Li..l'tt" S.lLiger - Chandos

{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