Micrologus; The Clavichord

82-15 THE CLAVICHORD

Of all historical keyboard instruments—organ, harpsichord, fortepiano, and so on—the clavichord has so far received the smallest amount of public attention. Strange, in a way, since it probably has the most expressive potential of any of them. The sound of this small rectangular instrument however, is not designed to attract widespread attention—its dynamic range is considerable, but it stretches from piano to pianississimo.

The clavichord produces its sound in the following way: each key is a simple lever; the player presses the key and at the other end a tiny brass blade, called a tangent, rises to strike a pair of strings from below.

Because of the percussive action of the tangent striking the string (as opposed to plucking it), the articulation of the clavichord is much more like the fortepiano than the harpsichord, but it differs from the piano most noticeably by being much softer and brighter, due to the metal tangent.

A note on the clavichord will sound only as long as this tangent is in contact with string, since at the moment the tangent strikes the string and starts it vibrating it also becomes one of the ends of the sounding length of the string. As soon as the key is released and the tangent falls away, the sound is instantly dampened.

The clavichord also has one very important feature which is unique among keyboard instruments: the ability to play with vibrato (something which, on the clavichord is usually referred to by the German term Bebung). The way a player gets this vibrato is to lightly increase and decrease the pressure of the finger on the key. Since the tangent is touching the string that action relaxes the tension and thus raises and lowers the pitch in much the same way that a guitarist can create vibrato with the fingers of the left hand by moving the string sideways along the fret.

The term "clavichord" first makes its appearance at the beginning of the 15th century although the instrument itself may have existed in the previous century under the name of chekker. Representations of it begin to appear in sculpture and painting toward the middle of the 15th century just about the time that Conrad Paumann was beginning to make his mark as a keyboard composer and performer. In a moment we are going to listen to Paumann' s famous piece "Mit ganczem willen,” but before we do, I want to advise you not to turn up your radios, even though the music is very soft. If my voice is at a normal level of loudness then the clavichord sound you hear should be just about as it would be in a live performance. If you turn up the volume the sound will be distorted and the charm and subtlety will be lost—and of course, after the piece my voice will be much louder than you would even want to hear it. So keep the volume knob where it is and listen closely. Conrad Paumann's "Mit ganczem willen." performed by Bernard Brauchli at the clavichord.

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The clavichord of Paumann's time had a three-octave range but astonishingly, only nine pairs of strings all tuned to the same pitch. The different pitches were achieved by having the tangents of 3 or 4 adjacent keys all strike the same string in different places. Again we can see a parallel with the guitar, on which the player produces different pitches by stopping the string at frets along its length. Perhaps because of this similarity, the early clavichord which uses this system is now called the fretted clavichord. The only problem with the system is that certain notes cannot be played together because they use the same string, and also it is difficult to play smoothly between such notes. Because of this the number of pairs of strings was doubled by the end of the 15th century. Such an instrument might have played the Fantasie by Hans Kotter which we hear performed again by Bernard Brauchli.

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The clavichord was clearly more popular in some countries than others. Germany, as you might have imagined from the pieces we have heard so far, seems to have been its greatest stronghold followed by Spain. In England in the early 16th century Henry VIII owned only 2 clavichords— compared to 30 harpsichords and 24 organs. There is one English manuscript from this time, however, containing three pieces which perfectly fit the limited range of the clavichord. One of the three is "The Short Mesure off My Lady Wynkfyld's Rownde.” Here it is performed by Bernard Brauchli.

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Many published keyboard collections of the 16th century do not specify the instrument intended, but there are a handful which do mention the clavichord specifically, and among these, the editions of France's Royal Printer of Music, Pierre Attaingnant, figure prominently. From his collection of dances published in the Spring of 1531, we hear the basse danse “Saint Roch,” performed by Bernard Brauchli.

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Another collection to mention clavichord specifically is the book of dances issued by Antonio Gardane in Venice in 1551. From it we hear the· "Gamba Gagliarda.” Again, the performer is Bernard Brauchli.

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In the course of the 16th century, instrument-makers discovered that the clavichord sounded better if the bass strings were longer than the treble strings, so they achieved this difference in length, first with multiple bridges—like violin bridges—and later with one long bridge set at an angle.

Another thing which we can observe in pictures of clavichords from the 16th century is that they very often are played by women. This may be because women were not expected to perform on instruments in public and the clavichord is not an instrument for a large audience, or it may be because women are especially sensitive to the delicate nuance of the instrument. In any case, it is very appropriate that we should hear the next piece performed by a woman, Joan Benson, who also happens to be one of America's finest clavichordists. Antonio de Cabezon's "Variations on Duuiensela.”

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In the course of the 17th century the clavichord was very little in use, except in Germany, the Iberian Peninsula, and oddly enough, in Scandinavia. But even in these countries it had a reputation as a mere practice instrument for organists. Also in the 17th century, the number of strings was gradually increased (reducing the amount of fretting required) and the soundboard was enlarged.

At the beginning of the l8th century in Germany this trend culminated in the first completely unfretted clavichords, in other words instruments which had a different string for each note. One of the builders most involved with the new larger type of clavichord was Hieronymous Albrecht Hass. We are going to hear one of his instruments in a moment, but before we do, there is a small misconception that I would like to clear up. It is sometimes said that the clavichord was Johann Sebastian Bach's favorite instrument, and reference is made to his "Well-tempered Clavichord" collection. In fact, Bach used the term "Clavier,” rather than "Clavichord,” in the title and "Clavier" simply means "keyboard.” There is one member of the Bach family, however, for whom the clavichord was the most beloved of all instruments: Johann Sebastian's second son, Carl Philipp Emanuel.

The English Chronicler and Music Historian Charles Burney described a visit with Emanuel Bach:

“M. Bach was so obliging as to sit down to his Clavichord, upon which he played three or four of his choicest and most difficult compositions, with the delicacy, precision and spirit for which he is so justly celebrated among his countrymen. In the pathetic and slow movements, when he had a long note to express he absolutely contrived to produce from his instrument a cry of sorrow and such as can only be effected upon the Clavichord, and perhaps by himself.

After dinner I prevailed upon him to sit down again to a Clavichord and he played with little intermission until near eleven o'clock at night. During this time he grew so animated and possessed that he not only played but looked like one inspired. His eyes were fixed, his lower lip fell, and drops of effervescence distilled from his countenance. His performance today convinced me that he is not only one of the greatest composers that ever existed for keyed instruments, but the best player in point of expression.”

[MUSIC: Clavichordist Colin Tilney performing C. P. E. Bach's Fantasia in C Minor], a work with which the composer brought to a close his great Essay on the True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments, and which also brings to a close today's edition of Micrologus.