Number 46, Fall 2020 
• Le clavichord published in France
• Two clavichords by Johann Christoph Georg Schiedmayer
• Joan Benson Tribute
• Handel’s Attick
• Frances Conover Fitch Recital Review
Author Archives: admin
Book for Sale | Clavichord Tuning and Maintenance
Clavichord Book For Sale
Clavichord Tuning and Maintenance
by Peter Bavington
Third Edition | Keyword Press, 2020
$35, postage included
Book for Sale | Le clavichorde
Clavichord Book For Sale
Le clavichorde
by Dominique Ferran (ed.)
2020 | French text
$15, postage included
Bulletin Number 45 | Fall 2019
Number 45, Fall 2019
• Four Hands at the Clavichord
• Exploring Chopin on the Clavichord
• Clavichord Events at the 2019 Boston Early Music Festival
• VIII Nordic Historical Keyboard Festival in Kuopio, Finland, May 21–29, 2019
CD for Sale | Rudi Seitz
New Release!
Rudi Seitz, a Boston-area composer, has just released an album of nine canons for clavichord, performed by his collaborator Matthew McConnell.
» The album is available online here.
Friends of the BCS may contact the composer directly to receive a complimentary digital copy of this new clavichord album along with an earlier album of forty-five canons for harpsichord. Please mention “BCS – canons” in the subject line. This offer is valid through October 2019.
Bulletin Number 44 | Winter 2019
Number 44, Winter 2019
• Meerbach Clavichord
• Fretting About Fingering: The Symbiotic Relationship Between Clavichords and Historical Keyboard Technique
• British Clavichord Society Newsletter
• The Jupiter Symphony: A Personal Experience
Bulletin Number 43 | Summer 2018
Number 43, Summer 2018
• Clavichord and Organ at Orgelpark
• A New “Leipzig 10” from Andreas Hermert
• Nordic Historic Keyboard Festival 2018
• Menno van Delft recording of Bach Partitas on Clavichord
• The Clavichord and the Cello
Bulletin Number 42 | Fall 2017
Number 42, Fall 2017
• Consistency and Inconsistency in Historical Keyboard Fingering
• An Interview with Maria Erdman
• Nordic Keyboard Festival 2017
• Katarzyna Kluczykowska, Polish Keyboardist
• Partitas by Georg Muffat
• Herbert Howells, Music for Clavichord
• Carole Cerasi in Recital and a New Clavichord by Douglas Maple
Bulletin Number 41 | Winter 2016
Number 41, Winter 2016
• CD Review: J.S. Bach French Suites
Played on Two Clavichords by Julian Perkins
• Teaching Clavichord Workshops
• A Visit to Weimar: Summer 2016
• Clavichord Studies at the Hochschule für Musik
Franz Liszt Weimar
Bulletin Number 40 | Spring 2016
Number 40, Spring 2016
• Becoming an Early Keyboard Technician: Elizabeth Harris in Boston
• What Makes It “Clavichord” (or not)?
• The Nordic Historical Keyboard Festival
May 29-June 10, 2016
• New and Old Music for Clavichord
(recording on CD)
• Susan Alexander Max: In Memoriam
• Building a Zuckermann Clavichord VI
• Exploring the Sykes Clavichord Collection, Part Two
• Research on a clavichord in Paris attributed to Johann Heinrich Silbermann
Announcement | Museum Exhibition
Museum Exhibition
Voicing the Woods: Jeremy Adams, New England Instrument Maker
Cape Ann Museum,
Gloucester, Massachusetts
capeannmuseum.org
October 22, 2016 – February 26,2017
This exhibition includes a one-stop chamber organ, a demonstration organ chest,
a 1995 clavichord and a selection of harpsichords.
Bulletin Number 39 | Winter 2015
Number 39, Winter 2015
• Mersenne’s Clavichord
• Building a Clavichord
• Update on Research pertaining to Five Clavichords Attributed to Johann Heinrich Silbermann
• The Finnish Clavichord Society
• Kids and Keyboards
• C.P.E. Bach at Juilliard
Bulletin Number 38 | Spring 2015
Leave a reply
Number 38, Spring 2015
• Schulenberg Recital: A C.P.E. Bach Retrospective
• Minimizing the Effects of Severe Weather on Keyboard Instruments
• Fourth Nordic Historical Keyboard Festival
• Christopher Hogwood (1941-2014)
• The Clavichord at the Juilliard School
• Introducing Historical Keyboards at the Rivers Conservatory
• The Pedal Clavichord at Oberlin
Bulletin Number 37 | Winter 2014
Number 37, Winter 2014
• Clavichord for Beginners
• Peter Bavington: An Appreciation
• A C.P.E Bach Tercentenary Conference at Cornell
• Clavichord Instruction in Japan
• Michigan Clavichord Society in Formation
• A Gallery of Bavington Clavichords
• A Clavichord Conference in Germany
• Observations on three clavichords attributed to Johann Heinrich Silbermann: A Builder’s Perspective
Book for Sale | Bavington Book
Bavington Book Available
Clavichord Tuning and Maintenance
by Peter Bavington
Published by Keyword Press 2007; ISBN 978-0-9555590-0-6
Second updated edition available from the BCS for $35,
postage included. Orders should be sent to the BCS at P.O. Box 540484, Waltham, MA 02454. Payment by check or money order.
From the review by Peter Sykes in issue #23 of Tangents:
“Clavichord Tuning and Maintenance is a long-awaited must-have book for every person owning or building a clavichord. It brings together for the first time a wealth of practical tuning information (with just enough of a theoretical basis to ground the information without complex mathematical explanations), and is richly supplied throughout with drawings, diagrams, and tables explaining everything very clearly. Written in a friendly, conversational tone, it will go far in encouraging clavichord owners to take care of their instruments rather than to shy away from the possibly onerous duties of tuning and maintenance.”
Bulletin Number 36 | Spring 2014
Number 36, Spring 2014
• Appreciating the Music of C.P.E. Bach Today
• A Tour of Clavichords
• Tom Beghin at Houghton Library
• The Music of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
• C.P.E. Bach at Harvard
• Lebedinsky to Offer Workshop at AGO Convention
Bulletin Number 35 | Fall 2013
Number 35, Fall 2013
• Eight is (Nearly) Enough
• Clavichord Instruction in Conservatories, Colleges, and Universities, Part II
• The Nordic Historical Keyboard Festival 2013
• Crowell Photo Gallery
Upcoming Recitals
BACH, A JOURNEY
Luc Beauséjour
15 September 2024
7.30 pm
Wellesley, MA
Arnstadt
• Capriccio on the departure
of a beloved brother, BWV 992
Arioso: Adagio – ‘Friends Gather & Try to Dissuade Him from departing’
(Andante) – ‘They Picture the Dangers Which May Befall Him’
Adagiosissimo – ‘The Friends’ Lament’
(Andante con moto) – ‘Since He Cannot Be Dissuaded, They Say Farewell’
Allegro poco – ‘Aria of the Postilion’
‘Fugue in Imitation of the Postilion’s Horn’
Weimar
• Fantasia in G minor
‘Duobus subiectis,’ BWV 917
Köthen
• Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue, BWV 903
• French Suite No. 5 in G major, BWV 816
Allemande
Courante
Sarabande
Gavotte
Bourrée
Loure
Gigue
Leipzig
• Prelude, Fugue and Allegro in E-flat major, BWV 998
• Ricercar a 3 from The Musical Offering,
BWV 1079
General Admission: $20
Admission for students to BCS events
is free with identification.
Announcement | C.P.E. Bach Tercentenary Exhibitions at Harvard
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: Two Exhibitions at Harvard Celebrating the Tercentenary of the Composer’s Birth
January 13 – April 5, 2014
Harvard University | Houghton Library and Loeb Music Library
C.P.E. Bach, the second son of Johann Sebastian Bach, became one of the most prolific and influential composers of the eighteenth century. His oeuvre encompassed virtually every musical genre of the time, except opera, and he wrote one of the most important and enduring music treatises on keyboard instruments. During his lifetime, he enjoyed a high reputation, and his music was widely distributed in print and in manuscript.
Drawing on a wealth of materials at Harvard, with a selection of important items generously lent by other institutions and individuals, Houghton Library and the Loeb Music Library are mounting complementary exhibitions to celebrate the 300th birthday of C.P.E. Bach. The Loeb Library exhibition focuses on the editorial challenges and current editorial practice behind the ongoing publication of Bach’s complete works. The Packard Humanities Institute — in cooperation with the Bach-Archiv Leipzig, the Sächsische Akademie zu Wissenschaften zu Leipzig, and Harvard University — is producing a critical edition, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: The Complete Works, projected to run to 115 volumes, with more than half that number now in print.
The Houghton exhibition explores Bach’s intellectual and musical background by documenting the Bach family heritage, his service in the court of Frederick the Great, his interactions with authors, his important keyboard treatise, his reputation in his lifetime, his standing with his contemporaries, his later career in Hamburg, and his musical legacy.
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788):
The Intellectual and Musical Life and Legacy of an Original Genius
Edison and Newman Room, Houghton Library
January 13 – April 5, 2014
Editing C.P.E. Bach’s Complete Works
Richard F. French Gallery, Eda Kuhn Loeb Music Library
January 13 – April 5, 2014
Bulletin Number 34 | Spring 2013
Number 34, Spring 2013
• Clavichord Instruction in Conservatories, Colleges and Universities
• Bach and Sons: Clavichord and Flute
Review of Steens/Bresch CD
• Kids Encounter Historic Keyboards in Connecticut
• Nordic Historical Keyboard Festival this August
Upcoming Recital
Peter Sykes, clavichord
Na’ama Lion, traverso
Sarah Paysnick, traverso
(Click here for Peter’s website.)
Sunday, January 26, 2014 | 3.00 p.m.
Private venue in Wellesley
Program
• Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788)
Sonata in D major for traverso and keyboard,
Wq. 83
Wq. 83
• Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
Sonata in G Minor,
Wq. 65/17
Wq. 65/17
• Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (1710-1784)
Duet in G Major for two traversi,
F. 59
F. 59
• Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
Sonata in A minor for traverso and continuo,
Wq. 128
Wq. 128
• Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
Trio in E major for two traversi and continuo,
Wq. 162
Wq. 162
Reservations are required for this recital.
Please call 781.891.0814.
Please call 781.891.0814.
Book for Sale | “A Short History of the Clavichord” Book
Clavichord Book Available
A Short History of the Clavichord
by Koen Vermeij
21 x 15 cm | 39 pages | amply illustrated | paperbound | ISBN/EAN 978-90-73029-40-8 | year of publication: 2013
Available from the BCS for $9, postage included. Orders should be sent to the BCS at P.O. Box 540484, Waltham, MA 02454. Payment by check or money order.
This short history of the clavichord was first written in Dutch on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Dutch clavichord Society in 2007. Soon the German Clavichord Society asked for a translation into German, and this was published in 2008.
In this new English version information for British and American readers has been added, the text and illustrations have been updated, and the book has been extended by three pages. All in all, this “short history” can now be considered much more complete than it was at first.
From a review by Paul Rabin:
“The title of the new English edition of Koen Vermeij’s A Short History of the Clavichord is deceptive. In a handful of pages, it offers a remarkably compact, engaging, and informative introduction to the evolution of the instrument itself and its role in musical practice, to the primary documentary and iconographic evidence, and to the recent literature. Highly recommended.”
Announcement | Duryee Farmington Concert
Alissa Duryee Clavichord Concert
First Church of Christ | Farmington, Connecticut
Friday, November 1, 2013
6:30 p.m. wine and hors d’oeuvres | 7:30 p.m. concert
An intimate evening of wine, delectable nibbles, and Baroque music performed by the American-born French artist Alissa Duryee. Features the music of Iberia and Germany ~ “intimacy to brilliance.”
$25 | Reservations required | Limited to 40 concertgoers
Send checks for reservations to First Church of Christ by Friday, October 25th.
Phone: 860.677.2601
Announcement | Japan Clavier Society
Japan Clavier Society
It is a great pleasure to announce that after six years of silence the former Japan Clavichord Society gave birth to its new incarnation, the Japan Clavier Society, on the 1st of June, 2013.
The Japan Clavier Society aims to promote productive communication among keyboard performers, builders, composers, and music lovers appreciate the importance of the clavichord throughout the course of music history. Through their activities, they hope to enrich and empower the music scene of the 21st century.
The JCS utilizes the internet as the common tool for communication among registered members. There is no fee to join the society but each member must register with his or her own name. The number of members as of October 9th is 75.
Depending on response and interest, the JCS is considering the inclusion of live concerts.
The founding coordinators of the Japan Clavier Society include Yuichi Sato, Toshihiko Umeoka, Yasushi Takahashi and Tomoko A. Miyamoto. Yuichi builds harpsichords and fortepianos, Toshihiko owns a company that handles maintenance-related matters for keyboard instruments, and Yasushi has a clavichord-building workshop. Tomoko is an organist and clavichord performer and will represent the society for the initial period.
At the moment, the JSC site is in Japanese, but they welcome messages in English. Please forward them to:
clavichord.organ@gmail.com, c/o Tomoko A. Miyamoto.
Bulletins | Current Issue Contents
TANGENTS, the Bulletin of the Boston Clavichord Society, is sent free to Friends of the Boston Clavichord Society. Single copies and back issues ($4 each) can be obtained by writing to The Boston Clavichord Society, P.O. Box 540484, Waltham MA, 02454. Contributions are welcome. Please use the site Contact page to contact the editor, Beverly Woodward.
Contents of the Current Issue | Number 47, Fall 2021
• Performances
• Performing on the Clavichord in Non-traditional Venues
• Virtual Recitals in the Age of Pandemic–A Clavichord Perspective
• Report from Strasbourg
• An Das Klavier CD Review
» Click here to read the entire issue.
Bulletins | Current Issue Cover Image
Audio | BCS Recitals
BCS Recitals
Ulrika Davidsson | 9 September, 2018
• Concerto in G Major, Fk 40
Allegro non troppo
— W.F. Bach
• Concerto in G Major, Fk 40
Vivace
— W.F. Bach
Bálint Karosi | 16 March, 2018
• Suite in A Major, BuxWV 243
Allemande | Courante | Sarabande | Gigue
— Dietrich Buxtehude
• Bulgarian Dance
from Mikrokosmos
— Béla Bartók
Katarzyna Kluczykowska | 19 November, 2017
• Ariette with 12 Variations in C major
— Wincenty Ferdynand Lessel
Bernard Klapprott | 29 September, 2017
• Sonata in G Major
from Musikalisches Allerley (1762)
— Johann Heinrich Rolle
Christopher Grills | 5 March, 2017
• Partita No. 1 in C Major
Prelude “del Signore Giorgio Muffat” | Allemande
Courante | Sarabande | Gigue
— Georg Muffat
Alissa Duryee | 30 October, 2016
• Lamento sopra la dolorosa perdita
della Real M. di Ferdinando IV
— Jakob Froberger
• Concerto after Vivaldi, BWV 977
— Transcribed by J.S. Bach
• Fantaisie in A minor, BWV 922
— J.S. Bach
Christa Rakich | 8 May, 2016
• Sonata in G minor
(from 6 Sonatas for solo harpsichord, 1757)
— Georg Benda
Peter Sykes | 8 May, 2016
• C Major prelude and fugue
(from Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1)
— J.S. Bach
• E minor prelude and fugue
(from Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1)
— J.S. Bach
Christopher Grills | 8 May, 2016
• Chromatic Fantasy
— J.S. Bach
Timothy Broege | 3 April, 2016
• Prisms
— Andrew Kosinski
Christa Rakich | 27 January, 2013
• Six Variations on a Duet by Paisiello, WoO 70
— Ludwig van Beethoven
• Sonata in C, Opus 7
— Maria Hester Park
Allegro spirito
Benjamin Steens | October, 2012
• Sonata in A minor (1776)
— J. W. Hässler
Poco allegro
• C Major Fantasy, Wq. 61/6
— C.P.E. Bach
Luc Beauséjour | 25 September, 2011
• Sarabande from English Suite No. 3
in G minor, BWV 808
— J.S. Bach
Ulrika Davidsson | 20 September, 2009
• Sonata in C Major, Hob. VI:48
— Franz Joseph Haydn
Andante con espressione
Rondo (presto)
Rondo (presto)
David Schulenberg | 19 April, 2009
• Württemberg Sonata No. 1 in A minor, Wq. 49/1
— C.P.E. Bach
Moderato
Andante
Allegro assai
Andante
Allegro assai
David Breitman | 16 September, 2007
• Sonata in B-flat Major, Hob. XVI:2
— Franz Joseph Haydn
Moderato, Largo, Menuet & Trio
Renée Geoffrion | 30 October, 2005
• Selections of works by W.A. Mozart
Sponsored by the Boston Clavichord Society
First Church, Cambridge
K. 397
K. 624
K. 624
David Schulenberg | 24 October, 2004
• Excerpts from a recital featuring works
by C.P.E. Bach (“Hamlet” Fantasia
in C minor, W. 63/3/6),
W.F. Bach, and J.S. Bach (attributed)
C.P.E. Bach “Hamlet” Fantasia
Audio | Historical Recordings
Historical Recordings
Arnold Dolmetsch, 1931
Photo by Herbert Lambert, Bath, England,
courtesy of Teri Noel Towe
Arnold Dolmetsch at the clavichord
• Chromatic Fantasy, BWV 903 — J.S. Bach
Andante con espressione
Harpeggiando
Recitativo
• Prelude and Fugue No. 15 in G Major, BWV 884,
from Book II of the Well-Tempered Clavier
— J.S. Bach
from Book II of the Well-Tempered Clavier
— J.S. Bach
Prelude
Fugue
Erwin Bodky | 1954
• Aria Sebaldina with variations in F minor
— Johann Pachelbel
— Johann Pachelbel
Erwin Bodky (1896-1958) began his career in Europe. He emigrated to the United States before World War II and settled in the Boston area, where he was active performing and promoting early music. He was a professor of music at Brandeis University and was the founder of the Cambridge Society for Early Music. This recording was made on a clavichord built by Karl Maendler of Munich, which Bodky brought with him when he came to the U.S.
József Gát
• Fantasia No. 2 in C Major, Wq. 59/6 — C.P.E. Bach
• Sonata in B-flat Major, Wq. 59/3 — C.P.E. Bach
Allegro un poco
Largo
Gracioso
Largo
Gracioso
József Gát was born into a Jewish family in Hungary in 1913. He studied at the Academy of Music in Budapest in the 1930s. Among his teachers were Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály. He earned credentials in both composition and music teaching. In 1938 he received his final degree. By the time he graduated, Jewish legislation was in place that made it impossible for him to find suitable work. During World War II he went into hiding. Some 34 members of his extended family, including his parents and his first wife, died in concentration camps during World War II. After the war Gát taught the piano. In 1949 he was offered a position at the Academy of Music, by then renamed the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music. (This is the same academy where Miklós Spányi studied in the 1980s.) In 1954 Gát published a book on piano playing that was later translated into four languages. In the 1950s he became interested in early instruments and was given a harpsichord and clavichords by the Neupert and Ammer firms. As a result he was able to introduce these instruments into Hungarian teaching and musical life. He died of a heart attack in 1967 at the age of 54. The tracks that are posted here come from a Qualiton long-playing record of works in the Kenner & Liebhaber series by C.P.E. Bach. [Thanks to Eszter Fontana, daughter of József Gát, for much of this information.]