Re: GG: Letter to Krastins (Jan. 3, 1963)

[Bradley P Lehman <bpl@umich.edu>]

> > This    phrase:  the plateau concept of Bach's music,  would appear to
> > be a reference to the term "terraced dynamics" used in some texts to
> > describe the alternation of loud and soft in Baroque music.  This
> > layering approach (without crescendo or diminuendo) was  typical of the
> > alternation of tutti and solo in the concerto.  My guess is that GG was
> > saying the piano is capable of several dynamic layers, whereas the
> > harpsichord is limited in this respect.

I agree that this popular concept of "terraced dynamics" is probably what
GG meant here.  But I should also point out that the mainstream
"understanding" that the harpsichord can't do dynamics is a pound of
bologna (yes, meat by-products fashioned into pseudo-food and foisted upon
the unsuspecting public).  That is, GG was recycling a mistaken
"common-knowledge" idea about the harpsichord.  A good harpsichord played
well has plenty of dynamic range. 

Yes, there is only a limited difference of physical volume whether an
individual key is pressed slowly or quickly.  (Actually, pressing a key
slowly gives a slightly *louder* and warmer sound because the plectrum
stays in contact with the string longer and pulls it to its maximum height
before letting go.)  But harpsichord dynamics in performance are not done
principally through keypress strength or limited to registration choices. 
A player who is concerned with dynamic sensitivity can create very large
dynamic effects with all the following techniques: 

  number of notes played, 
  style of subtle arpeggiation, 
  acceleration or deceleration within un-subtle arpeggiation,
  style of dislocating notes slightly within the tempo, 
  gradations of staccato, 
  various types of legato including overholding, 
  rhythmic profile of the musical passage, 
  abrupt or slow release, 
  abrupt or staggered release of chords,
  fingerings chosen,
  emphasis of surprising harmonies, 
  placement of dissonant notes, 
  tempo choices, 
  breathing between phrases, 
  feel of large or small beat levels (how much the individual notes are
    inflected, as opposed to groupings), 
  choice of appropriate unequal temperaments, 
  sensitivity to the special notes within those temperaments,
  more.
 
Yes, some of that is already composed into the music, and some of that is
at the player's discretion...but the sensitive player can also use those
techniques to highlight what the composer has already written in.  Take,
for example, Bach's "Chromatic Fantasy" (a piece which GG disliked): a
good harpsichordist can bring out a startling range of dynamic effects in
this piece, even without ever changing manuals or registration.  Or, John
Hill mentioned GG's citation of the Sarabande of Bach's E-minor partita: 
this is another particularly good example where many dynamic effects are
already composed into the piece, and a sensitive harpsichordist can make
them sound volcanic (just as an unimaginative player can make them sound
stiff and lifeless).

The ability to control those dynamic techniques and use them expressively
is merely a part of learning to play the harpsichord.  For especially
strong examples of someone doing dynamics well with historically-styled
instruments, listen to the CD of Scarlatti sonatas played by Pierre Hantai
(Astree 8502, recorded 1992).  Or anything played by Edward Parmentier
(see http://www.musicaloffering.com/wildtip2.htm#9402 , or his Bach
partitas - Wildboar 9101).  Or with modern-styled instruments (including
pedals to change registration quickly) try "Harpsichord Music in the Grand
Manner" (Robert Edward Smith, Wildboar 9501) or anything by Wanda
Landowska. 

Or try the new recording of the Brandenburgs by Il Giardino Armonico
(Teldec 4509-98442), which is a very clear example that "terraced
dynamics" were merely a restrictive misconception in ensemble performance,
just a past fad.  Their phrasing dances naturally, always going up or
down, never stuck at a constant unexpressive level.  "Terraced dynamics" 
in Baroque music are part of a performance style from the 1940's-1960's
(and continuing later in eastern Europe).  Well, not everybody was
infected by it...try Pablo Casals' Bach recordings as conductor or
cellist. 

Or to be more historical about it, read the 17th-18th century string and
wind treatises (Geminiani, Leopold Mozart, Hotteterre, Quantz, etc.), or
continuo treatises.  These praise a dynamic sensitivity and direction from
note to note (and within sustained notes), and condemn a style where there
are long streams of uninflected notes.

Bradley Lehman ~ Harrisonburg VA, USA ~ 38.45716N+78.94565W
bpl@umich.edu ~ http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bpl/