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Balbastre, Claude-Bénigne (1724-1799) Music for Harpsichord - Elizabeth Farr
A very unique recording on a very special instrument

The Harpsichord
by Keith Hill
Certain composers of harpsichord music wrote pieces that beg to be played on harpsichords sporting a 16' stop. Bach and Handel instantly leap to mind because their music often expresses affects that "require" the breadth, depth, power, resonance, and sheer majesty that only a 16' harpsichord can generate. Claude Balbastre also happens to be just such a composer, which is odd because no French harpsichords with 16' stops remain from his time. Naturally, not every harpsichord piece demands this particular resource, but when one does ask for it, its value cannot be overestimated. There are only a handful of harpsichords built with a 16' set of strings still existing from the eighteenth century. As the maker of the 16' harpsichord used in this recording, I wanted to hear what the acoustic effect would be if a Ruckers type of harpsichord were extended in size by adding a 16' stop, with its own soundboard in the manner of the Hass family of harpsichord-makers. That is how the harpsichord used in this recording came to be. What motivated its construction was a desire to hear what those pieces would sound like, which invariably feel they need a 16' sound to augment the 8', 8', and 4' sounds of the typical harpsichord. We are fortunate to have that opportunity in this unique recording.
More info on http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.572034-35

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Balbastre
• Claude-Bénigne
• Elizabeth
• Farr
• Keith
• Hill
• harpsichord
• clavecimbel
• klavecimbel
• clavecin
• barok
• baroque
• renaissance
• 16
• stop
• register
• 16voet
• voet
• voets