Harpsichord Music in the 17^th Century

The harpsichord music has experienced in the seventeenth century perhaps its most interesting age. It brought up stylus phantasticus to its highest peak and it opened a wider horizon in many respects. In the 17^th C. harpsichord music, we are able to observe the glorious age of the Italian music and the growth of later French and German music styles, which we will trace further in the work of later composers as J. S. Bach.

The choice of repertory is free. However, in this masterclass we will concentrate on the musical universe of Johann Jakob Froberger, Louis Couperin, Girolamo Frescobaldi, Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck and Dietrich Buxtehude.

Due to the viola da gamba masterclass by Paolo Pandolfo taking part in the same period, we also have the opportunity to work on the sonatas for viola da gamba and harpsichord by J.S. Bach.

This masterclass is aimed at historical keyboard instrument players: students, professional and non-professional musicians. A fair level of keyboard playing skills and a brief theoretical knowledge of the Early Baroque music is requested. Languages: English, German.

© Jonas Niederstadt

Also, a few days ago, my CD has been featured on WDR3. The review can be listened on demand here (German only).

I have included more press about “FROBERGER Suites & Toccatas” on the “Press” page. For updates feel free to check my tweets and my facebook fanpage.

Stay, O Sweet, and do not rise;
The light that shines comes from thine eyes;
The day breaks not, it is my heart,
Because that you and I must part.

Stay, or else my joys will die,
And perish in their infancy.

Click to view slideshow.

General rehearsal for “LEBENSBILDER” (“Lifetime Images”), Ensemble LUXURIANS, a music & poetry project feat. “Iris” by Albrecht Dürer, with works by Dowland, Sweelinck, Shakespeare, Donne and others.
Photos by Jonas Niederstadt.

Alina Rotaru, harpsichord

Schirin Nowrousian, recitation

Karin Gyllenhammar, soprano

Mirjam-Luise Münzel, recorder

David Leeuwarden, lute

Lamentation Wie liegt die Stadt so wüste (1663) by Matthias Weckmann (1616-1674) – out of a demo which I recorded in 2007, together with some of my exquisite colleagues: Margaret Hunter (Soprano), Matthias Gerchen (Baritone), Annika Schmidt & Roman Baykov (baroque violin), Christian Heim, Kaori Koike & Anja Engelberg (viola da gamba), Pär Engstrand (violone), Simon Linné (theorbo). Balance ingeneer: Matthias Nordhorn.

♪ Tombeau de Mr de Blancrocher by Louis Couperin, Editions de L’Oyseau-Lyre, 1940.

Mme de Lacour was born in 1896 and lived 100 years. She founded the harpsichord class at the Conservatoire de Paris in 1955. She was a student of Wanda Landowska. According to the English Wikipedia page, she “helped to make harpsichord music fashionable”, whatever that means. At the moment, it seems that Mme de Lacour does not have a fanpage on the net, but a few soundfiles of her are available on YouTube.