One thing I love so much about harpsichords as opposed to pianos is the harpsichord's light, delicate touch with a crisp, bright sound. The piano seems like a heavy beast in comparison. The harpsichord is like an olympic sprinter, while the piano is like an olympic weightlifter. Just watching someone playing the piano makes me hurt. They hit the keys so hard, and their whole bodies writhe. Harpsichord players don't need to use their back muscles to press down keys. Hell, they barely need to use their arm muscles. The harpsichord touch is so delicate that one only needs to use wrist and finger muscles. One time a piano player played my harpsichord, and after a few minutes several of the parts started coming loose because he was banging on the keys so hard. I've read that when J.S. Bach played the harpsichord his hand movements were so graceful, delicate, and fluid that observers could hardly tell that he was moving.
What does this have to do with the Cristofori piano? The piano was invented by a harpsichord maker named Bartolomeo Cristofori. Subsequently, the first pianos looked like harpsichords. They were light weight (no iron frames), and had a light, crisp touch like the harpsichord. I found a video of a man playing a piano after Cristofori and thought it was absolutely beautiful. Let me share it:
They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. Going their way they went and wept: scattering their seed. But returning, they shall come with joyfulness: bringing their sheaves with them.
1 comment:
HAHAHAHAHA. Hell?
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