CRISTOFORIS CLAVICHORD

Johann Sebastian Bach – Johann Jakob Froberger

THE CLAVICHORD

The player’s finger touches the key and thus, prolonged by a piece of wood and metal, directly the string, setting it into vibration. The finger must hold down the key for the whole length of the note, literally creating a tenuto, and at the same time it can further shape the note with a tremolo («Bebung») similar to the vibrato on a string instrument.
«… I believe however, that a good clavichord, apart from having a feebler sound, shares all the beauties of it (the fortepiano, Ed.) and moreover has the advantage of tremolo and carrying of the notes, since I can give each note an emphasis after the attack. The clavichord is thus the instrument upon which one is most able to judge the abilities of a keyboard player.»
(Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: Versuch über die wahre Art das Clavier zu spielen, 1753)