The Italian Concerto by J.S. Bach on a revival harpsichord

First movement begins 0:14
Second movement begins 4:38
Third Movement begins 8:32
As outrageous as my registration pattern for Bach’s Italian Concerto may seem by today’s standards, bear in mind that when I performed it at Northwestern University on this very instrument in 1971, the same registration didn’t raise a single eyebrow in the musicology department.

[@TheFlamingPiano]

Glad to see people like you keep the harpsichord alive. Nearly obsolete because of the piano but still has its own unique and elegant character, perfect for baroque music!

[@revivalharpsichord5078]

Thanks--I think of it as indispensable for baroque music. To me it isn't just an primitive form of the piano but an instrument in its own right. Too bad I don't have the technical capability of producing "Flaming Harpsichord" videos!

[@TheFlamingPiano]

@@revivalharpsichord5078 Agree. Gives it a whole different vibe. Thanks a lot, though I actually use MIDI editing to make my covers perfect. Looks like you got skill, based on this video though. Do more!

[@revivalharpsichord5078]

I'm glad you like it! Challis instruments certainly have their own unique sound, which Challis readily acknowledged was not the same as antique instruments. Rather it was the sound he wanted. As I see it, a 16th-century Italian harpsichord sounds different than a 17th-century Flemish instrument, which sounds different than an 18th-century French harpsichord or an early-19th-century English instrument. So why shouldn't a 20th-century American harpsichord have its own sound?

[@GerardRatigan]

I cannot understand why those instruments are so despised nowadays. Beautiful sound, even if not the same than historically informed harpsichords. Thank you for sharing!

[@revivalharpsichord5078]

I couldn't agree more. As I see it, a 16th-century Italian harpsichord doesn't sound like a 17th-century Flemish harpsichord, which doesn't sound like an 18th-century French harpsichord, or an early 19th-century English harpsichord, so why shouldn't a 20th-century American harpsichord have its own sound, too? Thank you so much for your very kind comment.

[@ohiorizzler1434]

@@revivalharpsichord5078 A very true statement: there is meant to be a massively diverse sound, and it isn't even that these revival harpsichords have such a bad tone.

[@hadrienpaloc3839]

@@revivalharpsichord5078 its just about sound and particular touch... try one day to play on a 17 or 18th historical harpsichord and with the good temperament and i think you will have a start of an answer :)

[@danielschechter8130]

Very unusual sound. I like it. Oh, and a wonderful performance, too! ETA: The more I listen to this performance, and this instrument, the more I like them both!

[@revivalharpsichord5078]

I'm delighted that you have "converted" to harpsichord! I think some people have been turned off to the instrument through bad recordings, because harpsichord is very difficult to record properly. Many fine recorded performances are ruined by poor engineering. Thanks for your comment!

[@baroque_engineer]

As an amateur sound engineer, I'd be glad if you would kindly provide some details on how to record a harpsichord. So far I have done no solo harpsichord recordings, but there was one case of vocal with harpsichord: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Zn_SiYmwZ5ufnas Here I placed a stereo pair approx. 5 m in front and above the performers. There's a bit of gentle compression to bring the harpsichord out on solo parts.

[@memoweb01]

The cars pass by, their drivers unaware of what´s happening inside that house. Like a secret machine, hidden inside a chest... a treasure that only a few ones appreciate today but which yet, will survive through the ages, far beyond what we know as modern music, far beyond our own lives.

[@johnschauer7648]

Sir, you have the soul of a poet! Your words are both beautiful and perceptive; I live at a busy intersection and have had similar thoughts.. Thank you.

[@memoweb01]

Thank you for sharing this beautigul music with all of us. Salome (peace).

[@philipbay1548]

Always felt the same way when I could hear the cars passing by when listening to old recordings of ralph Kirkpatrick, their noise being forever captured on tape

[@ChildfreeMatto]

Without such harpsichords like this. The harpsichord as we know Today would not exist. It would be still seen as an out- moulded relic of the past without any useful purpose for Today's usage. Thank goodness for harpsichords like this! I will always love and respect them as legitimate instruments.

[@johnschauer7648]

I wish more people shared your attitude! Without revival harpsichords, we would still be hearing Bach's keyboard music only on the piano. Thanks.

[@ChildfreeMatto]

John Schauer Thank you for replying in such an educated manner. Most, would pass off this instrument as an abomination to a historical harpsichord. But without such instruments we wouldn't have the harpsichord as we know today. Thank you for such a kind understanding.

[@ChildfreeMatto]

John Schauer Also, I hate deeply J.S. Bach played on the piano! What a absolute travesty!

[@johnschauer7648]

I don't care for it myself.Some people think of a harpsichord as simply an early, primitive version of the piano, but they are completely different instruments. Bach on the piano is like playing a violin sonata on a clarinet!

[@mikezinn7212]

How right you are! At 60, I've grown up through this great revival and it's been a wonderful experience, each year finding out more and more of this glorious musical period. Never seen as retrospective - more like the deciphering of the Rosetta Stone!

[@takemyjobpleeez]

I have an Ammer "Bach" model. I'm making new jacks for it. The original plastic ones are breaking, especially when trying to get out the old leather quills that are firmly glued in. I'll re-use the end-pins, and tongue adjustment screws on the new jacks. Not crazy about about the disposition: 16',8' on lower, and 8',4' on upper, but I've toyed with the idea of turning it into 3x8', 1x4'. The lower 8' , and 16', are the same length; they share the same nut and bridge, pinned together on top, a little over 1/8 inch apart!!

[@revivalharpsichord5078]

Yikes, it sounds like you've embarked on a major project! When I first acquired the Challis, it needed complete revoicing, and I opted to switch from the original leather plectra to Delrin. But the technician on the staff at Northwestern University who did it (something beyond my skill and patience!) didn't completely remove the leathers but instead cut them off flush with the tongue and then put a drop of Crazy Glue or something similar on each one to harden them. Then the new Delrin jacks were inserted through the slit on top of the leather remnant, which is snug enough that they don't need to be glued, which makes for easy replacing. I've never encountered an instrument with the so-called "Bach" disposition your instrument has, although I've enjoyed Helmut Walcha's recordings on an Ammer that I assume is similar, and on Kirkpatrick's recordings for Archiv he uses a Neupert with that same disposition (which at the time they thought was "authentic"). My teacher at NU, Dorothy Lane, taught her students to use the 16' register sparingly, but I would hate to be without it altogether. Are you sure you want to ditch it?( I'm assuming you have a coupler pedal to make the 4' accessible from the lower keyboard.) Best of luck with your project, and I hope you'll make some recordings on it when it's finished! Keep us posted.

[@takemyjobpleeez]

The eight foot jacks were already converted to Delrin, in the way you described. The sixteen and four still had the old leathers, which were all limp, or broken. I did re-leather those, with some success, but I broke a number of the tongues, because the sides of the mortises are so thin. The jack springs have a number issues, too. Some are too bent and it's hard to straighten them, as they are quite short, and there are "welded" in the plastic jack body. I figured I would go ahead and make new jacks. I love doing stuff like that. I've already built a small harpsichord, myself, and I'd love to do it again (I've made other instruments, too, including a copy of a very rare Stoessel-laute). I do like having a sixteen foot choir, but the issue with it, is finding replacements for strings. Every single note is wrapped, all the way to the top. I've had success with replacing a few with solid brass, and found the tone to be in line with the original. The bass strings would be a challenge should they break. The 16 foot tone still sounds pretty good, considering the age of the strings (built in 1972). I know many folks would rather throw a revival instrument in a dump, but this is the kind of instrument I heard growing up, so I'm not a purist. If the modern piano can get a pass, why can't the modern harpsichord? Every instrument has evolved. I started playing piano, by ear, when I was around six. I later became a harpist (still am), but I bought this harpsichord about 20 years ago because it was a bargain, and I've always wanted one (pianos can be so boring). I've had a chance to play a historical copy, and I loved it, but I'd say the tone of my instrument is just as warm, and satisfying for me. I can feel the vibrations through the keys, just as I had playing the copy.

[@revivalharpsichord5078]

@@takemyjobpleeez You're a man after my own heart. I've long maintained that since a 16th-century Italian harpsichord sounds different from a 17th-century Flemish harpsichord, which sounds different from an 18th-century French harpsichord, which sounds different from an early 19th-century English harpsichord, why shouldn't a 20th-century American harpsichord, like my Challis, not have its own unique sound, too? And revival harpsichords have a hundred-year history of their own, so I think they've earned their own position in the pantheon of historical instruments. If someone in the 18th century somehow was able to own a revival instrument, I doubt very sincerely that any composer of the time would say, "Oh no, you must not play my music on that instrument."

[@philipbay1548]

@@revivalharpsichord5078 I did the same procedure to a sperrhake model 168 which now happily resides with a new owner

[@Vikingvideos50]

Challis! Fantastic

[@gregorywilliams7930]

One of my favorites. Thank you.

[@admiralmyxtar3702]

I like how it sounds. Somewhat cute and more chill tempo in 3rd movement suits it very nice

[@ProdigyImprovisation]

ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL INSTRUMENT!!!!

[@hauptwerkian]

Excellent

[@Arch5280]

Very nice!!! The registration seems perfectly fine; I wouldn't allow myself to be bullied by purists.

[@johnschauer7648]

Thank you! I try to base all my registration on the structure of the music. I'm delighted that my tonal scheme made sense to you!

[@revivalharpsichord5078]

Hard to say, but I rather think not--all of my registration choices were based one what was written, but who knows? Also, an awful lot of registration changes would have been possible on an instrument like the magnificent three-manual harpsichord built by Hieronymus Albrecht Hass in 1740, on which Rafael Puyana made a number of dazzling recordings that are worth checking out.

[@michaelg9344]

An extravaganza

[@brumels1570]

This harpsichord has a cute sound.

[@mariodengue]

aguante el harpsichord!! que buen instrumento!

[@mootbooxle]

I love the tone of this harpsichord! Does it have leather or delrin plectra? Revival harpsichords are my favorite.

[@johnschauer7648]

It was originally built with leather plectra back in 1968, which is how I first got to know it when I studied on it at Northwestern University , but when NU sold it to me 6 or 7 years ago, I had it revoiced with Delrin. I don't think it really changed the tone any. Thanks so much for the kind comment!

[@herrickinman9303]

Lurch the butler plays a Pleyel.

[@The_Butler_Did_It]

I wonder if Bach would have written any differently if he'd had access to instruments like this.

[@diomedes8791]

I see this is a John Challis instrument. Does it have an aluminium soundboard?

[@revivalharpsichord5078]

It is definitely a metal soundboard, but its exact composition is a bit of a mystery. Challis never divulged what he made them from (he called it his one trade secret), but Wolfgang Zuckermann, in his book "The Modern Harpsichord," hazarded a guess that it was anodized aluminum, and many people have taken that as factual, although I don't know if it is true or not. This was one of Challis's later harpsichords, being built in 1968, so it incorporates most of his technological innovations.

[@SoggySandwich80]

This doesn’t sound bad for a 60s revival harpsichord, I’ve noticed others sound like toy keyboards

[@austingreen1194]

Are these hard to find? I want a double manual, and historical copies are super expensive. Pluss I like this sound and was just reading about the builder.

[@roycevanbeethoven]

Hi Austin, I'm not sure if you were able to get your answer elsewhere, but these instruments are not difficult to find. Unless you are looking to buy a new one (to my knowledge, Neupert is the only maker to still offer new "revival" harpsichords, or as some prefer to call them, _Serien_ harpsichords. However, they can be as expensive, if not more expensive than "historical" harpsichords), you should be able to find listings on eBay, Craigslist, or your preferred online auction site from time to time. Prices for a large double-manual instrument like you see here can range from $2,000 to $7,000, depending on the condition of the instrument. Speaking of condition, many of these instruments are in disrepair due to lack of use and aging plectra (unlike "historical" harpsichords, many _Serien_ harpsichords use leather plectra, which tend to degrade faster than delrin or bird quill), so if you do not wish to spend your time restoring (or engaging the services of a willing harpsichord builder, which can be difficult due to the sadly negative reputation of such instruments) the instrument, you should source an instrument that you are able to try out, i.e., within driving distance.

[@jhonwask]

I wish that you could purchase a harpsichord for a similar price as a new piano. It has less moving parts and mechanisms and uses less material. It also weighs considerably less than a modern piano, even a cheap spinet. Whaaaaa! I miss playing. I've got to get a new one soon.

[@enzopedretti2660]

Ottima esecuzione

[@lordmisanthrope1949]

A great instrument that was made famous by the late great Fernando Valenti

[@johnschauer7648]

It was also the instrument on which Ralph Kirkpatrick made his landmark recording of 60 Scarlatti Sonatas for Columbia. Unfortunately, they were never released on CD.

[@paralaxeful1]

Unequal tuning.