1 Galliardo -
A dance by Peter Philips appearing in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book. Although
it is quite short, its cross-rhythms are especially elaborate.
2 Basse Dance 7 -
From the 1531 collection of dance music published by Pierre Attaingnant:
the earliest surviving publication of keyboard music.
This basse dance also exists in versions for ensemble ("Bergeret sans roch," published by Susato) and for lute
("La roche" and "La roque," in another Attaingnant book).
3-4 Mit ganczem Willen -
This rhythmically complex piece and
Elend, du hast umfangen mich
are two
examples of the mid-15th century organ style of Conrad Paumann (c1410-1473). Mit ganczem Willen
appears to be an elaboration of a three-part vocal model which eventually mutates into a two-part keyboard
texture.
5 En avois -
Anonymous, 15th century, a gentle and haunting two-voiced piece in triple time.
6 A Pavyon -
A danceable pavan in C minor, credited to "Newman" in The Mulliner Book.
7 Quando claro -
One of the classic bass formulas for improvising dance music. This is an
anonymous 16th century example.
8 Holloyne pardye -
Anonymous, 16th century, some rough-and-ready Halloween party music.
9 Ein feste Burg
ist unser Gott -
Martin Luther found this tune being sung lustily in a pub,
and adapted it for his own use in church. My increasingly greasy arrangement heard here is an
attempt to catch some of the original pub atmosphere and good fun in the rhythm.
Part of it is also inspired by William Byrd's battle piece from My Ladye Nevells Booke.
10 Kremser;
Grosser Gott, wir loben dich
- I have brought these two dance-like hymn tunes together as a Viennese minuet and trio in
the style of Haydn or Mozart.
11 Wie möcht ich
frölich werden - A lute dance by Melchior Neusidler, 1574:
music in a popular style,
with a duple dance followed by a triple dance on the same themes.
12 La Monica (Alman de la nonette) -
From the 16th century onward there are over 200 surviving European versions of this particular song,
"La Monica," most often about a young woman forced to become a nun against her will.
The version played here is one of the most straightforward early settings, the "Alman de la
nonette" from Susanne van Soldt’s virginal book.
13 Estampie -
This anonymous dance setting from c1325 (Robertsbridge Codex)
is the earliest extant keyboard composition. It is well suited to the clavichord, the
simplest keyboard instrument. I play the short version which appears in the
Historical Anthology of Music compiled by Archibald Davison and Willi Apel; a longer version
in modern edition is available in the Corpus of Early Keyboard Music edited by Apel.
14 Christ ist erstanden -
I play this 12th century plainchant tune first in parallel as
organum, then a new two-part setting in improvisatory 14th century keyboard style, followed
by a triple-time version from the Buxheim organ book (c1470).
15 Wer nur den
lieben Gott lässt walten -
The dramatic set of seven variations
by Georg Böhm (1661-1733) is typical of this passionate North German composer. His dynamic
keyboard textures and techniques are particularly well suited to the clavichord, although his
music is also effective on the harpsichord or organ.
16 Fantasia X (que contrahaze
la harpa en la maniera de Ludovico) - This popular piece
by Alonso Mudarra is a
staple of classical guitarists' repertoire, originally for vihuela but imitating the free harp
improvisations of Ludovico (early 16th century).
The daring harmonic clashes near the end are accompanied by a margin note from
the composer: he cautions the player to play them tastefully rather than worrying about the "wrong" notes.
17 Lobt Gott den Herren
- Stately dance music by Melchior Vulpius in the style of a galliard.
18 Minuets in G and G Minor - A pair of pieces from J S Bach's notebook for his wife Anna Magdalena,
and familiar to every keyboard and violin student.
19-21 Three Polonaises (G Minor,
G Major,
G Minor) -
Now attributed as early compositions of Carl Philipp
Emanuel Bach, appearing in his stepmother's notebook. Centerpieces of the clavichord repertoire.
22 Gaudeamus pariter
- This hymn tune by Johann Horn is found in a 1544 book,
Ein Gesangbuch der Brüder im Behemen und Merherrn.
In my arrangement the tune passes through ever-changing textures and colors.
23 Le petit negre -
Claude Debussy's 1909 imitation of American popular music (cakewalks and
Scott Joplin).
Performer/arranger/producer: Bradley Lehman (A.Mus.D., Harpsichord: University of Michigan, 1994)
Engineer/editor: John Hill (faculty, Department of Recording Industry,
Middle Tennessee State University)
Studio: Zatoro Productions, Dayton VA, July 6-8, 1999; digital recordings (DAT)
The clavichord used in these recordings is a Carl Fudge instrument (Hubert model) built by Brian Joyce.
Tuning: A=440 Hz, well-temperament similar to Werckmeister III.
Our performance and production
goal is to use
entire takes or large sections wherever possible, preserving the feeling of
actual performance and improvisatory discovery. We have not removed the
small incidental noises of the
instrument's action, or regularized the irrational moments of interpretive
whimsy that make a performance human and fresh.
The examples linked here are all in .mp3 format at 64K/sec sampling, 27 seconds long each, 214Kb each.
They should be played at a low volume level, as the clavichord is a very quiet instrument.
- Dr. Bradley Lehman
