This is really a unique performance and a unique experience it is to listen to it. I am absolutely astonished how easy it looks as if she doesn't move her fingers at all. A whole life devoted to playing. Thank you for performing for us!
Thank you Lucille for this wonderful experience ! Some people are confused about performance instead to pay attention to the message of performer and the message of composer. We all tend to forget about time when something was created! Bravo!!
It wouldnt be played on the Harpsichord today if it werent for Harpsichordist Wanda Landowska ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-H2FbbAUzCYA.html
@Disguised Spy Clavichord, indeed. According to Forkel, who got his information from Bach sons, Bach's preferred instrument for private music making was the clavichord. Not the harpsichord. Very few of Bach's solo keyboard music not for organ specify harpsichord, and the few that do (e.g., the Italian Concerto and the "Goldberg" Variations and the French Overture) require a 2-manual harpsichord.
@@Egill2011 There's no evidence to support the claim that Bach composed all his solo keyboard music (other than the organ music) for harpsichord. The few solo keyboard works that specify harpsichord require a 2-manual harpsichord (e.g. the Italian Concerto, the "Goldberg" Variations, and the French Overture). But the Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue, the 2-Part Inventions, the 3-Part Sinfonias, the Well-Tempered Clavier, the Partitas, the "English" and "French" Suites, etc. -- all of which many people *presume* were intended for harpsichord -- do not specify harpsichord at all. According to Forkel, who got his information from Bach sons, Bach's preferred instrument for private music making was the clavichord. Not the harpsichord. According to another source, Bach tried out an early Silbermann fortepiano in the 1730s and is said to have admired the sound, but complained the upper register was too weak and the action too heavy. Presumably Silbermann made some improvements by 1747, when Bach tried out the latest Silbermann fortepianos at the Prussian king's Potsdam residence. At one time, the king owned 15 Silbermann fortepianos. In Bach's day, the fortepiano was regarded as a novelty of the rich. The piano is much improved since 1747. Based on the above account of Bach's assessment of an early Silbermann fortepiano, I think Bach would admire the sound of the modern piano and have no complaints about the upper register or the action.
A beautiful performance that melds heart and mind, feeling and interpretation. This is also a meeting of minds between the composer and the performer: the way it is supposed to happen!
As a child, i used to listen to the Helma Elsner version of this from circa 1958-. It is such a lovely piece. You play it so well. at 4:56 i was thinking, wait doesn't this come to a cadence ? and then there it was. A very beautifully dramatic rendition.
Thank you Ms. Gruber, for this superb video. Especially the fugue. These days it seems in vogue to prefer the piano for the keyboard works of Bach. Indeed we have some wonderful pianists performing Bach. But to me, when you put Bach onto the piano it always seems to be about the piano. And the performer. On the harpsichord, it is about the music and Bach's transfer of his ideas and his faith onto the notes.
4:13 I saw the tonebase short about this chord and I've been looking for recordings where it appears in this form, with the Gb in the bass resolving to F. I find it so beautiful like this and so ahead of Bach's time. Marvelous recording
Transcendent emotive work, like Bach himself telling us about our souls. Thank you! I love your interpretation, clarity, touch and presence you bring to the work. Thank you!
Superb. I love her approach, given in the intro, to play it as the mood takes her. What a piece..clearly based on the evolution of an extempore arpeggiated warm-up exercise as a toccata. We are lucky that Bach wrote this one down. Other composers would have left much of the music up to the individual performer with a figured bass line as guide but Bach wrote this one out in full. Certainly one of the peaks of Bach's keyboard work.
A fine performance. This piece clearly is better for the harpsichord (rather than a piano). I especially liked your arpeggios (& chords) towards the end of the Chromatic Fantasy which convey the power of Bach's composition.
Considerei a fantasia tocada maravilhosamente, mas a fuga para mim perdeu um pouco do brilho e da força que ela tem em seus fraseados, ja que a intérprete não se utilizou muito do rubato e manteve o ritmo sem as variações que esses mesmo fraseados sugerem
fou le, As Lucille Gruber, explains her rationale for an improvisatory phrasing style, I find Your criticism, uncalled for. The performance is certainly NOT chaotic. It is very musically and lyrically phrased, and all the notes are in the right place. More than that she plays with a lot of feeling, and authority. I find myself in accord with Yuri !
Thank you for your comment. I always appreciate hearing from people who take the time to listen to my interpretations. As to the "pianist turned harpsichordist" comment the only thing I can say is that many harpsichordists changed course after studying music and piano and I admit it was some time before I truly felt comfortable and natural at the keyboard. It is all about lightness, and stroking the keys and it is about articulation and connecting notes. My instrument is very lightly quilled and so there is added risk at the keyboard but well worth it. I had my first lesson with Gustave Leonhardt in 1976, and have never played the piano since. I had not yet converted to playing at baroque pitch at that lesson and I so remember it well since, with perfect pitch, it was like transposing at sight playing that exquisite instrument.. You would have to be much more specific for me to understand your statement but I appreciate your interest.
