Cory Wageman

Harpsichord
5/15/19
Piece: The Art of Fugue; Contrapunctus VIII

By: JS Bach

Soloist: Davitt Moroney, harpsichord.

Grigory Sokolov, piano.

Despite many visual similarities, the harpsichord and piano are very different instruments. This

leads to a variety of different ways in which one might preform a particular piece of music on either

instrument. First, there are the internal mechanisms that makes these keyboards differ in how sound is

created and projected. This leads to how one might interpret a piece of music given the unique

limitations of each instrument. Furthermore, the individuals for whom the harpsichord and piano are

tools of mastery, come into their own from different worlds and possess temperament tempered in part

from growing up on their respective instrument.

The most obvious difference between the piano and harpsichord is that while the harpsichord is

a stringed instrument, the piano is a percussive one. That is to say, when you play a key on the

harpsichord, a mechanism plucks the string, allowing the string to vibrate before returning to it’s resting

position. The piano contains a different mechanism that hits the string with a hammer. This leads to a

very different sound coming from each instrument. The piano’s action is created such that only a

beautiful tone (ideally) is created when a note is struck. The harpsichord has a more mechanical sound

with the addition of the sound created when the jack returns to it’s resting position via its own weight.

It’s also important to note that the tuning may also differ. A harpsichord’s string is not pulled in as much

tension. In this particular set of recording, the piano is tuned an entire half step above the harpsichord.

With the unique set of limitations set by each instrument, soloists have developed performance

techniques that enhance a piece of music by playing into that instrument’s particular strengths. For the

piano, one is able to play in varying dynamics based on how one strikes the keys. A harpsichord lacks
 Cory Wageman
Harpsichord
5/15/19
this ability, and so is more reliant on the use of articulations to shape a musical phrase. The piano also

contains a sustain pedal. This allows one to sustain all notes played under it.

For these particular recordings, Davitt Moroney takes a slightly slower tempo. This allows him

more control to highlight each voice with the use of separation. For instance, the first section of the

fugues ends in mm.39 on a two-note phrase. On the piano, the two-note phrase is traditionally played

by playing the first note louder than the second, which Sokolov does. On the harpsichord, Moroney

spaces the second note is such a way to give the illusion of ‘loud to soft’. It’s interesting to note that

while the piano has the ability to sustain notes with the use of pedal, Sokolov opts out of its use for a

more authentic interpretation. In fact, one could even go as far to say that Sokolov’s interpretation is

more a caricature of an ‘authentic’ interpretation. Sokolov uses subtle dynamics to highlight three

otherwise equal voices throughout the fugue. Moroney is actually more liberal in how he highlights

dissonance by slightly leaning into those notes for slightly longer.

I would consider each of these recording as perfect representations of their respective

instrument’s capabilities, rather than what one might expect to hear. I would consider Sokolov’s

recording as more ‘authentic’ in terms of Baroque performance practice simply because the piano

allows for a greater range of sound. This, because the Art of Fugue wasn’t necessarily meant to be

played on a keyboard instrument, making it the perfect subject for this discussion.
 Cory Wageman
Harpsichord
5/15/19
Bibliography

- J.s. Bach: The Art Of Fugue (bwv 1080), Contrapunctus Viii; Davitt Moroney, Harpsichord 4k Uhd
Voices Music - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjIv4Jx3BjQ

- Sokolov Bach The Art Of Fugue Bwv 1080

elwisw - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOlQzoULv4E