Jacques, since you live in the Netherlands you are free to come play at my Harpsichord and change your mind. The richness of a good harpsichord is just in a class of its own. Mine has three stops.
Note, in the early days of the revival (eighties) not the best kinds of instruments were made. Our understanding and artistic level has increased dramatically since then.
If I listen to your link of the harpsichord, I hear a ton of problems indeed, so I can imagine that it drives you away.
This music though is definitely not the most suitable for piano, the tone color of the harpsichord is so distinct, it lends itself to different types of music. To add, the interpretation of Gould is pretty outdated imho.
For all of you, the Netherlands Bach Society is truly a marvel, look at their channel or at https://allofbach.com. Their quality is unmatched, they attract the best of the best of this world and put everything for free on the internet. Sometimes, I have to ask why we get the most beautiful treasures of the world for free.
> For all of you, the Netherlands Bach Society is truly a marvel, look at their channel or at https://allofbach.com. Their quality is unmatched, they attract the best of the best of this world and put everything for free on the internet. Sometimes, I have to ask why we get the most beautiful treasures of the world for free.
Jacques, be wary of taking piano technique to a harpsichord. Couperin's manual on harpsichord playing is entitled "L'Art de toucher le clavecin". Hard hands don't work well.
Also a harpsichord tone needs time to develop after the pluck. On a revival instrument, playing fast doesn't lose much. On an instrument built following historic practices, slower brings out the music.
Scott Ross once cautioned against playing comme une machine à coudre.
Note, in the early days of the revival (eighties) not the best kinds of instruments were made. Our understanding and artistic level has increased dramatically since then. If I listen to your link of the harpsichord, I hear a ton of problems indeed, so I can imagine that it drives you away.
This music though is definitely not the most suitable for piano, the tone color of the harpsichord is so distinct, it lends itself to different types of music. To add, the interpretation of Gould is pretty outdated imho.
If you want to hear the best version currently, listen to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AtOPiG5jyk.
For all of you, the Netherlands Bach Society is truly a marvel, look at their channel or at https://allofbach.com. Their quality is unmatched, they attract the best of the best of this world and put everything for free on the internet. Sometimes, I have to ask why we get the most beautiful treasures of the world for free.
All of you, please, take their gift.