JS Bach – Clavichord Capriccio, BWV 992; Two-part Inventions, BWV 772-786; Duets Nos 1-4, BWV 802-805; Musical Offering, BWV 1079; Three-part Inventions, BWV 787-801; Chromatic Fantasia & Fugue in D, BWV 903 András Schiff (clavichord) ECM 485 7948 80:37 mins (2 discs)
JS Bach’s favoured keyboard instrument, according to his son Carl Philipp Emmanuel, was the clavichord. That relatively inexpensive instrument was to be found in many a German organist’s home for regular practice; with its simple action in which a metal tangent strikes the string, the clavichord is, in András Schiff’s words ‘… a most gentle creature, ideal for playing alone’. The instrument used for this recording is a copy of a clavichord by Jacob Specken, a pupil of Silbermann, one of the finest makers of the early 18th century.
The close recording in a modestly reverberant acoustic reveals an instrument of considerable expressive range. At its best, Schiff’s playing is exquisitely controlled, as in the Adagiosissimo of the early ‘Capriccio on the departure of his most beloved brother’, and well balanced with infectious humour in the concluding ‘post horn’ Fugue. The mature Inventions and Sinfonias blend insight, as in the elusive, chromatic Sinfonia in F minor, with a beguilingly carefree approach in the more relaxed numbers such as the E major Sinfonia. As impressive is the coherence Schiff brings to the counterpoint in the three-part Ricercar from the Musical Offering, and the Fantasia of the Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue has a brilliance surpassing many a harpsichord or modern piano performance.
Less convincing is the succeeding Fugue which feels hard driven in its latter stages, an occasional tendency surfacing elsewhere, for example in the D minor Invention. Nevertheless, Schiff’s playing overall is an illuminating and enjoyable guide to Bach at the clavichord.
Jan Smaczny
