Fwd:

[jery and judy <jerbidoc@zianet.com>]

>Heron Stone wrote:
>>
>> + i've enjoyed the glenn gould recordings of bach keyboard
>>       works for years
>> + but something has been annoying me enormously
>> + maybe someone here can tell me what's going on
>>
>> + i first noticed it on the CBS cd version of the tocattas,
>>       actually in the inventions which follow the tocattas
>> + it sounds very much like some of the hammers are double-
>>       striking the strings
>> + it's not at all a subtle thing...  it's quite annoying
>> + for some time i thought it must have been an artifact
>>       introduced in the reproduction of the cds
>> + knowing of gould's "perfectionism" led me to think that
>>       he would never record on a piano so badly in need
>>       of regulation
>>
>> + but now i've noticed a much more subtle double-striking
>>       in the cd recording of the partitas
>> + it's not nearly as noticeable, but it's there
>> - has anyone else noticed this
>> - have i just got a bad recording or was gould actually
>>       playing a grossly out-of-regulation piano
>>
>> thanks
>>
>> heron
>> --
>
>Gould had his piano regulated in a very special way. From what I
>remember, he had "scratched" (for lack of better word) some of the wool
>off the hammers, to the point of the sound being altered significantly
>towards the fortepiano sound.
>
>The same affect is offered by modern piano manufacturers as an option to
>expensive pianos when the pianist demands a specific "depth" of sound.
>
>Gould scratched off the wool to the maximum allowed. Note that as you go
>deeper in the hammer, the wool becomes more dense (as it is more
>compressed) thus the sound is harsher.
>
>Note also that increased variation on the above effect can be attained
>by pressing the pedal that makes the sound softer.
>
>The pedal coupled with the scratched hammers give off a very noticable
>semi-metalic effect that gives the impression that the chords are
>doubled. This also comes partly from the fact that the target the hammer
>hits becomes more focused, as a result the hammer does not hit the
>double and triple chords all with the same intensity on a single key.
>
>Gould also had made other modifications that pertained to the clavier
>pressure.
>--
>Ioannis Galidakis jgal@ath.forthnet.gr
><http://www.crosswinds.net/athens/~jgal/main.html>
>
>