Word: harpsichords
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...impossible today to hear the original sound of a Stradivari because every one of these instruments has had its original fittings removed and more than 30 changes made; a modernized Strad does not bear any more resemblance to the sound intended by its maker than a harpsichord to a piano. Also, the excessive pressure of modern fittings is causing cracks, so that we have an ever increasing number of played-out Strads. The only solution to this vandalism: restore the original fittings and make the instruments true baroque violins that will blend with the harpsichord instead of drowning...
Evelyne sings in a pure, unaffected soprano voice accompanied by the shimmering, harplike refrains of Beers's psaltery (an ancestor of the harpsichord...
...strings did not distinguish themselves except by their sensitivity in balancing their volume with what the singers were able to produce. However, Warren Steel produced an imaginative realization of Purcell's harpsichord part, and his short interludes were among the most delightful moments of what was overall quite a good performance...
...most delightful piece on the program (and also that best suited to the talents of the Bach Society) was Couperin's Le Parnasse ou l'apotheose de Corelli. Hathaway played his own harpsichord part, waving a free hand whenever possible at the small group on either side. He seemed caught in the middle in more than one way, however, since the violins and cellos often disagreed on the tempo, the one rushing ahead of Hathaway and the other lagging behind. For the rest the performance was superb--the parts all meshed and precision triumphed over muddle. The programmatic aspect...
...airy and inventive, if a bit dry. It consists of jazz improvisations on classical, Renaissance and medieval styles of music. Several ensembles, one predominantly strings (Beneath a Weeping Willow Shade), one heavy on the horns (Blues for Johann Sebastian), are led by Schifrin, who also plays an ornamental harpsichord...