Announcing Terry Dwyer's GPO Harpsichord Tutorial

[Garritan]

Terry Dwyer wrote an excellent GPO Harpsichord Tutorial. Here is the link:

http://www.garritan.com/HarpsichordTutorilalGPO.html

In this tutorial Terry discusses the various aspects of the harpsichord. There are three sections: Understanding the Harpsichord, Setting up the GPO Harpsichord, and How the Play the Harpsichord. Terry describes the peculiarities of the harpsichord, composing for it, temperments, tuning, stops, etc.

Terry's tutorial is well laid out, clearly written and will be beneficial to anyone wanting to learn more about using the GPO (or any other) harpsichord.

I want to thank Terry for wiriting this excellent and informative tutorial.

Gary Garritan

[Joseph Burrell]

Thanks! Is it the intent to eventually have tutorials for most of the instruments in GPO? That would be excellent.

[Styxx]

This is awesome history! Thanks for posting again Gary. I'll have to finish reading after school were I can be free from distraction.
When I was a boy, there was an Allergist my parents took me to once a week. I still can remember his office in his own home near Symphony Circle on the west side of Beeffalo. Yes, you heard me right...I said "BEEF-FALO!" The doctor had an Organ (no not donated) a Pianie, and a Harpsichord in his livinkroom. Once and a while if you begged him to death he would play one of them. I always asked him to play the Harpsichord. He would say to me, "Touch that you little brat and I'll... No, no, no, he never said that. :eek:
It was OK except you could hardly hear the sound through all those people sneezing in the waiting room.:D

[Garritan]

The GPO Harpsichord Tutorial has been updated. Let us know what you think and if you have any suggestions.

Here is the link:

http://www.garritan.com/HarpsichordTutorilalGPO.html

Thanks to Terry Dwyer for doing this informative and excellent tutorial.

Gary Garritan

[EDIT: Could someone let me know if this tutorial works and that the links work]

[Joseph Burrell]

Garry the pages 'to text' links work great. Give Terry my thanks!

[deadbeat]

Gary,

The link works fine. The tutorial looks superb, but I'll get round to reading it properly when my family has grown up.

arrf

[TennesseeVic]

I must be missing something, but I didn't find any mention of figured bass? That's the key to idiomatic writing for harpsichord, I'd say. Continuo at least.

V.

[Jerry W.]

I must be missing something, but I didn't find any mention of figured bass? That's the key to idiomatic writing for harpsichord, I'd say. Continuo at least.

V.

Hey Vic,

Well, it doesn't exactly mention the term "figured bass", but it did mention this:
"As a continuo instrument. Throughout the Baroque period, most concerted music of any kind required harmonic support from a keyboard (organ or harpsichord)."
Continuo instruments "fill in" the written figured bass indications in the supporting harmony. Whether they be harpsichord, organ, lute, etc.
But you are right, I think that a mention of the compositional technique of written figured bass would do a lot to illustrate why these parts were played they way there were in their supporting roles. But then again, I am an ant next to Terry in knowledge of this!

Jerry :)

[Garritan]

I must be missing something, but I didn't find any mention of figured bass? That's the key to idiomatic writing for harpsichord, I'd say. Continuo at least.

V.
TennesseeVic,

You are most welcome to write some material on figured bass for inclusion in the tutorial. I am sure Terry would be happy to have your input.

Gary Garritan

[TennesseeVic]

TennesseeVic,

You are most welcome to write some material on figured bass for inclusion in the tutorial. I am sure Terry would be happy to have your input.

Ok guys, how's this?

%%%%%%%%%
While the solo repertoire for harpsichord can be very virtuoso -- check out Bach's Italian Concerto and the Partitas, or any of Scarlatti's 500 sonatas -- when the instrument is used as accompaniment, its playing style is completely different.

In the baroque, the harpsichords (and occasionally small organs) were used as "continuo" instruments, short for "basso continuo". In this style of playing, which mostly applies to sonatas for solo instrument (violin, flute) and accompaniment, the composer wrote out the solo part and the bass line. The bass part was then played on Bass Viol or Cello (bassoon could do too, in a pinch) and doubled with the left hand of the keyboard instrument. The right hand was improvised, using so-called "figured bass" notation to indicate the harmonic (chord) structure of the music. This style of written out bass with improvised right hand also applies to orchestral pieces like Concerti Grossi (see Handel for the best examples).

In figured bass, the implicit assumption is that the bass note is the root of the chord. Whether the chord is major or minor is determined by the key of the piece: in F, the G chord would be minor, the C major, et cetera. Any deviation from this simple rule would be indicated by "figures" written under the bass part. For instance, writing a sharp under a D in a piece in F would indicate a D major chord. More interesting are inversions: if an E is the bass note of a C chord, the figure would be 6, because the sixth above the E, which is the "C", would be the determining note of the chord. A bass of G under a C chord would be notated as 6-4 (the 6 written atop the 4), indicating a C and an E as other chord notes.

In summary, when a harpsichord is used as accompaniment, it plays a simple left hand, which is doubled by the Cello, which in an orchestral setting would be a Cello section doubled by one or two basses, and a right hand part that outlines the harmony of the piece. How intricately those chords would be played is up to the performer, but in general simple is better. No riffing!
%%%%%%%

Gary, forward this to Terry?

V.

[Poolman]

I would be happy to have Tennesseevic's input added to my tutorial. There's nothing wrong with it except incompleteness.

Actually, I deliberately left such material out as I thought my piece was already long enough (I see one reader above is bored already) and also I was here more concerned to treat the harpsichord as an instrument for which we needed to get the sound right.

Tennesseevic's contribution is just a beginning to the rather large subject of interpreting figured bass, and indeed of continuo playing in general, of which several treatises have been written.

If enough people want a complete account of interpreting figured bass, I would be happy to have a go, but it would have to be rather more than a page...

Some scores include written-out continuo parts of course; others have no figures at all. That can be rather daunting; I once played continuo in a complete Italian oratorio from an unfigured bass. Fortunately the harmonies were not as complex as Bach's.

Might it not be more practical if I provided some examples of actual realisations of figured and unfigured basses? I could for example send a MIDI file of my realisation of the continuo in Vivaldi's Four Seasons. Any takers out there?

Terry Dwyer

[TennesseeVic]

If enough people want a complete account of interpreting figured bass, I would be happy to have a go, but it would have to be rather more than a page...

I don't think that would be necessary. My point was that because of figured bass, the harpsichord plays in a certain style, and that other styles would not be authentic in ensemble playing. For creating moderately idiomatic harpsichord parts it is enough to know *that* this style of written out -- and doubled -- bass with improvised right hand exists. Not exactly how actual figured bass parts are interpreted.

Anyway. Do with my contribution what you feel like.

V.

[jazmaan]

It may be considered low-brow by harpsichord purists, but I have to admit that I can't help but recall Jimi Hendrix' "Burning of the Midnight Lamp" when I think about harpsichord.

Jimi played the harpsichord himself on that recording. Funny how it really does sound like he's using the "figured bass" lines mentioned above.

Later Jimi filmed a video of "Burning of the Midnight Lamp" for French TV where he's sitting at the harpsichord. (But he's just lipsynching and not really playing. He also picked up a violin for the same video and plays it between his legs and behind his head!)

[snorlax]

Terry--In your tutorial, you mentioned that couperin had numerous pieces in both hands bass clef.

The only one I know is Les Baricades Mysterieuses. Of course, I immediately transcribed it for two euphoniums and two tubas, and it worked great. The clarity of the writing for the bass in the harpsichord translated into an excellent quartet piece. If there weren't such GPO virtuosi around here, I'd put it on.
Can you suggest similar pieces, either from Couperin or similar composers, where both hands are in bass clef? To lie comfortably, the topmost note in the right hand might be C above middle C, esp. if it sits there or around it. Low notes aren't a problem:) .

Please recommend some more titles to me, especially up-tempo romps, if such exist!!

PS--A college roommate of mine used to make extra $$$ assembling Zuckermann kits for people. There used to be plectra and wires all around our small room:) Is Zuckermann still around??

Regards...Jim W.

[Poolman]

Jim -

To answer in reverse order:

Yes, Zuckermann's are still alive and kicking: see http://zhi.net

I started to make a list of Couperin's low pieces and gave up after perusing Books 1 & 2 of Pieces de Clavecin (there are 4 altogether).

There are so many you'll wish you'd never asked! I recommend you buy all four books (Kenneth Gilbert edition pub. Heugel, Paris) and browse.

Have fun!

Terry Dwyer

Here's the list:

Couperin – Pieces de Clavecin
Items in bass clef or lower registers

Ordre 1:
Les sylvains
L’Enchanteresse
Les plaisirs de Saint Germain en Laye

Ordre 2:
La Garnier

Ordre 4:
La Marche des Gris-vetus

Ordre 5:
La Bandoline
La Flore
L’Angelique
La Villers
Les Ondes

Ordre 6:
Les Baricades Misterieuses

Ordre 7:
La menetou
Les Delices
Les Amusemens

Ordre 8:
Allemande L’Ausoniene
Sarabande L’Unique

Ordre 9:
La Seduisante
Le petit-deuil

Ordre 10:
La Mezangere

Ordre 11:
La Castelane

Ordre 12:
L’Intime

[snorlax]

Terry,

Many thanks for the reply. Your knowledge and willingness to help, of course, lead me to one more question: Can you recommend a good recording of these pieces?

Again thanks for the comprehensive list--I'm off to the library in search of the scores!
Jim W.

[Poolman]

Jim

I recommend Kenneth Gilbert. I have only his old vinyl version, but I expect you can get digital transfers these days.

Good luck!

My favourite bass piece is La menetou, by the way. I think that should sound better on brass than Les Baricades, which seems pure keyborad music to me.

Terry

[Hardy Heern]

Another great and generous offering. I really take my hat off to these guys who spend their time sharing their knowledge amongst us lesser mortals......much appreciated.

Frank

[robjohn]

I second the notion - wonderful tutorial and much thanks!
- robjohn

[LucyConnelly]

I'm terribly sorry this is off-topic :o - but Joseph, I have been looking for that quote from Terry Pratchett for a paper a friend is writing and I can't find it anywhere! Do you happen to remember which book it comes from? :)
Lucy

[Godfrey]

I'm terribly sorry this is off-topic :o - but Joseph, I have been looking for that quote from Terry Pratchett for a paper a friend is writing and I can't find it anywhere! Do you happen to remember which book it comes from? :)
Lucy
It's from Soul Music. The canonical form is "Deafness doesn't prevent composers hearing the music. It prevents them hearing the distractions."

[Fabio]

Ok guys, how's this?

%%%%%%%%%
While the solo repertoire for harpsichord can be very virtuoso -- check out Bach's Italian Concerto and the Partitas, or any of Scarlatti's 500 sonatas -- when the instrument is used as accompaniment, its playing style is completely different.
....
How intricately those chords would be played is up to the performer, but in general simple is better. No riffing!
%%%%%%%

Gary, forward this to Terry?

V.

I agree with Terry it's an excellent (even if incomplete) summary, and to go in a deeper description it requires a lot of pages...(books?).

But I want to give an European specialist vision of the statement above:
the only limit to the variation and "fioritura" of the B.C. realization is the Style, the Tempo speed, and the player's ability of course!

I can't accept "simple is better" if we play for instance a very slow and arioso Solo (for voice or instrument doesn't matter): the harpsichord part should be probably as rich and fiorita as a written virtuoso composition, creating dialog between the solo and the keyboard play.

Just to complete the vision, of course Harpsichord was only one of the possible instrument, including all Liuto and Tiorba family for the harmony, and all Gamba, Cello, and Violone, but even Bassoon or other bass instruments for the bass line.

The art of realize the B.C. instrumentation, according to epoch and style, is as important as the B.C. harmony realization is!
:)