128 ❧ chapter twelve
[Music and comments]
I have been very much infl uenced by the legend of the clavichord, and it was
one of the principal ambitions in my original motivation to take up early key-
board instruments. As I said earlier, that motivation was primarily in connec-
tion with Bach; other composers came later. I would have undoubtedly also
taken up the organ had I ever gained in my youth or later the rudimentary
pedal technique, but I had none at that time and I’ve never had any time to
get one since. But I can only say that my ears have probably been more sharp-
ened by the clavichord than by any other experience, except possibly by sing-
ing choral music. And the character that certain Bach pieces take on from the
clavichord is—well, I shall let you hear for yourself presently. There are those
who are infatuated with the instrument; there are those who consider it a little
bit larmoyant. It is, however, certainly a secret art; one of the projects that I set
for myself in this original motivation nearly forty years ago was to master the
harpsichord and clavichord and the complete keyboard works of Bach. I have
in a sense done this and recorded them all, the last bout having been Book
II of the Well-Tempered Clavier on the clavichord. The amount of energy and
concentration that went into this I can hardly believe myself. I can only tell
you that when I read in Bertrand Russell’s obituary the day before yesterday
that he had never been quite the same after writing the Principia Mathematica,
I think that was going to be the same for me when I fi nished up the clavichord
recording of Book II. I think that my old age began there, and I have had the
test pressings in my possession for nearly a year and have never yet been able to
bring myself to listen to them. Whether what has gone into this secret art will,
like the carvings on small passageways this high in Egyptian temples through
which I crawled in December, or the fi gures on Gothic cathedrals too high-
placed ever to be seen—whether this secret art is ever descended or brought to
light or replayed or ever looked at by anybody, I have no idea. I would like to
think that I put all this effort into something that might emerge and have valid-
ity, but then again, it may have absolutely none whatsoever. This is the chance
one takes.
If the clavichord last year in Sprague Hall was an experiment, it’s even more
of an experiment here. We have several alternatives that we would like to try
out because they affect the possibility of future performances. As you know, you
probably won’t be able to hear a thing when I start playing. I’m going to start
playing unaided by any modern technology. In Sprague last year I used light
electronic amplifi cation which I thought worked awfully well. I could never do
a concert on the clavichord in Sprague because of outside noises in the street,
and this has been one of the reasons why, in all these years at Yale, I have held
it as such a secret art, because I have never yet found a place in which I could
play without being disturbed from outside. If any of you ever fi nd one in this
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rick simeone
(Rick Simeone)
#1