Mahan Esfahani talks about his new harpsichord

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Күн бұрын

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@saruceolsa4597 4 жыл бұрын

Mr Esfahani is wrong at 3:28 saying that JSB did not know the 16’ stop in the way it’s built into this harpsichord. We know that JSB had a 16’-instrument (made by Zacharias Hildebrandt) for his concerts in the Zimmermannsche Caffeehaus in Leipzig. Also, 16’-instruments were quite common in Germany in the mid 1700s.

@BassoDeckeur 4 жыл бұрын

For sure Esfahani did not want to get HIP-sters to shoot at him for that, as he is despised by those for being avant gardiste

@saruceolsa4597 4 жыл бұрын

Sure. And we need more people like him promoting the 16-foot harpsichord.

@hori166 4 жыл бұрын

There is a 2 manual with a 16' stop made by Hieronymus Albrecht Haas at the Musical Instrument Museum in Brussels that has been used in recordings, a 3 manual (yes, that's correct) by the same that was owned by Rafael Puyana, and another 2 manual from 1710 in the Yale collection, so 16's were not uncommon in Germany. Personally, I find the sound obscene but I grant that it is suggestive of organ registration. Then, there's the pedal harpsichord , and even clavichord, but let's stop there... Here's a reference for more information www.baroquemusic.org/bargerhpschd.html

@alexandrusimo899 2 жыл бұрын

we know that he might have been familiar with it, not that he had such an instrument

@saruceolsa4597 2 жыл бұрын

@@alexandrusimo899 no, we know that he actually had the instrument

@noiselesspatient 4 жыл бұрын

Why on earth would you keep the background music playing whilst he is playing?

@hugoclarke3284 11 ай бұрын

So you buy the record I guess

@johntuffin3262 3 жыл бұрын

People who design videos are obsessed with background music, even if it drowns the speaker.

@heron6462 3 жыл бұрын

That harpsichord would be ideal for some modern harpsichord concertos, such as those by Poulenc, Martinu and Martin

@nottinghillad 3 жыл бұрын

Violin, piano, clarinet, oboe.. All fine, but there's something magical about the harpsichord.

@losberju 5 жыл бұрын

The background music is annoying here!

@hanni150751 5 жыл бұрын

The idea is to have the music from the CD present in the background while Mahan is talking about his instrument,- it is a whole piece of music,- and we do not want to disturb the music by cutting in and out,- but the music is very soft while Mahan is talking.

@qwaqwa1960 5 жыл бұрын

@@hanni150751 You should cut the music while demonstrating the instrument!!! Pls repost.

@TuomasKourulaGuitar 5 жыл бұрын

@@qwaqwa1960 You're right. It's a no-brainer, really: this is like trying to taste different cheeses while chewing bubble-gum.

@qwaqwa1960 5 жыл бұрын

@@TuomasKourulaGuitar Fortunately, there are many great sounding, real harpsichords on KZbin. This one (from what I can make out) sounds pretty blech to my ears, harkening partway back to the awful revival instruments.

@taylordiclemente5163 5 жыл бұрын

@@hanni150751 unfortunately both speaker and music are obscured.

@avremke24 5 жыл бұрын

He seems like a very competent interpreter of Bach. My personal opinion is that if you are interested in performing Bach as close as possible to what he would have intended, one must use instruments built using the techniques of the time. A normal harpsichord built from authentic examples are more than acceptable. Obviously, each to their own.

@musael22 5 жыл бұрын

In a blind test would you make the difference?

@m.p.2234 4 жыл бұрын

@@musael22 of course

@saltag 3 жыл бұрын

@@musael22 it's quite obvious that Esfahani's own harpsichord is very very different

@alexandrusimo899 2 жыл бұрын

there is little purpose in not changing anything for the sake of accuracy. just because it works fine or it's what they (the "old masters") would've known doesn't mean that it can't be better (after all, that's what these builders were after: improving the instruments), both with new instruments, but also with new composers and interpreters. sure, one should regard the old instruments, but only to the same degree that new luthiers regard, say, stradivari or guarnieri: as a template, a blank canvas for modern development. we cannot even know for sure what the old instruments sounded like so it is similarily futile to try and pretend like we can make perfect copies.

@hugoclarke3284 11 ай бұрын

There is little purpose in not changing anything for the sake of accuracy, but there is a great deal of purpose in learning how these instruments are supposed to be played in the first place. You said it yourself, we can't know for sure, so it is not a question of "not changing anything." Were it not for reaching backwards into the past, baroque music would still sound awful today, like an exclusively classically trained musician attempting a jazz improvisation. Like Bach himself, we must look both forwards and backwards.

@samsylvester2140 2 жыл бұрын

2:54 Just don't use background music if someone demonstrates an instrument... who does that?

@cathschofield7488 3 жыл бұрын

Fabulous harpsichord, I love the innovative ideas, and what’s all that keyword on the recorder ?

@filippoariani3407 2 жыл бұрын

The contrast loud and soft Is really Amazing, without background music could appreciate better

@freespirit995 3 жыл бұрын

Interesting video but the background flute is irritating because it rather interferes with the harpsichord demonstration.

@theojongsma 5 жыл бұрын

i envy you with such a wonderfull instrument . i had a harpsichord but sold it . because of the tuning etc.

@drzaeus5624 3 жыл бұрын

Fantastic

@coltwarren 5 жыл бұрын

This was very interesting . Thank you so much for facts and sound .

@tevja-Cembalobau 2 жыл бұрын

Its a fantastic instrument. I like the idea of the concept of the instrument

@cangjie12 2 жыл бұрын

Seriously, what’s with the background music? It is SO ANNOYING!!

@johntuffin3262 3 жыл бұрын

Why is the recorder player relevant?

@NSBarnett 3 жыл бұрын

Ah, yes, Mahan. Johann Sebastian was quite an enthusiast for Carbon fibre, if I remember rightly (or Kohlefaser, as he called it). Also, Mahan, where would film music be, without Mahler, eh?

@sambulls 4 жыл бұрын

Very nice instrument! Though tuning it must be annoying haha

@biberfan Жыл бұрын

This instrument and the artist’s viewpoints are a departure from the HIP movement as it became mainstream as a method for hearing music of the past as it may have been heard. His partner, on recorder, too uses non-historical instruments and together the result is a quasi-historical compromise. This is evidence of a splintering of HIP or perhaps having different viewpoints on how we perform ancient music. Bach may well have loved a carbon fiber instrument for its power or keyed recorders for the added facility of playing them. These technical issues are interesting philosophically and are not as interesting to our hearing, at least on cell phones, computers, and subpar hifi systems. However what is most important are the artist’s technical, artistic and some may say spiritual contributions to the performances. This video doesn’t reveal that aspect but their recordings lay bare to their talents. I found the recording tied to this video, on Bach’s flute music, to suffer from poor mixing, recorded in too reverberant a church. The overdubbed playing of Petri behind the presentation of the instrument echoes the shoddy judgement used to make their recording which I thought was a shame. I know modern expectations want this performed in big open spaces but the result is anti-historical. Recordings can bridge this by using more appropriate spaces (chamber music in chambers) or else recording techniques that fight the downsides of a big echo-y church. ME is a talented performer who I am glad has had the opportunity to commission an instrument that meets his needs for performing Bach. While I may not always understand the wish to approach his music with a *quasi* historical lens, there may be benefits for going in this direction. Which also means they have to be open to the criticism for doing so. But if you choose instruments with 20th or 21st Century improvements then let that not be the focus; instead, demonstrate this music to us in novel and creative ways that place focus on the performance over the instruments. Use these modern enhancements to further enhance or exalt this music. Know why they do this for the music and your artistic vision. What I guess I missed is M saying “My desire to bring Bach to more people today led to the creation of an instrument that amplifies Bach’s music in a modern age. This instrument will help me project Bach’s music in the confines of the modern concert hall and within settings that can accommodate a larger audience.” This I can get behind in an effort to bring “an historical sound world to modern spaces for concerts and recordings.”

@takemyjobpleeez 4 жыл бұрын

I think they should have nixed the recorder music over-lay during the demo. I want to the to the harpsichord, without that "whistle" , and cello(?) going in the background.

@hanni150751 4 жыл бұрын

Thanks Steve for your comment. My idea of making this small video was to present the 3 musicians and their instruments that they play on this specific Album that I released. Michala Petri play the recorder,- and Hille Perl the viola da gamba.

@benoitducene466 4 жыл бұрын

I don't see how this instrument is "ideal" for Bach. It sounds rough and slightly vulgar.

@musael22 5 жыл бұрын

Michala Petri ❤❤❤

@bifeldman 4 жыл бұрын

Well, this is a breath of stale air.

@DonaldLivingstonCembalist 4 жыл бұрын

This is a special instrument (a Revival harpsichord) built for how *I* play Bach. What did his mother feed him that his ego got that big?

@SallyGordonMark 3 жыл бұрын

There is nothing egotistical about an artist saying an instrument corresponds to his idea of how the music should sound.

@b.j.n.g.354 3 жыл бұрын

TO : MAHAN ESFAHANI ; I HAVE ALWAYS LIKED AND ENJOYED HEARING THE HARPSICHORD BEING PLAYED. MAHAN ESFAHANI , YOU ARE A GREAT HARPSICHORDIST , AND AN EVEN GREATER STAGEMAN. YOU ARE A WONDERFUL ADDITION AND CONTRIBUTOR TO YOUR JOHANNES SEBASTIAN BACH-PLAYING TRIO. THE THREE OF YOU PLAYING TOGETHER ARE AWESOME AND AMAZING. MAHAN ESFAHANI , YOU ARE WONDERFUL TO WATCH , AND EVEN GREATER TO HEAR AND TO LISTEN TO AND TO APPRECIATE. AND WE ALL HOPE THAT YOU WILL CONTINUE YOUR GREAT AND WONDERFUL AND CREATIVE AND ORIGINAL AND UNIQUE MUSIC-PLAYING ON YOUR BACHIAN HARPSICHORD. BE WELL. ---EMERITUS PROFESSOR BJNG.