Bach: Music for Three and Four Harpsichords • Cuiller
There’s an infamous quote about the sound of the harpsichord, attributed to the British conductor, Thomas Beecham:
The sound of a harpsichord is two skeletons copulating on a tin roof in a thunderstorm.
My first encounter with these concertos (BWV 1063-1065) was via the 80s recordings by the English Concert, led by Trevor Pinnock. I’ve since took these pieces in, in every flavor, including performances on multiple pianos (not my taste). While I question whether Sir Beecham appreciated the sound of a harpsichord, I love the sound, especially when more than one are invited to play in tandem.
I often picture Bach and his sons Wilhelm Friedermann and Philipp Emmanuel playing these with him at the Zimmerman coffee house on an afternoon in Leipzig in the imagination I’m afforded, aided by some historical accounts. What a novelty that must have been! The liner notes provide a comprehensive appraisal of these pieces and which instruments Bach needed to perform each part.
The Pinnock recordings I believe used a larger ensemble, but those early recordings, if I’m being honest, were edited to reinforce the harpsichord sound. In this new recording from La Caranvansérail, led by harpsichordist Bertrand Cuiller, they achieve an appropriate balance by playing with single string players. But if you want the tin roof reference to come to mind, I’d suggest starting with the special finale piece: an arrangement of Bach’s third Brandenburg concerto (BWV 1048) for four harpsichords alone! While there’s no proof that Bach made such an arrangement himself, I can’t help but think after hearing the result here that he wouldn’t have slapped his forehead, pushing his wig nearly off, for not trying it out.
In former recordings of these works, I often wondered why engineers didn’t make more effect in separating the instruments spatially to get a surround-sound like effect. The production here, thankfully, gives me what I’ve always wanted. And it’s no better heard than in the recording of BWV 1048. The reading is glorious.
Cuiller and company don’t insert a phony middle-movement, which I always despise. But everything turns full-tilt in the final movement. I couldn’t help but dial up the headphones for this one. So much metal, so much plucking! It’s four skeletons f*****.
Dirty humor aside, the cherry on top of this sundae is the resonance of the instruments after the last chord. Thankful they let it ring and decay naturally. I don’t know how this music wouldn’t put a wide smile on your face. And yes, the music does that itself without any immature references to Sir Thomas Beecham.
I’ve always liked the final movement of the C major concerto, especially for its bounce and groove. The performance here confirms for me that artistic take imposed on this album: they are intent in bringing the sound of harpsichords forward. If you were a chef, there’d be no question that you wanted the essence of a particular ingredient to stick out. Despite the small band, they do help bring dynamic shape to the piece. The acoustics are well-matched by the tempos chosen, with this movement especially. I’ve heard it faster played by three violins, but I can still get my groove on here. The stereophonic effect, though, is a plus.
This album I think is crack for any fan of the harpsichord. The instruments assembled for the recording don’t all sound the same, which is a bonus. They each provide their own character. The Knif and Pelto instrument, I think is easy to hear, with what I often think is an especially ripe sound. Very attractive.
The Alla Siliciana which is the slow movement in BWV 1063 (presented second on the disc), has often been one of my least-favorite movements; but here the melody is dominated by the harpsichords themselves rather than the violins, and that balance change, alongside the tempo, make this for me a far-more successful interpretation.
The same concerto’s final movement is played at an ideal tempo, capturing the dramatic nature of Bach’s contrapuntal theme. If it were Christmas, I’d like more presence from Richard Myron’s double bass.
Among my very favorite concertos by Vivaldi—and by extension popularized by Bach through his arrangement into BWV 1065—is the four-violin concerto from his L’estro Armonico. What a theme! Intense emotions abound. This recording again offers the colorful rendition that four different instruments can produce, especially so when physically separated and captured across a wide soundstage. It’s impossible for me to call out the contributions of each player without trying to re-create the room with a score in hand, but I didn’t hear anything throughout this concerto (nor the entire recording) that indicated any one player out-of-sync with the ensemble.
The performers used for this production include:
- Violaine Cochard,
- Bertrand Cuiller,
- Olivier Fortin,
- Pierre Gallon,
- Jean-Luc Ho, and
- Davor Krkljus
The ability to hear everyone alone again takes place in the middle movement of 1065. There’s a trap Bach left us in there, to lose the tempo and sometimes I do detect some ensembles speeding up a bit when rendering Vivaldi’s harmonies with moving textures. Not here. Everyone stays locked-in. Bravo.
There’s a special crunchiness that I couldn’t deny in the concerto’s third movement. As satisfying to me as biting into meringue-based dessert, or a millefeuille pastry. The articulation is outstanding, the enhancement from the strings coming out just when its needed.
Inevitably you’ll ask if you need another recording of these works? I doubt you have a recording of BWV 1048 played by four harpsichords. So there’s that to push you over the edge toward a purchase. But even if that wasn’t on the disc, I don’t think these concertos have ever been presented better. As stated, this is a recording made for lovers of the harpsichord. The recording’s engineers were careful enough to tame reverb to a proper level so that we get a detailed-enough account of each instrument’s articulation and sonic character. This is how it’s done.
Bravo!
