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HARPSICHORD
Henry Purcell 1659 -1.695
Suite N" 2inGninor 2661
l1l Preludel:17
l2l [Almand]2159
t3l Corant2:19
I4l Saraband 2:12
Studio production by Danmarks Radio, 195 1
Frangois Couperin 1668-L733
t 5 ] Le Rossignol en-amour
(14'ordre) 3:36
t 6 ] Les Graces Natur6les
(11'ordre) 3:02
COLLD3,1949
|ohann Sebastian Bach 1685-1750
From Partita in Bb major BWV 825
17 I Sarabande 4:28
HMV DB 5296, 1949
Two-part Inventions
t8 I N'4 in D minor B\NY 775 0:54
t 9 I N" 6 in E major BWY 777 2:16
[10] N" 8 in F major BWY 779 0:55
COL LDX 7016,1950
From The Well-Tempered Clavier,
Book I
l11l-[12] Prelude and Fugue in
C major BWV 846 1:59/I:42
[13]-[14] Prelude and Fugue in
C minor BWV 847 1:44/1:47
It5l-llbl Prelude and Fugue in
E major BWV 854 1:12/1:21.
[17]-[18] Prelude and Fugue in
E minor BWV 855 2:28/1:28
COL SELK 1003, 1951
Domenico Scarlatti 1685-17 57
[19] Sonata in D minor
Longo 413 2:12
l20l Sonata in E major
Longo 23 3:38
l21l Sonata in C major
Longo1042:04
[22] Toccata in D minor
Longo 4223:41
BE OK 1014, a. 1953
CLAVICHORD
Johann Sebastian Bach 1685-1750
Six short Preludes for the Beginners
BWV 933-938
l23l Cmajor 1:29
l24l C minor 1:32
l25l D minor 1:16
126l D major 1:35
[27) Enajor 7:24
[28] E minor 1:23

From Four Duets
(Klavieriibung III) BWV 804-805
l29l III G major 3:01
[30] IV A minor 2;54
Studio production by Danmarks Radio, a. 1952
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
17L4-L788
Sonata V in F major Wq 55
[31] Allegro 2:52
l32l Adagio maestoso 2112
[33] Allegretto 1:27
Studio production by Danmarks Radio, a. 1952
Bonus CD
HARPSICHORD
jean-Philippe Rameau L683-17 64
Suite in E minor
[1
l)
[3
l4
[6
l7
[8
COL
Allemande 2:37
Courante 1:46
Gigue en Rondeau 1126
2me Gigue en Rondeau 2;21
Le Rappel des Oiseaux 2132
Rigaudon 1;27
Musette en Rondeau 1;59
Tambourin 1r25
33 KC2,1955
Frangois Couperin 1668-1733
Les Folies frangoises, ou les Dominos
(13'ordre)
[ 9 ] La Virginit6 sous le Domino
couleur d'invisible 0:29
[10] La Pudeur sous le Domino
couleur deRoze 0:42
[11] L'Ardeur sous le Domrno
incarnat 0:36
[12] L'Esperance sous le Domino
Yert 0:34
[13] La Fidelit6 sous le Domino Bleu 0:51
[14] La Pers6v6rance sous le Domino
de Iin 0:37
[15] La Langueur sous le Domino
Violet 1:01
[16] La Coqu6terie sous dif6rens
Dominos 0;27
[17] Les Vieux galans et les Tr6sorieres
suran6es sous des Dominos Pourpres
et feuilles mortes 0:53
[18] Les Coucous B6n€voles sous des
Dominos jaunes 0:24
[19] La Jalousie taciturne sous le
Domino gris de Maure 0;58
[20] La Fr6n6sie, ou le D6sespoir sous
le Domino noir 0:32
121) Passacaille (8'ordre) 7;52
coI- 33 KC2,1955

Liselotte Selbigers musikerkarriere
Fra Berlin ti1 Ksbenhavn
Det stod seivsagt ikke skrevet ved
Liselotte Selbigers vugge, at hun skulie
blive dansk cembalo:pils store pioner.
Men heller ikke, at hun overhovedet
sku11e blive professionel musiker. Som
enebarn i et velhavende berlinsk hjem fik
hun imidlertid en glimrende musikopdragelse,
lerte gennem mange Ar at
spi11e klaver og cello, akkompagnerede
sin velsyngende far ti1 Schuberts lieder og
splllede ceilo i amatorsymfoniorkestret
Arzteorchester. I en Arrakke var hun
endvidere sekret€r lor sin sagforerfar.
Men da hun efter sin klaverpedagogiske
uddannelse, der sluttede med en
hovedopgave om J.S. Bach, blev vakt for
cembaloet, forlod hun flygelbenkery
stillede celloen i krogen og satsede helt og
fuldt pe en karriere inden for den gamle
musik, selv om det ogsA betod, at hun
mAtte give afkald pA at spille hojtelskede
komponister som Brahms og Debussy.
Som tysk-jodisk flygtning kom hun til
Ksbenhavn i 1935, og hendes solokoncertdebut
fandt sted 23 / 1 1939 i
Hornung og Mollers sa1 i Bredgade 54.
Nok havde man i 1900-tallets kobenhavnske
musikliv hort et cembalo for, men det var
forste gang, en herboende cembalist
trAdte frem med en he1 solokoncert, hvor
cembaloet ikke bare tjente demonstrationsformAl,
men hvor programmet musikalsk
set hvilede i sig selv. Forventningerne var
store, og reaktionerne meget positive.
Blandt anmelderne var professor Erik
Abrahamsen, der skrev, at nAr man forst
har fAet den pA 6n gang sprode og glasklare
og samtidig sA distinkt levende
klang ind i hovedet, forstAr man, hvor
vanskeligt det er at lytte ti1 de samme
gamle kompositioner "udfort paa det saa
langt tungere og grovere moderne Flygel!"
Anden Verdenskrie
Med Anden Verdenskrigs udbrud blev
der r endt op og ned pi mangt og meget i
Kobenhavn. Men dagllglivet og koncertlivet
fortsatte, sidstnevnte mAske endda
med foroget intensitet. Udviklingen i
brugen af tidssvarende instrumenter i
den gamle musik fortsatte ogsi. Selbiger
havde i sommeren 1938 varet i St. Leu la
For6t uden for Paris hos cembaloets store
pioner Wanda Landowska, der da var 60
Ar, og taget undervisning hos hende.
Dennes meget ekspressive spillestil kom
imidlertid ikke til at danne forbillede for
Selbiger; men hun blev inspireret af
Landowskas gennemgang af forsiringspraksis
hos J.S. Bach i hendes bog Musique
Ancienne fra 1909, hvor forfatteren viser,
hvordan fx. den langsomme sats i ltaliensk
Koncert representerer 6n stor udskrift af

forsiringer af det akkordiske skelet. Det
blev en 'ojenibner' for Selbiger og var et
1ed i hendes stadig dybere forstAelse af
Bachs musik.
Allerede to dage efter Danmarks besettelse
spillede Selbiger et program med Roman,
Hiindel og J.Chr. Bach sammen med
Ksmmerkaartetten, der ud over hende
bestod af violinisterne Lavard Friisholm
og Ejvin Andersen (som for ovrigt ogsA
fra tid til anden gav koncerter pA det
mangestrengede barokinstrument viola
d'amore) samt cellisten Alf Petersen.
Koncerten foregik i den morklagte og fyldt
besatte Hindsberg Koncertsal , og i Social
Demokrotens anmeldelse hed det: "Det er
ikke Historie og ikke Museum, men
levende Liv, noget, som kan varme en r
en Tid, da man ellers 1et kan komme til at
lide af Kuldegysninger i Slelen."
Ksmmerkztartetten fik i det hele taget stor
anerkendelse for sine programmer med
gammel musik sAvel i krigens forste Ar
som efter krigen. Ud over kammermusikkoncerter
spillede Selbiger bi.a. i J.S. Bachs
koncerter for tre og fire cembali. Her medvirkede
fire andre danske cembalospillere,
Georg Krarup, Christian Christiansen,
Flnn Videro og Karl Johan Isaksen. Stadig
og i mange Ar fremover var det imidlertid
kun hende, der var fuldblods cembalist,
rnens andre - inklusive de fire ovennevnte
- i hor edsagen var organister/ pianister.
Da Selbiger holdt sin anden rene soloaften
6/ 5 7942, havde hun slAet sit navn fast.
"Cembaloets Prestlnde", "uundverllgt
Led af vort Musikliv", "sikre Stilfslelse
og store Erfaring" hed det bl.a. ved
modtagelsen af koncerten. Cammel musik
pA gamle instrumenter var i begyndelsen
af 1940'erne blevet en sA etableret del af
musiklivet, at enkeltnumre kunne dukke
op i radloens underholdningsprogrammer,
fx. i det faste lordagsprogram Weekendhytten,hvor
Selbiger og Ejvin Andersen
figurerede i januar 1943 med hhv. Rameaus
La poule pA cembalo og Eccles'Largo pA
vlola d'amore.
i 1944 blev Tivolis Koncertsal schalburgteret.
Nogle mAneder fsr - i L943 - oplevede
hun en stor Bach-aften i koncertsalen,
hvor hun med Thomas Jensen i spidsen
for orkestret spillede Cembalokoncert i d-mol
og solo Italiensk Koncert. At cembaloet,
der stadig betegnedes som "det sjeldne
instrument", i orkestersammenhengen
havde vanskelige kAr i den store koncertsal,
pApegedes af samtlige anmeldere, hvorimod
Itnliensk Koncert og ekstranummeret Cigue
fra B-dur partitaen varmt blev rost.
Aret 1943 blev pA anden vis epokegorende
for Selbiger, der da pA grund af sin iodiske
afstamning mAtte flygte tll Sverige.
Flugten var dramatisk, og det samme var
optakten tll den. Hun spillede en eftermiddagskammerkoncert
med Ejvin

Andersery flojtenisten Poul Birkelund og
Oboisten Mogens Steen Andreasen i Odd
Fellow Paleets mindre sal24/9 - det var
for ovrigt kong Christian Xs fodselsdag.
Der sad tyske soldater pA forste rekke,
men i pausen kom der "en fremmed
mand" ind i solistv;ereiset og spurgte:
"Er De fru Selbiger? De mA straks i aften
ti1 Sverige." Efter koncerten var der stor
opstandelse og fortvivlelse. Selbiger og
hendes mand tog til Birkelunds hjem,
hvor de overnattede. Hun kunne straks
have fAet en plads l en flugtbAd, men hun
gav den ti1 en anden, da hun ville have
sin mand med. Denne anden, en musikers
kone, blev skudt umiddelbart for den
planlagte f1ugt. Da Selbiger og hendes
mand kom ti1 Snekkersten, var havnen
lige blevet besat af tyske soldater. Parret
fik grant 1ys den B. oktober og 1A i bunden
af den li11e fiskerbAd under overfarten.
Hun havde gift pA sig. Hun havde
tidllgere fAet den tragiske melding om, at
hendes foreldre i Berlln havde taget livet
af sig med gift, da risikoen for at blive
deporteret ti1 koncentrationslejr blev
overhengende. Det var fu)d mine. og
tyske projektorer fejede hen over vandet.
Hun foler sig overbevist om, at tyskerne
mitte have lukket ojnene for bAden, slden
den nAede over sundet i god behold.
I Sverise
Den forste tid i Sverige var meget
van:kelig, men det Iykkedes pdrret dt
komme ti1 Stockholm. Veninden Andrea
(Molla) Ording hjalp dem med papirer,
og Selbiger fik sit cembalo fragtet til
Stockholm. (Mo11a Ording var for ovrigt
ssster ti1 "den norske radiostemme" i
London Arne Ording, der var en god ven
af Kong Haakon, og som flygtede sammen
med kongen, kronprinsen og en del af
regeringen til London den 7. juni 1940.)
Ved siden af nodeskrivnlngs- og musikundervisningsarbejde
begyndte Selbiger
ogsA at fA musikerkontakter og koncertengdgementer,
og iret efter flugten til
Sverige havde hun en soloaften i Konserthusets
Iille sa1. Hun spillede Buxtehude,
J.S. Bach, Rameau, F. Couperin og
D. ScarlaIti, og de meget begeistrede
anmeldere erindrede leserne om, at den
seneste cembaloaften i Stockholm havde
fundet sted ca. 10 Ar tidligere med
Landowska, "Det behdvs iinnu en hel del
pioniiirarbete for den iildre musiken.
BAttre pioniiir iin fru Selbiger kan man
knappast tiinka sig." Som en del af en
stjerneparade, hvor ogsA pianisten France
Ellegaard glimrede, medvirkede hun ved
en stor velgorenhedskoncert for Franska
barnhjrilpen (Red Barnet). En del radioprogrdmmer
blev det ogs; lil, og ved en
historisk koncert med udelukkende

fransk musik pA Musikhistoriska museet
demonstrerede hun F. Couperin og
Rameau til professor Tobias Norlinds
foredrag.
Da meddelelsen om befrielsen niede
hende den 4. maj L945, havde hun netop
sit musikhistorieundervisningshold pA
seks ungs maend h.jemme hos sig, og
begejstringen var stor hos dem a11e. Som
et farvel ti1 det stockholmske musikliv
deltog hun med sine nyetablerede unge
svenske musikerkontakter, der b1.a.
indbefattede Sven-Erik BAck, Claude
Cenetay. Ingvar Lidholm og Tngmar
Bengtsson - sidstnavnte gav hun
cembalolektioner - i en kammerkoncert
3 / 6 1945 pA D rottningholms teatermuseum
med verker af Pergolesi, Marcello, F.
Couperin, J.S. Bach og J. Haydn.
Musikerne var lk1edt rokokodragter, og
Selbiger kunne knapt fA plads ved
cembaloet for sin store krlnollne.
Yngve Flykt havde i Ekspressen 27 / 5 1945
en lang artikel om s€sonens koncerter, og
han skrev bl.a. folgende:
Blandt de gtistende srtisterna har uid
s iisonens solistkonserter forklarligt
nog frterfunnits naffinen Flance
Ellegaard, Annie Fischer, Victor
Schiriler och Gjurgja Leppce, oclt till
dessa kan fogas den lysande danska
cembalisten Liselotte Selbiger, den
begdaade norska pianisten Hilda
Waldeland oclt det estniska
stj rirnskot tet folinisten Zelia Uhke-
Aumere. Frdn Finland har ai haft
flera artister pd bescik, frrimst
sdngcrskan Lca Pilllt
Tilbase i Kobenhavn
Selbiger led i mange Ar af rygproblemer,
som gjorde det smertefuldt for hende at
sidde pA en stol. Men hun fortsatte med
at give koncerter, og koncertstederne var
mange. Efter hjemkomsten spillede hun
bl.a. pA Glyptoteket, fx. i fire koncerter
med musik og recitation, i Odd Fellowpalarls
ntindre sal med kammer- og solomusik,
b1.a. ved to Gymnamusa-koncerter
(koncertforening for gymnasiaster stiftet i
1942),hvor Niels Viggo Bentzons Partita,
spillet af komponisten selv pA klaver,
blev sat op mod J.S. Bachs Partita iB-dur,
splllet pA cembalo, pA Musikltistorisk
Museum, der ifolge sagens natur ofte
dannede ramme om koncerter med
historisk musik. OgsA Nationolmuseets
Feslsal (soloaften 72 / 4 7946) og Statens
Museum for Kzrnsf (fransk musik til
museumsdirektsr Francois Bouchers
foredrag oktober 1946) blev spillesteder
for den gamle muslk. I Kairstlndustrimuseets
foredrngssal havde Selbiger den store
fornojeise at spille sammen med den
beromte August Wenzingers gambekvartet

fra Schola Cantorum Basilienses, en
optreden, der forte til et yderligere
samarbejde med Wenzinger (se nedenfor!).
Borups Hoj skole og Nikolai Kirkesal lagde blLa.
hus til musikalske foredragsillustrationer
og rene Hiindelaftener.
Selbiger holdt en 1O-Ars jubileumskoncert
i januar L949, og samme Ar spillede hun
igen solostemmen i Bachs d-mol cembalokoncert
i Tiaoli - denne gang med Sv.Chr.
Felumb som dirigent. Koncerten foregik i
Cla;.alen, der efter odelaggelserne r ar
blevet genopby gget i 7946, mens den nybyggede
koncertsal forst blev indviet i 1956.
Hun vandt en personlig sejr, da hun til en
pladeindspilningil9S2 kom til at dirigere
et ensemble fra radiokammerorkestret i
stedet for Mogens Wdldike. Hun dirigerede
ensemblet fra cembaloet i J.S. Bachs f-mol
og A-dur cembalokoncerter, og det viste
sig, at hun havde evner som musikalsk
leder. Hun fuJgte succes'en op med en
koncert i Odd Fel1ow Paleets mindre sal i
1953, men det var samtidig med, at hun
fik stillet diagnosen for sine r) gsmerter:
En godartet svulst l rygmarven. Hun blev
opereret, men mAtte stille koncertudfoldelsen
pA stand-by i en periode.
Tilbage efter sygdommen spillede Selbiger
bl.a. en J.S. Bach-solokoncert i palaet i
1955. J.S. Bach var den gennemgAende
komponi>t i hendes helt overvejende
barokke koncertrepertoire, men hun
spillede ogsA musik fra post-barokken,
fx. Haydns D-dur cembalokoncert. Det
gjorde hun b1.a. med radiosymfonikerne i
Radiohusets Koncertsal, da 225-fuet for
komponistens fodselsdag blev fejret.
Turn6er
Allerede i Selbigers debutAr indspillede
hun programmer i den norske radio.
Rejsen til Oslo blev starten pA en jevnlig
optreden i Norge under hele karrieren,
lraregnet krigstiden. Ud over 3t spille i
kringkastingen optridte hun ogsi ved
publikumskoncerter i Os1o, Bergen,
Ringve ved Trondheim og senest ved en
cembaloindvielse en kold vinterdag i
Kristiansand Domkirke.
Cembaloproduktionen blev i lobet af
1950'erne og 1960'erne mere og mere udbygget,
men inden da var cembaloturneer
en vanskelig sag. Det var forbundet med
storf besv€r og store omkostninger at
rejse rundt med sit eget instrument, og
det var kun fA koncertsteder, selv i de
storre byer, der besad et cembalo, endsige
et cembalo af god kvalitet.
Men Selbiger spillede i Stockholm (bAde
under og efter krigen), Cilteborg og
Jonkoping. Endvidere optrAdte hun i
Schweiz og lavede her to radioudsendelser
sdmmen med August Wenzinger; hun
spillede i Berlin, to gange i Hamburg
(forst i "Die Brticke" et britisk kulturcenter

med et soloprogram, og efter sin store
succes her ogsi i Nordwestdeutscher
Rundfunk med 5. Brandenburgerkoncert), i
Koln, Bruxelles og London (Wigmore Hall),
overalt med fine anmeldelser. Efter koncerten
i "Die Brticke" skrev pressen bl.a.:
Was ihr Spiel besonders anziehend
mncht, ist die unbestechliche
Sauberkeit und ZuaerliissigkeIt ihrer
tiberlegenen Technik, der klare
Aufbau und die stilistisclrc Siclterheit
ihr es plastisch ges tal ten den
Vortrags. Fein ausgeroogen in der
Dynnmik soutie reizaoll abgetdnt in
den Klangt'arben ihres sinnuollen
Registerwechsels spielt sie mit
starker geistiger Konzentrcttion. Sie
ist eine Meisterin ihres lnstrumentes.
OgsA i den danske provins blev det iser i
den sene del af karrieren til en del
koncerter; i Nestved, Clumso, Sonderborg,
Randers, Aalborg m.fl.st..
Radioudsendelser
Selbigers musikerkarriere strakte sig over
ca. 25 fu, og iser i 1940'erne og 1950'erne
var hun saerdeles aktiv. Aktiv i den grad,
at det kostede hende hendes egteskab.
"Koncerter, altid koncerter", sukkede
hendes danske egtemand. Og det blev til
langt over 100 koncerter.
Hun havde adskillige soloaftener og
spillede mange solokoncerter med orkester,
men stod for endnu flere kammermusikalske
koncerter, en dei af dem med flojtenisten
Poul Birkelund. Langt storsteparfen a{
hendes radioudsendelser var imidlertid
solomusik. Hun presenterede i dansk radio
adskillige serier, fx. hele Das wohltemperierte
Klat:ier I og Dns wohltemperierte Klaaier ll,
Musik paa claaichord og Strejftog gennem
cembalomusikken. I 10-Ars perioden 1948-57
leverede hun omkrlng B0 udsendelser i
dansk radio. I norsk rikskringkasting var
hun en fast gast, ogsA i svensk og tysk
radio lavede hun udsendelser, og hendes
plader blev splllet i mange radiofonier.
Grammofonplader
Hun indspillede plader i den periode, hvor
teknikken endrede sig fra 78-plader til
longplayingplader, og hendes forste udgivelser
er med den gamle teknik. Hun
havde en meget fin pladedebut i 1947.
Pladen, der rummede to Scarlattinumre,
blev fornemt anmeldt. IThe Gramophone Shop
i New York skrev anmelderen bl.a. folgende:
The "Cortige Sonata" has been tfuice
done before, and this perforntance
betters esch of them - e-oen that of
Mndsme Landowska (in Satrlatti
Society Set, Volume I) wltose
superJTuous mnnnerisms in this case

are sllown up for ulnt they are:
artiJice not art. The "Toccata" ... is
giaen a tense and exciting perform
ance that reaeals greater creatioe
strength in the composer than
ordinary performance prnctices allow
... An excellent recording of n oery
wonderful instrument.
Denne fine modtagelse af pladen Abnede
mange dore for hende, og frem ti1 1957 blev
det til yderligere godt en halv snes indspilninger,
nesten udelukkende med J.S. Bachs
musik. Men hendes forste lp, der kom i 1955,
rummede musik af Couperin og Rameau.
OgsA den forte rosende omtale med sig. I
Dagens Nyheder 13 / 9 blev optageteknikken
rost, og om Selblger hed det bl.a.:
"Les
foLies frnnqaises", som Liselotte
Selbiger spiller paa Pladens anden
Side, uiser Couperins mesterlige
Kar akteris eringseT) ne p an sin Hoj de,
og Fru Selbiger spiller de pikante
melodiske Miniaturer med en stilren
og nunnceret Klangfuldhed og
Elegance. Hun slutter af med den
store "Passncaille", h'oor lun spiller
sit Cembalo op til et formeligt
Orgelbrus og aiser sin eminente
Beherskelse af Instrumentet. Det er en
meget frn og oellykket lndspilning.
Det skal her nevnes, at Selbigers forste
mand, musikhistorikeren Herbert Rosenberg,
var hende en stor stotte i forbindelse
med hendes pladeindspilnlnger. De foregik
nesten alle i hans regi, idet hun livet
igennem - ogsA efter skilsmissen i 1940 -
bevarede kontakten med ham, og han var
tll stadighed hendes kompetente
muslkalske kritiker.
Skribent- os foredrassv i rksom hed
Selbiger indspillede i 1957 en dejlig
version af J.S. Bachs Kromatisk fantasi
oglzga, som hun modtog den danske
diskofilpris for. Men i tilleeg til sin indsats
som musiker ytrede hun sig ogsA pA skrift
og i foredragsform om opforelsespraksis
og den gamle musiks instrumenter. Hun
skrev bl.a. tre artikler Bach pd kla:oer (Sverige
1945, Danmark 1946, Music Review London
L950), Om at spille cembalo (dmt 1959) og
Lidt om claaichorclet (drnt 1960) og holdt et
utal af foredrag og kurser pA musikkonservatorier
i ind- og udland om barokmusikkens
interpretation. Gennem flere sasoner
havde hun ogsA kurser i musikforstAelse
pA St. Petri Aftenhojskole.
Eftertiden
PA grund a{ sygdom og andre uforudsete
begivenheder stilnede Liselotte Selbigers
pladeindspilningsvirksomhed af i
slutningen af 1950'erne. Men selv om vi

ikke har bevaret optagelser af sA stort et
udvalg af hendes repertoire, som man
havde kunnet onske, sA eksisterer der
alligevel tilstrekkeligt materiale, ti1 at vi
ogsA i dag ca. 50 efter hendes virke kan
danne os et indtryk af hendes intelligente
og folsomme musikerpersonlighed. Hun
satte a1 sin viden og musikalitet ind pa
tolkningen af barokmusikken, og hendes
betydning for cembaloets placering i
udsvelsen af den gamle musik parret
med hendes koncertmessige energi, forst
og fremmest pA dansk grund, er
uomtvistelig og mindeveerdig.
Uddybende biografisk litteratur om Liselotte
Selbiger findes bl.a. i booklet til cd'en
DACOCD 556 samt i Dansk Kvindebiografisk
Leksikon, www.kvin{o.dk
Musikken
Af de seks komponister, der er representeret
pA disse to cd'er, er de to fodt nesten
samtidig med J.S. Bach, nemlig Scarlatti
og Rameau, mens Purcell og Couperin er
lidt eldre og C.Ph.E. Bach noget yngre.
Samtidig med at vere af forskellige
generationer representerer komponisterne
ogsA forskellige 1oka1e traditioner:
engelsk, fransk, tysk og italiensk.
Den eldste, englenderen Henry Purcell,
er mAske mest kendt for sine sceneverker
(forst og fremmest Dido og Aeneas), oder,
anthems m.m., men han har ogsA skrevet
musik for tasteinstrumenter, i direkte
forlengelse af den beromte engelske
virginalisttradition med navne som Byrd,
Gibbons og Morley. Et virginal er en slags
spinet og en eldre, mindre og enklere
udgave af cembaloet. Den eneste trykte
udgivelse af Purcells cembalovarker kom
et Ar efter hans dod i1696 og havde titlen
Clnice Collection of Lessons for the Harpsichord
or the Spinnet composed by the late Mr.
P ur cell. Men hans kompositioner for
cembalo/spinet cirkulerede i hAndskrift i
hans levetid.
F.B. Zimmermann har skrevet et analytisk
katalog over Purcells musik. Preludiet til
suiten i g-mol er mensureret, altsA ikke i
den friere rytme, som kendetegnede den
franske praksis, fx. hos Couperin.

Franqois Couperin (den store) horte
hjemme i et fransk musikerdynasti, og
ogsl hans farbror Loui. Couperin er
kendt som cembalokomponist. For at
skille Frangois Couperin fra en anden farog
samtidig navnebror har den yngre
Frangois Couperin fAet tilnavnet le Grand.
Couperins cembalomusik er samlet i fire
boger, der tilsammen rummer 27 sAkaldte
"ordres" (serier), i alt over 200 stykker,
dansesatser og karakterstykker. Det er
eksempler pA sidstnevnte, der figurerer pA
disse cd'er, og fx. et stykke som Le Rossignol
cn-lmour viser den sLore betydning, forsiringerne
(Les agrimens) har i Couperins
franske stil. De ultrakorte satser i les
Folies frangoises er eksempler pA hans
koncentrerede karakteriseri ngsevne.
Couperin var ogsA pedagog, og han har
skrevet en beromt klaverskole L'arf de
toucher Ie claaecin 1777 , hvor han bl.a.
gerrnemgAr sln forsiringspraksis. Liselotte
Selbiger, der i parentes bemerket er en stor
fugleel>ker, har registreret, af pA trods af
de mange triller og andre udsmykninger
lyder musikken slet ikke som en virkelig
nattergal!
Jean-Philippe Rameau blev fodt to Ar for
J.S. Bach og overlevede ham med 14 Ar.
Han var en meget alsidig kornponist og
tillige en beromt musikteoretiker. llan
har en yppig produktlon af operaer/
operaballetter, og hans musikteoretiske
verker fik stor betydning for eftertidens
teorier om harmonik. Hans cembalomusik
er komponeret i tidsrummet 7706-47, og
de her gengivne stykker er fra anden
samling i1724.Den indledes af spil1eanvisninger
A 1a Couperins L'art de touchet
og endvidere en forsiringstavle (Table des
Agriments). Der er lmidlertid ingen tor
teori over hans stvkker; de er tvartimod
levende, undertiden lidt drommende eller
melankolske. I alt er der pA cd'en ni suitesatser,
hvoraf de tre stAr tE-dur (2. Gigtte
en Rondeau og 2. Rigaudon samt Musette en
Rondeau), resten i e-mol. BAde Couperins
'nattergal' og den sats i Rameaus suite, der
hedder le Rappel des Oiseaux (fuglekalden),
horer hjemme i en gammel tradition for
musikalske fugle- (og ogsA jagt-) imitationer,
der b1.a. kendes i pariserchanson'en i
1500-tal1et.
Med far og son fra det Bach'ske musikerdynasti
er vi pA tysk grund. fohann
Sebastian Bach er her representeret ved
20 kortere numre. De 6 smA praludier for
begyndere og to af duetterne fra Klaviertibung
III spilles pA clavichord, b1ldt
tilbagelrenet, med en kniplingefin klang.
Ikke meget af Bachs musik er lndspillet
pA clavichord, men disse smA'dukkesymaskinestykker'
kleder lnstrumentet.
De tostemmige inventioner findes faktisk
i flere clavichordindspilninger (bl.a. med
Ralph Kirkpatrick og Eta Harich-Schneider),

men her fer vi dem pA cembalo, hvilket
fremhever deres sprelske karakter.
Ligeledes pA cembalo en enkelt sats fra
B-dur partitaen, den hojtidelige sarabande,
samt fire af preludierne+fugaerne fra Das
tnltllentperitrte Klauier l, som er en slags
karakterstykker, selv om de ikke skilter
med det i titlerne. PA den nevnte Bach-cd
DACOCD 556 har man mulighed for at
hore Liselotte Selbiger udfolde sig i
'storre' Bach-kompositioner, bl.a. i den
kromatiske fantasi og fuga samt A-dur
cembalokoncerten.
Liselotte Selbiger koncentrerede meget af
sit spil omkring J.S. Bach, men ogsA de
franske claveclnister og italienske
Domenico Scarlatti havde en stor plads i
hendes hjerte og praksis. Af cd'ens fire
Scarlattistykker figurerer de to Longo 23 og
Longo 422 allerede pA hendes forste pladeindspilning
(7947). De tre af stykkerne
lrar betegnelsen sonata, mens den fjerde er
en toccata. Alle fire har imldlertid den for
tidens suite-/ dansesatser karakteristiske
opbygning i to afsnit, begge med gentagelse
(Selbiger stryger dog gentagelsen af andet
afsnit). I deres tonale og undertiden dristige
harmoniske forlob peger Scarlattis sonater,
hvoraf der I a1t er ca. 550, frem mod den
klassiske sonateform. Sonaterne og
toccataen er her nummereret efter
Alessandro Longos tematiske katalog.
Mens fader Bachs smA preludier og duetter
klinger fortraeffeligt pA et clavichord, men
i og for sig ogsA kunne have veret spillet
pA cembalo, sA er situationen en anden,
nAr det gelder hans neesteldste sons Carl
Philipp Emanuel Bachs tastemusik. Den
er i stor udstrekning simpelthen tiltenkt
clavichordet. C.Ph.E. Bach var en mester i
at udnytte dets muligheder for et nuanceret
syngende spi1, og blandt hans beundrere
var englenderen Burney, der skrev om
ham i sin Present State of Music in Germany:
"In the pathetic and slow movements,
whenever he had a long note to express,
he absolutely contrived to produce from
his instrument, a cry of sorrow and
complaint, as can only be effected upon
the clavichord, and perhaps by himse1f."
I sin klaverskole, Versuch uber die wahre
Arl. das Clnuicr zu spielen, understreger
C.Ph.E. Bach ogsa gang pa gang vigtigheden
af det fslsomme spil. Sonaten pA denne cd
er nr. 5 i Sechs Claoier-Sonaten fi)r Kenner
und Liebhaber, Erste Sammlung og skrevet i
Hamburg i 1772.Manharer tydeligt, at
Haydn (og andre af wienerklassikerne)
har fundet inspiration i hans sonater. Den
franske musikhistoriker Alfred Wotquenne
har iavet et tematisk katalog over C.Ph.E.
Bachs verker.

Instrumenterne
Af barokkens klaverinstrumenter er det
clavichordet og cembaloet, der bliver
presenteret her. Clavichordet er det
eldste af de to. Dets mekanik er enkel;
tonen frembringes, ved at musikeren med
sit tryk pA tangenten forer en lille metalplade
op til strengen, hvor den forbliver,
indtil tangenten slippes.
Clavichordspllleren kan sAledes pAvirke
tonen, sa lenge tangenten er trykket ned
og fx. give tasten 1= metalpladen) et ekstra
tryk efter anslaget, hvorved tonen
forhojes en smule og dermed fAr en vis
aggression (Selbiger i sin artikel om
clavichordspil i dmt 8/1960).
Karakteristisk for clavichordets udtryksmuligheder
er den sAkaldte bebungsteknik.
Den indeberer, at spilleren kan opnA en
vibratoeffekt ved skiftevis at spende og
lette trykket pA den anslAede tangent, og
den noteres med en rekke prikker over
6n og samme node.
Brugen af clavichordet i barokken og den
tidlige wienerklassik var iser udbredt i
Tyskland, og det var hjemmenes og den
intime musicerens instrument nummer 6t.
Selbigers clavichord er bygget af Hanns
Neupert, Bamberg.
Cembaloet blev ogsA brugt i den hjemlige
salon, men det var i modsetning til
clavichordet samtidig velegnet til den mere
'pompose'musik og kunle med dets
fyldige tone anvendes ti1 opforelser ogsA i
stoue rum. Det havde endvidere en
funktion som generalbasinstrument, der
sammen med et basforsterkende instrument
kunle legge det harmoniske
fundament i orkestre og mlndre ensembler.
Cembaioet har en stor flygelformet
klangkasse, og dets strenge knipses af
plektre, nAr tangenterne slAs an.
Instrumentet er blevet kritiseret for, at det
ikke egner sig ti1 legatospil, og at man ikke
kan spille crescendo eller diminuendo pA
det. I princippet er det rigtigt, men alligevel
kan man med den rigtige fraseringsteknik
skabe illusionen af disse spillemAder, og
det er bl.a. pA denne teknik, at man
kender den gode cembalist.
Cembaloets klang kan nuanceres gennem
skift mellem eller sammenkobling af
forskellige registre. Selbigers cembalo
(Hanns Neupert, Bamberg 1935) har to
manualer med 8- og 16-fods stemmer
knyttet til det underste og B- og 4-fods
stemmer samt luttrek til det overste.
NB: Clauichordets tone er meget spinklere end
cembaloets, og i pladesanmenheng kan man proae
nt skrue ned for hojttaleren, ndr man lytter til
clauiclnrdstykkerne. Dermed opndr man et rigtigere
forhold mellem claaichordets og cembaloets Iydstyrker,
Olnge Bruland

Liselotte Selbiger's Career as a Musician
from Berlin to Cooenhaeen
That Liselotte Selbiger was destined to
become the great pioneer of harpsichord
playing in Denmark wasn't a matter of
course when she was born. On the other
hand, nor was her becoming a professional
musician in the first place. An only child
in a well-to-do Berlin home, she nevertheless
had an excellent musical upbrlnging.
She was taught the piano and ce11o for
years, accompanied her father, who was a
fine singer, to Schubert's lieder and
played the cello in an amateur symphony
orchestra cailed the Arzf eorchester.
Furthermore, she worked for some years
as a secretary for her father, who was a
solicitor. But upon having completed her
education as a piano teacher, which
culminated in a thesis on J. S. Bach, her
interest ln the harpsichord was kindled to
a degree that she left her music stooi, put
her ce11o in a corner and went a1l out for a
career in old music; even though this
meant that she had to give up playing
muchJoved composers such as Brahms
and Debussy. A German-Jewish refugee,
she came to Copenhagen in 1935, and her
debut as a solo recitalist took place on 23
January 1939 at the Hornung & Moller
hall at 54 Bredgade, Copenhagen. The
musical life of 20'h century Copenhagen
had heard a harpsichord before, surely.
but this was the first time a harpsichordist
resident in Denmark presented a full-fledged
solo concert in which the harpsichord
dldn't just serve as an item for demonstration,
but where the musical programme
was in equilibrium. Expectations were
high, and the response very favourable.
Among the reviewers was Professor Erik
Abrahamsen, who wrote that once you
have become used to the sound, at once
so brittle and crystal-c1ear yet so distinctly
vibrant, you understand how hard it is to
listen to the same o1d compositions
"played on the far heavier and coarser
modern grand pianol"
World War 2
Many things in Copenhagen life took a
new turn with the outbreak of WW2. Still,
everyday life and the concert scene went
on; the latter perhaps even with even
greater intensity. The deveiopment in the
use of authentic instruments in old music
continued, too. In the summer of 1938,
Selbiger went to St. Leu la For6t outside
of Paris to visit the great pioneer of the
harpsichord, Wanda Landowska, who
was then 60 years o1d, and to take lessons
with her. Landow:ka s very expressive
style of playing did not, however, become
a model of style for Selbiger, but she was
inspired by Landowska's exposition of

the ornamentation practice of J. S. Bach in
her book Muslque Ancienne from 1909.
Here the author demonstrates how, for
instance, the slow movement of t]ne ltaLion
Concerto represents a complete breakdown
of embelllshments of the chord
skeleton. This was an eye-opener to
Selbiger and instrumental in her everincreasing
understanding of Bach's music.
Denmark had only been occupied for two
days when Selbiger played a programme
consi:ting of Roman, Handel and J. Chr.
Bach together with the quartet Knnmtetkztartetten,
which, apart from herself, were
the violinists Lavard Friisholm and Ejvin
Andersen (who also played the odd
concert on the many-stringed Baroque
lnstrument viola d'amore) as well as the
cellist Alf Petersen. The concert took place
at the blacked-out and sold-out Hindsberg
Concert Ha1l, and the Social Demoktaten
wrote in its review: "It is not history and
not museum, but vibrant life... something
that provides warmth in times when one
may easily be afflicted with shivers of the
soul.' Altogether, Knmmerkrtartetten
gained wide recognition for its programs
of old music, both during the first years
of the war as well as afterwards. Besides
chamber music recitals, Selbiger also
participated in concerts featuring, among
other things, J. S. Bach's concertos for
three and four harpsichords. These
concerts also featured four other Danish
harpsichord players: Georg Krarup,
Christian Christiansen, Finn Videro and
Karl Johan Isaksen. Yet at the time and
for many years to come, Selbiger was still
the only 100 per cent harpsichordlst,
others - including the four aforementioned
players - were primarily organ or piano
players.
When Selbiger played her second solo
concert on 6 May L942, she had made a
name for herself. "The Priestess of the
harpsichord", "An indispensable part of
our musical life", "confident sense of
style and vast experience" were among
the reviewers comments. By the early
1940s, old music on old instruments had
become such an establlshed part of musical
life that entertainment programmes on
the radio occasionally featured a piece, e.g.
in the regular Saturdav show Weekend'
hVtten, on which Selbiger and Ejvin
Andersen were guests ln January 1943,
playing Rameau * Ln poule on the harp.ichord
and Eccle's Largo on the viola
d'amore, respectively.
In 1944 German countersaboteurs destroyed
the Tivoli Concert Ha1l. In 1943, a few
months prior to this, she played a grand
Bach night in the concert hal1. Together
with Thomas Jensen at the helm of the
orchestra she played the Concerto for
Hatysichord in D minor and solo the solo

Italion Concerto. That the harpsichord,
then stil1 referred to as "the rare instrument",
was having a hard time against the
orchestra in the large ha11 was noted by
all reviewers, whereas the ltalian Concerto
and the encore Glgae from the partita in
Bb major received rave reviews.
The vear of 1943 also marked a new
departure in another sense for Se)biger.
Being of Jewish descent she had to flee to
Sweden. It was a dramatic escape, and so
was the prelude to it. On 24 September
(incidentally the birthday of King
Christian 10.1, she was playing an afternoon
chamber concert with Ejvin
Andersen, the flutist Poul Birkelund and
the oboist Mogens Steen Andreasen in the
sma11 concert hall of the Odd Fellow
Lodge. German soldiers were sitting in the
front row, but during the intermission, a
"stranger' entered the soloist's room and
asked her: 'Are you Mrs Selbiger? You
must leave for Sweden tonight, without
delay." After the concert there was much
excitement and despalr. Selbiger and her
husband went to Birkelund's house and
spent the night there. There was room for
her in a refugee boat that very night, but
she waived it in favour of another person,
because Selbiger wanted to take her husband
with her. The other person, the wife
of a musician, was shot right before they
managed to escape. When Selbiger and
her husband arrived at Snekkersten, the
harbour had just been occupied by
German troops. The couple were given
the green light on 8 October and Iay on
the bottom of a sma11 fishing boat during
transit. She carried poison. She had
recently received the tragic news that her
parent in Berlin had committed suicide
by taking poison when the risk of being
deported to a concentration camp became
imminent. The Moon was full, and
German floodlights swept across the
waters. She is convinced that the Cerman
must have let the boat pass, since they
managed to cross the Sound unscathed.
In Sweden
At first, the couple found their new life in
Sweden very difficult, but they eventually
managed to get to Stockholm. A friend,
Andrea (Molla) Ordlng, helped them get
new papers, and Selbiger had her
harpsichord sent to Stockholm. (Mo11a
Ording happened to be the sister of
"the Nont egian broadcasting voice' in
London, Arne Ording, who was a good
friend of King Haakon. He fled to
London on 7 June 1940 together with the
King, the Crown Prince and part of the
government.) Apart from working as a
music copier and teacher, Selbiger graduallv
gained contacts among musicians as well
as concert engagements, and a year after

her escape to Sweden she played a solo
recital in the small haII of Konserthuset.
She played Buxtehude, J. S. Bach,
Rameau, F. Couperin and D. Scarlatti,
and the reviewers, who were marvelled,
reminded their readers that the previous
harpsichord recital in Stockholm was
performed by Landowska about 10 years
ago. "Old music still requires a 1ot of
pioneer work. It's hard to imagine a finer
pioneer than Mrs Seibiger.' She also
performed in an all-star parade, including
the pianist France Ellegaard, at a big
charity concert for the Franskq barnhjrilpen
(Save the Children). She also did some
radio shows, and at a historic concert at
the Museum of Music History she demonstrated
F. Couperin and Rameau for a
discourse by Professor Tobias Norlind.
On 4 May 1945, when she received the
news that Denmark had been liberated,
she was busy at home teaching musical
history to her class of six young men, and
all were overwhelmed with joy. As a
farewell to the musical life of Stockhoim
she participated, together with her newfounded
contacts among young Swedish
musicians, including Sven-Erik Back,
Claude Genetay, Ingvar Lidholm and
Ingmar Bengtsson (the latter of whom
also took harpsichord lessons with her),
in a chamber music concert on 3 June
1945 at the Drottningholm Theater Museum,
featuring works by Pergolesi, Marcello, F.
Couperin, J. S. Bach and J. Haydn. The
musicians wore Rococo-styie outfits, and
Selbiger, wearing a huge crinoline, could
hardly fit behind her harpsichord.
Yngve Flykt wrote a long article on the
concerts that season in the newspaper
Ekspressen on May 27,1945. A small quote:
Among the guest ctrtists 0t this
season's solo recitals we find, of
course, recurring names such ns
France Elleganrd, Annie Fischer,
Victor Schidler and Gjurgja Leppde,
and added to these nrtists are the
b r illian t D nnish harp s ichor dis t
Liselotte Selbiger, the gifted
Nonnegian pianist Hilda Waldelsnd
and the Estonian star aiolinist Zeliq
Uhke-Aumere. We haae also enjoyed
ztisits by seueral Finnish qrtists, most
notably the singer Lea Piltti.
Return to Cooenhaeen
For many years Selbiger suffered from
back pain that made it painful for her to
sit on a chair. Nevertheless she continued
to play concerts, and at many different
venues. Among the venues she played at
upon her return to Denmark were the
Glyptotek, e.g. four concerts of music and
recitation; the small hall of the Odd Fellou)
Lodge, where she did concerts of chamber

and solo music, includlng two Cymnamusa
concerts (a concert society for gymnasts,
founded in 1942) where Niels Viggo
Bentzon's Partita, played by the composer
himself on the piano, was set against J. S.
Bach's Partita in Bb major, played upon
the harpsichor d; at the Museum of Music
History, which naturally often provided
Lhe framework oI concerts featuring
historical music. The Assembly Hall of the
National Museurz (so1o recital on 12 Aprll
1946) and the National Art Musettm
(French music to accompdny Curator
Francois Boucher's discourse in October
1946) became venues for this kind of o1d
music. At the theatre of the Danish Mttseum of
Decoratiae Selbiger had the great pleasure
of performing together with the famous
August Wenzinger's viol quartet of the
Schola Cantorum Basilienses. This performance
1ed to further collaboration with
Wenzinger (see later!). Borup College and
Nikolaj Chapel housed i.a. music lectures
with live illustrations, and all-Handel
concerts.
Selbiger celebrated her tenth anniversary
as a performer with a concert in January
1949, and that same year she once again
played the solo part of Bach's harpsichord
concerto in D minor; this time conducted
by Svend Christian Felumb. The concert
took place at the Glass Hall Theatre of
Tivoli, which had been restored in1946
following its destruction. The brand new
concert hall would not be inaugurated
until 1956.
She scored a personal triumph when, during
at recording session in 1952, happened to
conduct an ensemble of musicians from
the Chamber Orchestra of the Danish
Radio in Mogens Woldike'5 place. From
her harpsichord she conducted the
ensemble in J. S. Bach: harpsichord
concerto: in F minor and A major, and
she turned out to be a gifted conductor.
Hun followed up on her success with a
concert at the small hall of the Odd Fellow
Lodge in 1953. At the same time she was
diagnosed with the cause of her back
pain: a benign spinal cord tumor. She
underwent surgery, but had lo put her
concert aclir ities on standby for some
time.
Upon recovering, Seibiger played
concerts at the lodge, among them a J. S.
Bach solo recltal in 1955. J. S. Bach was
the prevalent composer on her predominantly
Baroque concert repertoire list, but
she also played po>t-Baroque music,
including Haydn's harpsichord concerto
in D major with the Radio Symphony
Orchestra at The Dsnish Radio Concert Hsll
for the celebrations oi the comDoser s
lzf'oftnoav.

Tours
Selbiger began recording programmes for
the Norwegian Radio already in the year
of her debut. The journey to Oslo turned
out to be the flrst of frequent performances
in Norway throughout her entire
career, with the exception of the War
years. Besides playing at Kringkas tingen
she performed at public concerts in Oslo,
Bergen, Ringve (near Trondheim). Her
latest concert in Norway was the first
playing of a new harpsichord a cold
winter s day in the cathedral of
Kristiansand.
During the 1950s and 60s, the manufacturing
of harpsichords gradualiy improved,
but before thery harpsichord tours were a
delicate matter. Travelling with one's
own instrurnent was extremely cumbersome
and expensive, and few concert
venues, even ln the major cities, sported a
quality harpsichord.
Even so, Selbiger played in Stockholm
(both during and after the war), Gothenburg
and Jonkoping. Furthermore she played
in Switzerland, where she also did two
radio broadcasts together with August
Wenzinger; she played in Berlin, twice in
Hamburg (first a solo recital at "Die Briicke",
a British community centre, and, having
achieved a major success here, also on the
Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk with the
Brandenburg Concerto no. 5), in Cologne,
Brussels and London (Wigmore Ha11), all
of which received great reviews. After her
concert at 'Die Briicke" the press wrote,
among other things:
What mskes her playing particularly
appenling is the unerring purity and
authenticity characteristic of her
outstanding technique, clear buildup
and the reliability of her aiaid
execution. With fne nnd wellbslanced
dynamics and charmingly
gradated timbres achieaed by her
stop anriations, she played with
incre asin gly intense concentration.
Slrc is indeed s master of her
tnstrument.
She also played several concerts in the
Danish provinces, particularly in the
autunrl of her career: Nestved, Glumso,
Sonderborg, Randers, Aalborg, among
other places.
Radio Broadcasts
Selbiger's caxeer as a musician spanned
almost 25 year:. She was particularly
active in the 1940s and 1950s. In fact to a
degree that if cost her her marriage.
"Concerts, always concerts", her Danish
husband complained. And she did play
far beyond 100 concerts.
She played several solo recitals and many

solo concerts with an orchestra, but was
the driving force behind considerably
more chamber music concetts, some of
them featuring the flutist Poul Birkelund.
The majority of her radio broadcasts,
however, consisted of solo music. On
Danish radio she presented several series,
including alL of TIrc WeII-Tempered Claztier
I and II, Music upon the clnaichord and
Incursions into Music for Ha:sichord.
During the 10 years between 1948-57 she
did about 80 broadcasts for Danish Radio.
She was a recurring guest on Norwegian
radio; she did broadcasts for Swedish and
German radio; and her records were
played on many broadcasting services.
Records
She recorded albums during the period
that saw technology change from 78 rpm
records to LPs, and her first releases were
done using the old technique. She made a
fine debut as a recording artist in1947.
Her record, which featured two pieces by
Scarlatti, received excellent reviews. To
quote the reviewer frotnThe Gramophone
Shop:
The "Cortige Sonata" has been tltrice
done before, and this performance
betters each of tlrcm - eaen that of
Madame Landozoska (in Scctrlcttti
Society Set, Volume I) whose
superJTuous mannerisms in this case
are shown up for zuhat they are:
artifice not nrt. The "Toccstn" ... is
giiaen a tense and exciting perform
ance that reaeals greater creatiae
strength in the composer tlnn
or dinnry perfo rrnance p ractices allozu
... An excellent recording of a aery
wonderful instrument.
This fine reception of her record opened
many doors to her, and up to 1957 she
made about a dozen recordings, nearly a1l
of with music by J. S. Bach. But her first LP,
released in 1955, also contained music by
Couperin and Rameau. This record was
praised as well. The 9 /13 issue o{ the paper
Dagens Nyheder commended the recording
technique and wrote of Selbiger:
"Les
folies frangaises", played by
Liselotte Selbiger on the reaerse side
of the record, demonstrqtes
Couperin's masterly art of charac
terisation ctt its best, and Mrs
Selbiger plays the piquant melodic
ministures with a stylistically
consistent and nunnced timbre and
elegance. She concludes zoith the big
" Passncaille" , in which her
lury sicltor d resembles a u eritable
organ peal and she demonstrates her
outstanding command of the

instrument. This is an excellent and
e x tr em e Iy su c ces sful r e co r din g.
It must be said that Selbiger's first spouse,
the music historian Herbert Rosenberg,
was a great support to her in connection
with album recording sessions. Almost a1l
of them took place under his auspices,
because she stayed in touch with him
throughout his life, even after they
divorced in 1940, and he remained
forever a competent music critic to her.
Writins and Lecturine
In 1957 Selbiger recorded a beautiful
version of J. S. Bach's Chromcttic Fantasy
and Fugue, for which she was awarded
the Danish Discophile Award. But apart
from her efforts as a musician she also
discussed performance practice and the
use of instruments in old music in articles
and lectures. Among her articles were
Bach on the Plano (Sweden 1945, Denmark
1946, Music Review Londonl-950), About
Playing the Haryslclrord (Dansk Musik
Tidsskrift, 1959) and A Few Words on the
Claaichord (Dansk Musik Tidsskrift, 1960).
She also gave scores of lectures and
classes, both in Denmark and abroad, on
the interpretation of Baroque music, and
she taught musical appreciation at St.
Petri Evening College for several years.
Later Years
Due to illness and other unforeseen
events Liselotte Selbiger gradually
stopped recording albums towards the
end of the 1950s. But even though
existing recordings of her repertoire are,
unfortunately, scarce, we still have
enough material today, 50 years later, to
form a picture of her intelligent and
sensitive personality as a musician. She
applied her entire knowledge and
musicality to the interpretation of
Baroque music, and her significance for
the position of the harpsichord in performing
old music, together wlth her prolificality
as a concert artist, primarily in Denmark,
is indisputable and memorable.
For more detailed b:iographical writings about
Liselotte Selbiger, please see the booklet for the
CD DACOCD 556 and Dansk Kvindebiografisk
Leksikon (the Dictionary of Biographies on
Danish Women) at www.kvinJo.dk

The Music
Of the six composers represented on these
two CDs, two were born almost the same
time as J. S. Bach, namely Scarlatti and
Rameau, whereas Purcell and Couperin
are slightly older and C.Ph.E. Bach a good
deal younger. Apart from belonging to
different generations, these composers
also represent different local traditions:
English, French, German and Italian.
The oldest composer, Henry Purcell of
England, is perhaps known primarily for
his stage works (above all Dido and
Aeneas), odes, anthems and more, but he
also wrote music for keyboard instruments
in direct continuation of the famous
trddition of the English virginalists, to
whom names such as Byrd, Gibbons and
Morley belonged. A kind of spinet, the
virginal is an older, simpler and smaller
version of the harpsichord. The only
printed edltion of Purcell's work for
harpsichord was published in 1696, the
year after his death, and was entitled
Choice Collection of Lessons for tlrc Harysichord
or the Spinnet composed by the late Mr.
P ur cell. But hrs compositions f or harpsichord/spinet
did circulate as handwritten
copies while he was still alive.
F.B. Zimmermann has wdtten an
analytical catalogue of Purcell's muslc.
The Prelude to the suite in G minor is
measured; that is, not in the freer rhythm
that characterised French practice, as seen
in Couperin's music, for example.
Frangois Couperin (The Great) belonged
to a French dynasty of musicians, and his
uncle, Louis Couperin, is also a wellknown
harpsichord composer. In order to
distinguish Franqois Couperin from
another, contemporary, uncle and namesake,
Francois Couperin the younger is
also known as 'le Grand'. Couperin :
harpsichord music is combined in four
volumes. Together, these contain 27 socalled
"ordres' (series), comprising a total
of more than 200 pieces, dance movements
and character pieces. This CD features
examples of the latter, and a piece like le
Rosslgnol en-amour demonstrates the
major importance of the embellishments
(Les agrdmens) in Couperin's French styie.
The minute movement of Les Folies
froncoises are eramples oI his concentrated
art of characterisation. A teacher as
n ell, Couperin wrote a famou> piano
method, L'art de toucher le claztecin, lron
1717, in which he explains his ornamentation
practice. Liselotte Selbiger, who
happens to be an avid birdJover, has
noted that in spite of the manv tri11s and
other embellishments, the music doesn t
sound like a real nightingale at al1!
Born two years before J. S. Bach, jean-
Philippe Rameau survived him by 14

years. A hlghly versatile composer, he
was also a famous music theorist. His
production of operas/opera ballets is
splendid. and his works on music theory
had a major impact on later theories on
harmony. His harpsichord music was
composed between 1706 and1747, and
the pieces on this CD are from the second
r olume from 1724. The r olume begins
with playing instructions similar to
Couperin's L'art de touclter and also
includes a table of ornamentations (Table
des Agriments). However, his pieces are far
from dry theory; on the contrary, they are
vivid, occasionally dreamy or melancholy.
The CD includes nine suite movements, of
which three are in E (2. Gigue en Rondeau
and 2. Rigaudon as well as Musette en
Rondcau); the rest are in f minor.
Couperin's "nightlngale" and the movement
from Rameau's suite called Le Rappel
des Oiseaux (the call of the birds), belongs
to an o1d tradition of musical imitations
of birds (and hunting), known from i.a.
the Parisian chanson in the 16th century.
With father and son from the Bach
dynasty of musicians, we are on German
soil. fohann Sebastian Bach is represented
on lhis CD through 20:hort pieces. The
six sma1l preludes for beginners and two
of the duets from Klavieriibung III are
played on the clavlchord, quietly and laid
back, with a delicate, lace-like sound.
Little of Bach's music has been recorded
on clavichord, but these sma1l "doll's
sewing machines" become the instrumen[.
The two-pdrt invent jons actualll
eri:t in several clar ichord recordings
lincluding those by Ralph Kirkpatrick
and Eta Harich-Schneider), but here are
played on the harpsichord, which emphasizes
their frisky character. Also played
on the harpsichord is a movement from
the partita in Bb major, the solemn sarabande,
as weil as four of the preludes and
fugues from TheWell-Tempered Clauier I, a
kind of character pieces, although one
can't tell this from the titles. On the
aforementioned Bach CD, DACOCD 556,
Liselotte Selbiger plays 'bigger" Bach
compositions, including the Chromatic
Fantasy and Fugue and the Harpsichord
Concerto in A major.
Liselotte Selbiger focused much of her
playing on J. S. Bach, but the French
clavecin piayers and the Italian
Domenico Scarlatti had a big place in her
heart and performances, too. Of the four
pieces by Scarlatti on this CD, two of them,
Longo 23 and Longo 422, are featured
already on her first release from 1947.
Three of the pieces are named sonafa; the
fourth is a h,ccata. All of the four pieces
share the characteristic structure of the
:uite/dance movements of the period:
two sections, both of which are repeated.

{However, Selbiger doesn't repeat the
second section). With their tonally and
sometimes bold harmonic progressions,
Scarlatti's sonatas, of which about 550
exist, point towards the Classical sonata
form. On this CD, the sonatas and the
toccdta dre numbered according to the
thematic catalogue by Alessandro Longo.
While Father Bach's little preludes and
duets sound excellent on the clavichord -
but could justifiably also have been
played on the harpsichord, it's a completely
dlfferent situation when it comes to the
keyboard music composed by his second
eldest son, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach.
To a large extent, it was conceived for the
clavichord. C.Ph.E. Bach was a master of
utilising its ability to produce a nuanced,
singing sound, and among his admirers
was the Englishman Burney, who wrote
about him in his Present State of Music in
Germany'. "In the pathetic and slow movements,
whenever he had a long note to
express, he absolutely contrived to produce
from hls instrument, a cry of sorrow and
complaint, as can only be effected upon
the clavichord, and perhaps by himself."
In his piano method, Versuclt r.iber die
uahre Art, dss Claaier zu spielen, C.Ph.E.
Bach time and again stresses the importance
of sensitive playing. Written in
Hamburg 1n1772, the sonata in this CD is
no. 5 in the Sechs Claaier-Sonatenftir
Kenner und Liebluber, Erste Sammlung.
That Haydn (and other Classical composers)
were inspired by his sonatas rs
evident. The French music historian
Alfred Wotquenne has made a thematic
catalogue of C.Ph.E. Bach's works.
The Instruments
Of the keyboard instruments of the
Baroque period, the clavichord and the
harpsichord are presented on this CD.
The action of the clavichord, the oldest of
the two instruments, is simple. The sound
is produced as follows: The player strikes
the key, which raises a small metal
tangent and brings it in contact with the
string, where it remains until the key is
released. Thus, the clavichord player can
change the note by keeping the key
depressed and, for example, apply extra
force to the key upon pressing it. This
slightly increases the volume of the note
and gives it a certain aggression (Selbiger
in her article on clavichord playing, featured
in Dansk Musik Tidsskrift, S/1960). A
characteristic playing style of the clavichord
ls the technique known as bebung.
It allows the player to produce a vibrato
effect by varying the force on the pressed
key, and is notated by a number of dots
above the same note.
During the Baroque and early Classical

periods, the clavichord was especially
popular in Germany. It was the preferred
home instrument for intimare musrc
playing.
Selbiger's clavichord was built by Hanns
Neupert, Bamberg.
The harpsichord was also used in
drawing-rooms in private homes, but
unlike the clavichord it was suitable for
more "pompous" music and had a rich
sonority that made it ideai for performances
in large rooms. It also served as a
continuo instrument, and with the
addition of an instrument to emphasize
the bass 1ine, it was able to lay down the
harmonic foundation in orchestras and
small ensembles.
The harpsichord has a large, grand piano-
:haped sound box, and its strings are
plucked by plectrums when the keys are
depressed. The instrument has been
criticised for being unsuitable for legato
playing and that it is impossible to play a
crescendo or a diminuendo on it. In
principle, this ls correct, but by applying
the right phrasing technique it is nevertheless
possible to create an illusion of
these styles, and this technique is one of
the things that tells the good harpsichord
players apart from the lesser-skilled ones.
The timbre of the harpsichord may varied
by changing or combining different stops.
Selbiger's harpsichord (Hanns Neupert,
Bamberg 1935) has two manuals with Band
16-foot stops attached to the lower
manual and B- and 4-foot stops and a lute
stop attached to the upper manual.
Note: The timbre of the clauichord is much frailer
than that of the harpsiclnrd. l\hen listening to
recordings, try turning down the aolume ofyour
loudspeaker. This will result in a move accurate
halnnce behueen the uolumes of the claaichord and
harpsichord.
@Inge Bruland
Translated by Jeffrey Duckett

Volume 1
DACOCD 556
|ohann Sebastian Bach
Concerto for Harpsichord and Strings
No.4 in A-major,
Chamber Orchcstra of the Danish
BroaclcastingCorporatiorl
Soloist ant-l concl uctor
Liselottc Selbiger
CC)LL MBIA l-l KC 5 lleeorJcrl lq55
Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue
in D-minor, BWV 903
COLUMtIIA 33 KC 6. Ilccorclccl 1950
French Suite in E-major, BWV 817
COLUMBIA 33 KC 3. Rcctrrler{ 1954
From: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II,
BWV 820b,87],884,885
Studio procluction lrv Svcrigcs R.r11io. Rcc. l96l
Italian Concerto in F-maior, BWV 971
COI-UMltlA 33 KC 6. Iiccorclccl l95t'
Liselotte Selbiger, harpsichord
Harpsiclrorcl: Hanns Neupert, Bamberg 1935

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