpsichord) J.S. Bach, Bach auf dem Pedalcembalo

[@HarpsichordVinylGallery]

*_Rest of the documentation 1/1_* Saiten und Pfeifen haben eine völlig versch iedene Tonansprache und -qualität. Ein Cembalo ist im Grunde genommen eine in die Horizontale gekippte Harfe, umgeben von einem hölzernen Resonanzkasten. Die Aufgaben der Fingerspitzen übernehmen die Kiele (aus Krähenfedern oder Leder). Jede Saite wird dUrch einen solchen Kiel - oder Plektrum - angerissen, sobald die Taste niedergedrückt wird, der Ton springt also förmlich, mit scharfem Akzent von c;ler Saite. Das ergibt einen sehr lebendigen, re izvol len, je nach Register und Spielweise silbrigen Klang. Eine Orgelpfeife kann diese unmittelbare Ansprache nicht haben, sie würde, entsprechend manipuliert, sofort überblasen. Dafür vermag sie jedoch - im Gegensatz zum Cembalo - den Ton beliebig lang in unverminderter Stärke fortklingen oder, sobald . das geschlossene Ventil die Windzufuhr unterbricht, augenblicklich verstummen zu lassen. Die Cembalosaite klingt nach und muß eigens durch einen Dämpfer bewegungs- und damit tonlos gemacht werden. So hat jedes der Instrumente seine spezifischen Klangerscheinungen und -vorzüge. Für den Spieler ähnelt der leicht "knackende" Cembaloanschlag dem einer guten mechanischen Orgel. Man spürt im Niederdruck der Cembalotaste genau den Augenblick, da das Plektrum die Saite anreißt. Der analoge Vorgang bei der Orgel ist das Öffnen des Pfeifenventils. Da das Pedalcembalo über Manual- und Registerkontraste verfügt, kö.nnte praktisch die gesamte ' Orgelmusik (des ßarock) darauf gespielt werden. Dabei bewirkt jedoch die spontan~ Klangerzeugung eine andere Spielweise : sie wird freier, freizügiger, kolorierfreudiger, als dies dem Orgelspiel zuträglich wäre. Bachs gewaltige Passacaglia und Fuge in c-moll BWV 582 schien uns die angemessene Ouvertüre zur Konzertpremiere eines "wiedergeborenen" Instruments. Das Manuskript war überschrieben "Cembalo e pedale"; Spitta, Parry, Schweitzer und andere Bachforscher untersuchten (mit unterschiedl ichen Resultaten) , ob der Vermerk wörtl·ich oder (auf die Orgel) übertragen zu verstehen sei. Die Musik selbst beantwortet die Frage - entsprechend der noch im Barock üblichen ad-libitum-Praxis - nicht eindeutig, sie versinnlicht sich gleichermaßen vorzüglich im Pfeifen- oder Saiten klang. Vielleicht erlaubt das Cembalo eine biegsamere Rhythmik und stärkere Tempomodifizierung ' der einzelnen Variationen. Ausschmückungen bieten sich an, sie gehen, wie auch die zwei Kadenzen, auf Anregungen von John Challis zurück. Schwieriger war die Übertragung der berühmten Toccata und Fuge in d-moll mit ihren grandiosen Klangschichtungen. Aber die Wahrheit der Parabel vom "alten Wein in neuen Schläuchen" bewies sich auch hier, das Werk gewann ein neu es Klangprofil und, in der Coda, eine neue End-Gültigkeit. Die große Fantasie und Fblge g-moll ist ein Werk mit stark daklamatorischem Charakter und deshalb besonders geeignet für das Pedal cembalo. Bachs architektonische Meisterschaft zeigt sich hier in der ausgewogenen Disposition von modulatorisch kühnem Laufwer k, prächtigen Vorhaltakkorden und reflektierender Kontrapunktik. In dieser Einspielung mußten lang ausgehaltene Baßnoten hin und wieder repetiert werden - eine legitime Cembalopraxis. Das d-moll-Präludium BWV 539 ist ein reines Manualstück und findet - vielleicht deshalb - selten aus dem Notenschrank der Organisten in das Licht öffentliCher Aufführungen. Zweifellos war es. ursprünglich für Cembalo gedacht. Die Mehrzahl der großen OrgelpräluGlien und -fugen Bachs stehen in Moll. Eine frohgestimmte Ausnahme bildet das BW 541 in G-dur. Albert Schweitzer beschreibt es zutreffend als "überglänzt von einem sonnigen Himmel". Das Präludium eignet sich für Orgel wie für Cembalo, obwohl die Stilmerkmale des letzteren: weiträumige Arpeggien und ständige Akkordwiederholungen, fast überwiegen. Die Pause kurz vor Schluß gibt wiederum Raum für eine knappe Kadenz. E. Power Biggs

[@陽天-g8g]

I don´t understand German. I beg you to write in Japanese or English.

[@HarpsichordVinylGallery]

@@陽天-g8g You can use Google translate to translate it. 日本語は読めないが、Google翻訳で理解できる

[@emtube9298]

@@陽天-g8g Text from the back of my old US LP jacket: Why doesn't an organist stay up in the organ loft where he belongs? What's the idea of playing Johann Sebastian Bach's organ music on the harpsichord? One justification is that Bach himself had "three claviers with pedals"---either harpsichords or clavichords---as we know from a comment in the listing of his household effects. And he must have used them, for Forkel, Bach's biographer, wrote that the composer liked to improvise on "a two-manual clavier with pedal." Such an instrument, with two manuals and a pedal-board, would have been used by Bach or other 18th-century organists for practice at home, since the necessity of paying a man to pump the organ bellows in cold churches made extensive practice in church a luxury. Jakob Adlung, in his treatise Musica mechanica organoedi (1768), describes clavichords and harpsichords with independent strings at 1`6', 8' and 4' pitch and mentions that they might also include pedals similar to the pedal-board of an organ. It was an instrument of this sort that Bach must have used for "organ practice" at home. As none of these older pedal harpsichords remains in playable condition, John Challis, the eminent contemporary harpsichord builder, began, some years ago, to recreate a pedal harpsichord for modern use. The result (pictured on the cover) is a full-range harpsichord, set over a pedal section on which one plays an independent bass part, as on the organ. The use of this instrument provides a new and invigorating approach to organ music and greatly extends the literature available to the harpsichordist. Since strings and pipes start and stop their musical speech in different ways, each projects the music with a different sound quality. A harpsichord is basically a harp in a case with a sounding board. Each string is plucked by a plectrum (made from crow quills or leather) which is attached to a jack activated by a key. The result is a lively sound. Each note or chord leaps into tonal trajectory with compelling accent and, on occasion, glittering excitement. An organ pipe could never be voiced so that speech could begin with comparable impact, for the tone would instantly be overblown. However, while the harpsichord has the more accented attack, the organ has greater---in fact, limitless---capacity for continuing sound. An organ pipe also has the ability to stop speaking the moment the closing of the pipe valve terminates the wind supply. A harpsichord string, like a piano string, needs a little persuasion, in the form of a damper, to stop sounding. Thus, both organ and harpsichord have their own sets of tonal advantages. For the player, the "egg-shell" touch of a harpsichord resembles the feeling of the key-fall in a good tracker-action organ. With a harpsichord key one is aware of the fleeting moment during key-descent when the plectrum plucks the string. An equivalent fractional instant exists on a tracker-action organ when one senses, through the key, that the pipe valve is opening. Practically all organ music may be played on the pedal harpsichord, using much the same approach to registration and contrast of manuals as on the organ. The difference is that playing the pedal harpsichord is an invitation to a freer and more embellished style of performance. The music actually becomes amenable to certain liberties rarely successful on the organ. It seems appropriate that a pedal-harpsichord recording should start with Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor. The manuscript was headed Cembalo e pedale, and Spitta, Parry, Schweitzer and others have speculated, pro and con, whether the inscription is to be taken literally (harpsichord and pedal), or whether Bach really had the organ in mind. Classics such as the Passacaglia survive because they are interesting to all ages and adaptable to all circumstances. The music seems equally at home in the sonority of strings or pipes, and it assumes a different individuality in each. The harpsichord, perhaps, allows greater rythmic suppleness and more tempo contrast between variations. Embellishments seem appropriate, and these, as well as the two short cadenzas in my performance, are based on suggestions made by John Challis. The proof of the Passacaglia pudding is in the hearing, and with the music put into pedal-harpsichord sound the listener may judge Bach's intentions for himself. A stringed instrument might seem an unlikely medium for the wide-ranging sonorities of the familiar Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. It's an instance of a new bottle for an old wine. But there may be, too, a new flavor, and---in the coda---a new finality. To play the "Great" Fantasy and Fugue in G Minor on the pedal harpsichord is to have the opportunity to exploit totally the declamatory and improvisational aspect of the work. Bach balances passages full of adventurous modulations and splendid chord suspensions against reflective contrapuntal sections. For this performance, bass notes must be renewed occasionally---an accepted harpsichord practice. The Prelude in D Minor, for manuals only, is one of those works often tucked away on an organist's shelf and is thus rarely heard. No doubt the music was really intended for the harpsichord, with or without pedals. Most of Bach's "Great" organ Preludes and Fugues are in a minor key; the G Major is an enjoyable exception. Albert Schweitzer described the work aptly when he wrote: "Over this Prelude and Fugue something like a sunny sky seems to be spread...." The Prelude is equally at home on the organ or harpsichord, and the extended arpeggios and insistent repeated chords are practically in harpsichord style. The pause near the end of the Fugue is an invitation for a short cadenza. A splendid peroration follows, with the fugal entries tumbling over themselves in stretto. Specifications for John Challis' Pedal Harpsichord Manual I (16'' 8' 8' 4') / Harp stop on 8' Manual II (8') / Harp stop Pedal (16' 8' 4') / Harp stop on 16' and 8' Stop controls for the manuals are in the center, below the lower manual. Stop controls for the pedal-board are manipulated by four foot pedals. Two additional pedals are used for dynamics: One couples full harpsichord and pedal without altering the setting of stops, the other controls a Venetian swell for the pedal-board.

Unbelievable that this record hasn't been reissued on CD

[@onemediuminmotion]

My Dad's favorite album when I was growing up in the '60s. I didn't appreciate until I was in college in the '80s. The spectra of human emotion evoked/expressed by that Passacaglia and Fugue C-minor on that harpsichord is - Exquisite

[@tcparker1000]

He's been gone a long time, but I still believe Biggs had remarkably fine technique and phrasing for Bach, whether playing the organ or the harpsichord.

[@emtube9298]

One of my favorite records back in the 1960's. Thank you for sharing this!!!

[@henryfroelich7042]

I’ll come back for this regularly about once a year.

[@ericmassicotte378]

I was lucky to find a vinyl copy in good condition but it's a shame no one ever re-released this on CD. What an amazing performance on an equally amazing instrument.

[@HarpsichordVinylGallery]

You were indeed lucky. I guess for a record company, it will be profitable to re-release this wonderful record. Plenty of potential buyers, including me.

[@jacobusatelier2166]

The resonant wood of this Challis instrument integrates the essence of nature with Bach's intense genius - masterfully played by Newport, Rhode Island's old friend E. P. Biggs.

[@litoboy5]

That is Power

[@macbird-lt8de]

bigg time

[@albertpeckham8708]

This is an authentic photo of the largest harpsichord that John Challis ever built. I was honored to have played this wonderful instrument at Challis' home on Fifth Avenue in NYC. I liked it before Mr. Biggs demanded that it be "tamed". I liked it better when it would "rattle the windows"! Anyway, I now understand it is incarcerated in the museum at Harvard! How very sad.

[@HarpsichordVinylGallery]

Wow, must have been great to play this monster! I really hope that it is still playable for students like the precious instruments in the Vleeshuis of Antwerpen in Belgium are to the disposal of students.

[@albertpeckham8708]

@@HarpsichordVinylGallery Challis was such a great person and a great friend. I treasure his insights and mastery of his conception of sound! He was always open to other people's interpretations. My harpsichord was created for me and John was not opposed to what I wanted. To this day...so many years later...I have no quarrel with his creation. This 7" instrument can still "rattle the windows".....as it were!

[@HarpsichordVinylGallery]

@@albertpeckham8708 You definitely are a lucky guy to have such a wonderful instrument apart from the memories associated with the making of the instrument

[@TheMadisonHang]

the only sad thing is that people find it not worth making instruments anymore

[@zacharybond23]

@@TheMadisonHang There are quite a few harpsichord makers that actively make instruments today, as far as I am aware.

[@josemarcosthalenberg8207]

I heard Huguette Dreyfuss playing Bach in a pedalcembalo (in Portuguese, cravo-pedal) here in São Paulo, Brazil, in the 70's. First and last time I've seen such marvelous instrument!

[@Starritt_Piano]

Wow, now I understand why a pedal harpsichord would make absolute sense as a tool for the organist--the more direct attack enforces complete precision especially coordinating the pedals with the manuals, so that really encourages them to listen to themselves rather than being faced with the distraction of the mechanical noise from the pedals :)

[@HarpsichordVinylGallery]

As someone commented in another pedal-harpsichord vinyl recording "Every home should have one".

[@alexanderbrown1954]

There is another reason why an organist in the 18th century would need such an instrument: if he wanted to practise, he would need a couple of boys to pump the bellows - and they might not always be available, especially in the middle of the night!

[@PaulHubertSOC]

I wish I could get this on CD! I have the vinyl - NOT played in decades, though.

[@VVeltanschauung187]

unmoggable master J.S. bach is

[@alenlepirica7304]

I am enyoing!

[@macbird-lt8de]

41:08 mostly indexing for myself to come back to, but these first three notes of the fuge are intriguing. does anyone have an opinion or analysis of them?

[@antoniboleslawowicz8095]

This recording was skillfully edited. Noisy key releases are adroitly excised. Biggs had very severe rheumatoid arthritis and was not capable of delivering performances like these in the flesh. Does anyone know what became of this remarkable instrument? It had a bigger sound than the “authenticist” harpsichords which succeeded it; even Challis’ smaller one-manual harpsichords were remarkably stable tuning-wise. I had mixed feelings about his Passacaglia -- unequal notes, lack of unity of tempo in the 21 variations preceding the fugue; on the other hand, an impressive cadenza at the end, and more florid ornamentation than one heard from him on the organ. He plays the g-minor Fantasia like a machine. He has a nice, energetic tempo for the fugue, which is clean and accurate. The G major Prelude has a wonderful impetus that sounds to me delightfully un-Biggsian. I am reminded of a story about Artur Rodzinski who, in his last years, was engaged to conduct a recording of a piano concerto in Europe. The unidentified pianist was clearly not up to the job, and Rodzinski was ready to abandon the project. The recording producer reassured the conductor, “Don’t worry -- we can fix it!” When the two principals listened to the final edited tape, the pianist marveled at it. “Yes”, murmured Rodzinski. “Don’t you wish you could play like that?”

[@HarpsichordVinylGallery]

Albert Peckham wrote in a comment " Anyway, I now understand it is incarcerated in the museum at Harvard! How very sad."

[@ramildozancan5131]

'" Bach On The Pedal Harpschord " Jimmy Hendrix ouvia , e tinha em seus discos favoritos !!!!

[@HarpsichordVinylGallery]

Yes Bach had his wild days too ;-)

[@freetime2006]

a master at work: what a joy to hear.

[@albertpeckham8708]

This instrument has no apologies to make'! Is is exactly as Challis imagined! it is so assertive without being officious.! God! I love it!

[@HarpsichordVinylGallery]

I love the somewhat distant metallic tone too, but it has to be played by a maestro like E. Power Biggs to enjoy it to the full extend.

[@rareblues78daddy]

Thank you SO MUCH for posting this! I've been looking for a clean copy of this for ages!

[@theophilos0910]

The opening passages of the great Passacaglia & Fugue in c-minor by Sebastian Bach is used in ‘more than one Hollywood Horror Film’ especially that pesky blood-drinking Transylvanian Count … LoL

[@aquaesulensis7332]

Merci beaucoup pour avoir posté ce disque introuvable en CD et ici en bel état. La version par Edgar Power-Biggs de la BWV 582 est très belle je trouve sur son impressionnant clavecin à pédalier. Merci encore.

[@mohammedcohen]

...I've got this LP!!!

[@HarpsichordVinylGallery]

Congrats!

[@perrytownsend4151]

Wow, Mr. Biggs takes some liberties with little added cadenzas, doesn't he?

[@kasyapa]

Thank goodness, yes.

[@EruannaArte]

I wish I could understand German!, I guess its another one for Duolingo 😅. Its really works, though learning Italian from Spanish is not nearly as difficult as I imagine learning german would be.

[@HarpsichordVinylGallery]

Google translate might help you there

[@シ村-h6h]

これはすごい名演だ。 一気にビックスのファンになった。 他の演奏も聴いてみたい。

[@HarpsichordVinylGallery]

Power Biggsは主にオルガン奏者でしたが、ペダルのハープシコードにはオルガンのペダルが重宝しました

[@陽天-g8g]

トリオソナタもあるで。こっちも月並みな演奏だが、ペダルチェンバロでは他に6曲揃ったレコードはないから、重宝ではある。アンソニー・ニューマンは、第６番のみレコードがある。

[@alanbash2921]

Nirvana .

[@davyroger3773]

8:50

[@zimonslot]

Huis album Sems incomplete. Where is the movement after Vivaldi in Aminor? Or the adaptation of Von Sachsen?

[@brtherjohn]

This is the entire original lp release. The other items were actually released as fillers for Biggs' trio sonatas set.

[@VVeltanschauung187]

Ethereal