18th CENTURY
Replica (1955)
(compass: F - F 5 octave; 61 keys)
The first reports of the existence of the clavichord are from the beginning of the 15th century. In the 16th and 17th centuries, music written for keyboard instruments were played on the clavichord, or the harpsichord family, such as the spinet and virginal. The general term clavier on a score might designate the harpsichord, or even other keyboard instruments such as the organ. It is uncertain, for example, whether the term clavier in J.S. Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier (1722) is generic, or refers specifically to the clavichord or the harpsichord. Many composers preferred the clavichord to the harpsichord because of its expressive capability. Franz Joseph Haydn’s solo keyboard works, were written on the clavichord.
C.P.E. Bach, J. S. Bach’s son and one of the most important
composers in the late 18th century,
gave the musician's view of the clavichord in 1760. In his famous
treatise Essay on the True Art of Playing
Keyboard Instruments, he writes:
"The more recent pianoforte, when it is sturdy and well built, has
many fine qualities, although its touch must be carefully worked out, a task
which is not without difficulties. Yet,
I hold that a good clavichord, except for its weaker tone, shares
equally in the attractiveness of the pianoforte and in addition features
that vibrato and portato which I produce by means of added pressure
after each stroke. It is at the clavichord
that a keyboardist may be most exactly evaluated."
TONE: The
tone is very quiet, sweet and colorful.
In an absolutely quiet room, only the player and very few people around
the instrument will hear it. By varying
the pressure when the note is held, it raises and lowers the pitch of the tone,
producing a vibrato effect known as “bebung.” To produce the “Portato”
after the note is played and the tangent is still in touch with the string, a
little added pressure on the key will raise the pitch and will create this
affect.
TOUCH: The
keys do not hit the bottom when depressed. They
will still be above the keybed.
If the key is pushed all the way down to the keybed, the string would
break or jump out of its proper position and the key will break. A clavichord requires a very delicate
and very light touch. Therefore, one has to sense the moment when the tangent
touches the string. Unlike the piano
where the hammer just touches the string momentarily at the point where the
player has no more control over this action, the clavichord’s tangent
remains in contact with the string as long as one keeps his/her finger on the
key.
