So you thought the harpsichord died out with the Baroque period?
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Not so, says violin maestro Richard Tognetti: it’s alive and well, featuring in that most modern of musical genres, hip-hop.
Tognetti, artistic director of the Australian Chamber Orchestra, is returning to his hometown of Wollongong to perform one of J.S. Bach’s greatest works, the Goldberg Variations.
It was originally written for the harpsichord, and as legend has it, for Bach’s friend Count Kaiserling, an insomniac who would have his private harpsichordist play it during sleepless nights – no doubt rendering the harpsichordist an insomniac too.
And while some find the harpsichord as calming as a machete scraping a marble bench, there’s a hypnotic rhythm to the Goldberg Variations that, while not making the mind drowsy, can happily occupy its more skittish habits.
“It’s a much maligned instrument, but because of of its clarity, and its strange character .. it’s used in hip-hop,” Tognetti said.
He names Eminem’s The Real Slim Shady, produced by now-mogul Dr Dre, as the most prominent example of harpsichord in rap music. But there are many more.
“It kind of pokes through, and people use it ironically … because it sounds ‘ye olde’,” Tognetti said.
“I’m not into Snoop Dogg, but I’m into Eminem, and I love Kendrick Lamar.”
This Goldberg version is arranged by Bernard Labadie for strings, which opens the piece up.
“You get different textures – the problem with the harpsichord is there’s only one texture; all you can do is change the rhythm a bit,” Tognetti said.
“With strings, we can make a lot of different sounds, and textural contrast I think is good for Bach. You can fine more clarity – the more distinctive the voices, the clearer the voices are.”
And the soloist? Suffice to say Tognetti’s prowess recording the music of Bach has earned him three consecutive ARIA awards.
- The ACO’s Goldberg Variations, August 16, Wollongong Town Hall, Tickets $70-165 adult, $65-151 conc, $50 under 30.