1 Galliardo -
A dance by Peter Philips appearing in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book. Although
it is quite short, its cross-rhythms are especially elaborate.
2-3 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.
4 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.
5 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).
6 En avois -
Anonymous, 15th century, a gentle and haunting two-voiced piece in triple time.
7 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).
8 Quando claro -
One of the classic bass formulas for improvising dance music. This is an
anonymous 16th century example.
9 Holloyne pardye -
Anonymous, 16th century, some rough-and-ready Halloween party music.
10 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.
11 Guardame las vacas
- From the Seis libros
del Delphin by Luys de Narvaez, 1538, originally for vihuela da mano. This
is a set of variations on a popular song about two young cowherds.
12 Ricercar (Fantasia) 3 in G -
An imitative fantasia by Luys Milan, mid-16th century, originally for vihuela da mano.
13 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.
14 Fantasia (Ricercar) 67 in F
- Another imitative fantasia by Luys Milan.
This piece illustrates particularly well the clavichord's different sounds from octave to octave.
15 Mille regretz (Cancion del emperador)
- From the Seis libros
del Delphin by Luys de Narvaez, 1538, originally for vihuela da mano. This
is a setting of Josquin's wistful chanson: restrained elaborations that
stay within the sorrowful character of the vocal model.
16 A Point -
A short and simple imitative piece by Thomas Tallis, from The Mulliner Book.
17 A Pavyon -
A danceable pavan in C minor, credited to "Newman" in The Mulliner Book.
18 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.
19 Fantasia -
A short example from Tomas de Sancta Maria's treatise on improvising
contrapuntal keyboard fantasias.
20 Suonata prima -
A short imitative piece in progressively quicker note values.
Adriano Banchieri is better known for his ensemble music than his keyboard music.
21 O vos omnes -
This is based on a choral responsory by Tomas Luis de Victoria (1548-1611).
I have arranged it as a keyboard piece after the intabulation styles of Cabezon and his followers.
This elaboration of vocal models was a common practice either for use with choirs, or for
enjoyment at home. The added decorations intensify the expressivity of the phrases and help to prolong
notes which fade quickly on non-sustaining instruments.
22 Song of the Birds (Cant dels ocells) -
This Christmas folk tune from Catalonia is the piece
with which Pablo Casals regularly ended his solo recitals; it eventually became an unofficial national
anthem through his advocacy. It appears in the 16th century
Medinaceli Songbook. I have written a very simple arrangement in
an improvisatory guitar style.
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
