J.S. Bach, who never received formal composition training and rarely left his provincial German home, diligently copied and transcribed works by others to learn musical forms and styles.
Composer's Artistic Vision
According to his son Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, J.S. Bach's keyboard pieces fall into two categories: those composed without an instrument and later tried out, and those developed from improvisations.
Compositional Technique
Bach's Italian Concerto and French Overture, published in 1735, demonstrate his mastery of transferring orchestral textures to a single harpsichord, creating 'transcriptions of imaginary orchestral works'.
Instruments
The Neuchâtel Ruckers harpsichord's exterior decoration, dating from the mid-18th century, features La Fontaine's fables painted on gold leaves using a lacquer technique called 'vernis Martin', imitating Japanese and Chinese lacquer.
Instruments
The harpsichord used for this recording is a historic Ruckers instrument from 1632, which underwent a 'grand ravalement' in 1745 in Paris to extend its compass to two manuals and three registers.
Recording & Production
This album was recorded in November 2020 at the Musée d'art et d'histoire de Neuchâtel, Switzerland, under the challenging circumstances of the 2020 pandemic.
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