Books › The M. Steinert collection of keyed and stringed instruments : with various treatises on the history of these instruments, the method of playing them, and their influence on musical art, 1893 › scan 106
Scan 106
The M. Steinert collection of keyed and stringed instruments : with various treatises on the history of these instruments, the method of playing them, and their influence on musical art, 1893
4 lines. Read by computer on 29 August 2026. Printed page 104. See the scan on archive.org.
1These matters, however, have been explained at length elsewhere in this work, and therefore it is sufficient to remark here, that accordingly the method of playing the clavichord can exhibit a whole array of very important and distinguishing differences from that of the Hammerclavier, and completely from the method of playing the modern pianofortes. In order to illustrate this fact by a few examples, I would like to remark that at the clavichord, the feeling of the player is more capable of being carried out, for the reason that the different degrees of the intensity of the touch, find expression not only in the power, but also in the song-like pitch of the tone. Certainly the pitch of the tone forms itself by the striking of the tangent against the string. But in the same manner as on the violin, the accent of the player increases the pressure on the finger-board, if the tangent rises higher, then the string extends itself and thereby produces that trembling, chromatic, echoing sound, to which even the modern ear cannot deny the oscillating property of a deeper soulful sensation.
3Therefore there cannot be any doubt that in this respect alone we run across a technic which has been lost, and whoever has heard one of our virtuosos attempt to play the clavichord understandingly, must at least admit that this technic is very capable of being resuscitated. In fact, this superb responsiveness of the clavichord has encouraged a great number of attempts of production, which cannot be attained on any other instrument. These naturally are completely lost as soon as any attempts are made to produce, unconditionally and without consideration on other keyed instruments, compositions which are written for the clavichord. Otherwise, in order to introduce another reason, we assert that the legato-bows in Bach's clavichord works have quite a different significance from those in modern piano-playing. Because legato-playing on the clavichord can only be accomplished by an increased pressure of the fingers, and thereby a crescendo is always caused.
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