musica Dei donum
CD reviews
"Sapperlot!" - Keyboard music of the 17th and 18th centuries
Alexander Gergelyfi, clavichord
rec: Feb 9 - 13, 2022, Admont (AU), Stift Admont (Kleiner Festsaal)
Carpe Diem - CD-16329 (© 2021) (64'31")
Liner-notes: E/D
Cover & track-list
Spotify
anon:
Cappricio, ò Guiguetta in d minor (after Corelli);
Johann Jacob FROBERGER (1616-1667):
Suite XI in D (FbWV 611);
Johann Joseph FUX (c1660-1741):
Harpeggio [e Fuga] in G;
Menuet IX in g minor;
George Frideric HANDEL (1685-1759):
Praelude and Capriccio in C (HWV Anh B 607/1 / deest);
Johann Michael HAYDN (1737-1806):
[Clavierstück] in E flat (MH 468);
Leopold MOZART (1719-1787):
Für den Merz;
Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791):
Allegro molto in C(KV deest);
Georg MUFFAT (1653-1704):
Passacaglia in g minor;
Anton Ferdinand PARIS (1744-1809):
Allegro in F;
Paul PEUERL (1570-after 1625?):
Dantz - Nachdantz in d minor;
Padouan;
Ferdinand Tobias RICHTER (1651-1711):
Toccatina in d minor;
Joseph Anton STEFFAN (1726-1797):
[Preludio] in B flat;
Johann Michael STEINBACHER (c1700-c1750):
Parthia in a minor (preludè; capriccio);
Franz Matthias TECHELMANN (c1649-1714):
Alamand: dell’Allegrezze alla Liberazione di Vienna in C
Sources:
Paul Peuerl, Newe Padouan, Intrada, Däntz vnnd Galliarda, mit vier Stimmen ein jedlichs nach seiner art auff allen Musicalischen Saitenspielen gantz lustig zugebrauchen, 1611;
Georg Muffat, Apparatus musico-organisticus, 1690;
Franz Matthias Techelmann, Toccate, Canzoni, Ricercari, et altre Galanterie per suonare d’organo et Cembalo, [ms];
Leopold Mozart, ed., Der Morgen und der Abend den Innwohnern der Hochfürstl. Residenz-Stadt Salzburg melodisch und harmonisch angekündigt. Oder: Zwölf Musikstücke für das Clavier, deren eines täglich in der Vestung Hohensalzburg auf dem sogenannten Hornwerke Morgens und Abends gespielet wird, 1759;
Joseph Anton Steffan, 40 Preludi per diversi tuoni, [1762]
During the renaissance and baroque periods the clavichord was one of the most common keyboard instruments. It was small, and therefore easy to transport. It was also rather cheap, in comparison with the harpsichord. Organists were using it as an exercise instrument, as for playing the organ they needed the assistance of bellows blowers.
In modern concert life the clavichord takes a marginal role. That is not because it is not appreciated: I assume that most harpsichordists play it now and then. The problem is that its sound is so soft that it is not suitable to be played for a large audience. Having attended several clavichord recitals over the years, I know that if there are more than twenty to thirty people, it is impossible to hear the music played on it. From a financial angle such recitals are not very profitable. Festivals may offer the best opportunity, for instance as a late night recital, which not that many visitors are able to attend anyway.
This may also be the reason that not that many recordings with clavichord recitals are released. It is not that well-known, and it requires a whole different way of listening, especially with regard to volume. If a clavichord disc is played at the same volume level as, say, a harpsichord disc, its sound is seriously distorted, and its qualities don't come off.
That makes each recording at the clavichord most welcome. The disc under review is unusual in several ways. That goes especially for the connection between the instrument and the repertoire.
As the clavichord has a long history, it has developed in the way it was constructed. It is likely that most clavichord recordings include music of the 18th century, especially works by composers of the generation of the Bach sons. One of the latter, Carl Philipp Emanuel, owned a clavichord himself, and was very fond of it. It was perfectly suited for his music and the style known as the Empfindsamkeit. The soft sound, and the ability to create dynamic contrasts, as well as the special effect of Bebung, made it tailor-made for music which aimed at expressing human emotions. However, the clavichords that were common in his time were different from those of the previous century. The instrument Alexander Gergelyfi plays probably dates from around 1700, and may well be the oldest surviving instrument from Austria. It is relatively small, and its compass is four octaves (from C to c'''), which was common in the 17th century. "[The] bass octave is designed as a so-called short broken octave, which means that the low semitones C sharp and E flat are missing; the tones D and F sharp, as well as E and G sharp share a common but halved upper key, so called „split“ sharps." (booklet) It is a so-called fretted clavichord, which means that two adjacent keys share the same string but strike it in two different places. This means that they cannot sound at the same time.
Obviously this means that not each piece can be played on such an instrument. As the 18th-century clavichords were mostly larger and unfretted, the player has to carefully select pieces that can be played on such a small instrument. In case of 17th-century repertoire that may be not that much of a problem. The first half of the programme is devoted to composers from (mostly southern) Germany and Austria. Unfortunately, the booklet only includes notes on the clavichord in general and the instrument used here in particular. There is no information at all about the composers, some of whom are hardly known.
The programme opens with the Toccatina in d minor by Ferdinand Tobias Richter, who was of German descent and was educated as an organist. From 1690 until his death in 1711 he was first organist of the imperial chapel in Vienna. His status is confirmed by the fact that he was one of the dedicatees of Johann Pachelbel's collection Hexachordum Apollinis. The next piece is apparently anonymous as no composer - or rather arranger - is mentioned: the Capriccio, ò Guiguetta in D minor is an arrangement of the fourth movement (giga) of the Sonata No. 7 in d minor from Arcangelo Corelli's Op. 5.
Paul Peuerl is the earliest composer in the programme. He was also an organist, but has left only a few collections of dance music which can be played on any kind of instrument(s), including the keyboard. This is followed by the best-known and most famous piece in the programme: the Passacaglia in G minor from the collection Apparatus musico-organisticus by Georg Muffat. It is a long and brilliant piece, based on a basso ostinato, a popular device in the 17th century. The opening theme returns several times, the last time closing the piece. The collection was intended for the organ in the first place, but as long as its range remains within the compass of a strung keyboard instrument, the pieces in it can be played on such an instrument as well. The Passacaglia does very well here on the clavichord.
With Franz Matthias Techelmann we are in Austria. He was from Moravia, and from 1685 until his retirement in 1713 he acted as second organist at the imperial chapel in Vienna. The Alamand in C performed here is taken from the second of two collections of keyboard works; its title dell'Allegrezze alla Liberazione di Vienna refers to the end of the Turkish siege of Vienna in 1683. With Johann Joseph Fux we stay in Vienna; from 1715 until hos death in 1741 he was Hofkapellmeister at the court. He has left a large oeuvre, of which only a small portion has been explored. Fux was also known as a theorist; his book Gradus ad Parnassum found a wide dissemination. He has not left much keyboard music, which may well have been intended as pedagogical material. The Harpeggio is what the title suggests: a sequence of arpeggios. It is followed by a fugue confirms Fux's reputation as an advocate of counterpoint.
Johann Jacob Froberger was one of the greatest keyboard composers of his time. Being a pupil of Girolamo Frescobaldi, he played a key role in the transmission of the Italian style to Germany, whose influence goes as far as Johann Sebastian Bach. At the same time he introduced the 'French' suite, as the one included here; three of the four movements have a French title, referring to members of the Habsburg imperial family.
The rest of the programme brings us in the 18th century. Again, it includes some pieces by unknown masters. Johann Michael Steinbacher is one of them. Very little is known about him; from at least 1727 he worked as organist in Graz. From his pen are the earliest-known harpsichord concertos in Austria. The two pieces performed here are from one of his partitas; eight such works by him are known.
The Praelude and Capriccio in C by Handel are included in the appendix of the catalogue of his works or entirely omitted from it, which means that they are of doubtful authenticity; here the lack of notes on the music is a serious omission, as one would like to know where they come from and why they are attributed to Handel.
Leopold Mozart has remained firmly in the shadow of his son; it seems that he is in the process of being promoted to a composer in his own right. Für den Merz (for March) is taken from a collection of pieces for the Salzburg Hornwerk, a large organ with more than 200 pipes, built in the Krautturm of the Salzburg fortress in 1502. During its renovation in 1753, the Salzburg organ maker re-pinned its barrel with twelve short musical works, five by Ernst Eberlin and seven by Leopold Mozart, each representing a month of the year. The March piece is a series of variations on a song that shows strong similarity with Ah, vous dirai-je, maman.
From Leopold Mozart to Anton Ferdinand Paris is a small step. From 1762 he was organist at the court in Salzburg and a friend of the Mozart family. In 1778 Paris was given additional pay to take over some of Wolfgang's duties as court and cathedral organist, and Wolfgang was required to play the cathedral organ only for major feasts, with Paris doing duty at other times. Joseph Anton Steffan (Josef Antonín Štěpán) was from Bohemia, and worked in Austria, as so many of his fellow countrymen. His keyboard oeuuvre is highly unusual, as several recordings show (for instance the disc of Mitzi Meyerson; Glossa, 2021). The prelude included here is from a collection of forty preludes in different keys.
Like Leopold Mozart, Johann Michael Haydn suffers from the fame of a relative, in this case his brother Joseph. In his time he was a highly respected master, and a good friend of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. His sacred music and his orchestral works are receiving some attention these days. The keyboard work performed here apparently comes without a title. This may well be the first time that I have heard any work of this kind from his pen. In New Grove keyboard pieces are ranked among his pedagogical works. The disc closes with the Allegro molto in C by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It is not in the Köchel catalogue, and again one would like to know more about its identity.
As one may have gathered, this is a very interesting disc. A substantial part of the programme consists of pieces that are hardly known or not known at all, mostly by composers many music lovers may never have heard of. Each piece is well worth being brought to light, and in many cases one would like to know more about a composer and hear more of his oeuvre.
The programme has been well put together, making sure that there is quite some variety in style and also in time; it is not strictly chronological. Listening to the clavichord is nice in itself, but the quality of the instrument played here and the fact that it is an original historical instrument adds to the value of this release. Alexander Gergelyfi - a player I had not heard before - delivers excellent performances, exploring the features of the clavichord in such a way that its qualities come to the fore. The listener is well advised to reduce the volume in order to enjoy the instrument and the playing.
Johan van Veen (© 2025)