John Sheeles - Suite 1 in C minor - Mr Bellicanta: harpsichord

Suite in C minor composed by John Sheeles (1695-1765), of whom very little is known. The suite is the first of 'Suites of lessons for the harpsichord or spinet - Book 1' published in 1724. The Jigg is rather 'Corellian' I thought.
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Mr Bellicanta, the Clavierist
Instrument: English harpsichord by Peter Barnes
Tuning: Vallotti - a' = 415 Hz
The harpsichord is built according to the English tradition and closely based on a 1709 harpsichord by Thomas Barton (in Edinburgh Univ. Collec.) and a c.1715 spinet by 'Keene and Brackley'. The paintings are closely based on another English instrument, the 'Coston Harpsichord' (in Edinburgh Univ. Collec.).
#baroquemusic #harpsichord #englishharpsichord #18thcenturymusic

[@saccobello6516]

very good 👍🏻

[@clavichord]

Wonderful! There is such stately elegance in this harpsichord music by yet another neglected English baroque composer. Thank you!

[@theclavierist]

Thank you for listening! I am glad that you identify a 'stately elegance' in this music. I think that my tempo allows such majestic quality of it to come out and I believe that a lot of nice enough music has been 'forgotten' due to the ablation of its qualities, may they even be few, caused by too rapid tempi.

[@clavichord]

@@theclavierist I agree. I sometimes come across recordings from famous and talented harpsichordists who go for fast tempi... not because it is necessarily instructed on the score... but because they are able to play that fast... at least... that's sometimes the impression I get

[@theclavierist]

I think that the famous and talented that you mention above can be often trapped in the way they were taught by 'authorities' and because they simply 'can', they play it in a way that evokes more a tradition of late 19th-20th century virtuosism rather than a pre-industrial revolution Affekt filled sound world. To the point that the idea of Affekt might have been distorted and changed into something else. We are so far from the times of this old music that our 'normal' has potentially become very distant from it as well. What might have been 'normal' in the 17th-18th (and first part of the 19th) centuries could sound grotesque today. I believe that slower tempi alone (compared vs 'mainstream') give us a chance to get closer to the past. Then, of course, many other elements come into play, it is not just about playing slower. Obviously, there are 'virtuosos' that, perhaps due to instinct, get 'out of the box', then we are all blessed to experience what they create. Also, those that are so good that in spite of staying 'inside the box' still manage to create beauty. The absurdity of thinking that music in the past was played faster than today goes against any logic. Anyway, to each one what their sensitivity can perceive. We can choose to bathe ourselves with 'humanness' or conform and aspire to become machines, until our distorted feelings become so confused and slim that they vanish.

[@wolkowy1]

I admit knowing nothing about him - not even his name. However - I liked very much the singing melodious lines of each of the movements, and your realization. All my compliments to your perfect trills, by the way. I wonder if you have a spinet nearby, to try the same Suite on it. Could you please explain what did you mean by the Jigg being "Corellian"? Thanks for this wonderful upload and the beautiful pic. at the end. I hope you will perform other Suites by him, as well.

[@theclavierist]

More or less once a month I get to play a spinet, I haven't tried this on it yet, but no doubt it would sound great! I have no theoretical grounds to say that the Jigg is 'Corellian'.. it is just that, especially the second part, reminded me of some music of Corelli that I had heard before, maybe is the harmonic progression maybe the style. In the future I will certainly play more suites by Sheeles! The short clip at the end is at Avebury :-)

[@harmandon]

Honestly sounds like JS Bach

[@classicgameplay10]

In all honesty, i prefer the forms of the baroque suites to the later sonata forms.

[@theclavierist]

Baroque rocks 🕺