An interview with Elizabeth Farr about her recording of the music of Bach on the lute-harpsichord.

Bach owned a couple of these instruments, but none survived to the present day.

It wasn’t until instrument maker Keith Hill decided to recreate one that people found out what they sounded like.

Album details…
Catalogue No.: Naxos 8.570470-71

Naxos of America releases a rare recording of Bach’s compositions for lute-harpsichord performed by renowned recitalist of 17th and 18th century keyboard music, Elizabeth Farr. The two-disc set features pieces composed by Bach for the lute-harpsichord throughout his long career. Bach himself was very fond of the lute-harpsichord which is reflected in the many compositions written and transcribed for the unusual and beautiful instrument. He was so keenly interested in the lute-harpsichord and its timbre and design that he owned two of them, one of which was crafted to his exact specifications. The lute-harpsichord used by Farr for these performances was crafted using Bach’s specifications from 1768, making the sound of this rarely-recorded instrument authentic and warmly resonant.

His earliest surviving work composed for lute, Suite in E minor, BWV 996, is dated within the period shortly after 1712. Bach also transcribed some of his existing pieces for the lute-harpsichord. Examples of this are the Fugue in G minor, BWV 1000, a transcription for lute of the second movement of the first sonata for solo violin, dating generally from this period, possibly as late as 1725 and the Sonata in D minor, BWV 964, a transcription for harpsichord of his Second Violin Sonata (key of A minor). This sonata has a full rich texture that is only implied in the works for lute or solo violin. It is a masterful rendering of the original work that is completely idiomatic for keyboard. The possibilities for keyboard changes bring it to a new level of virtuosity.

Elizabeth Farr specializes in the performance of keyboard music of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. She has performed solo recitals on the harpsichord, organ, and pedal harpsichord to critical acclaim throughout the United States and in Germany. Her performances as a collaborative artist, concerto soloist, and basso-continuo player have also earned high praise. Her recording of Elisabeth-Claude Jacquet de La Guerre’s Suites Nos. 1-6 for Harpsichord (Naxos 8.557654-55) was awarded the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik, Bestenliste in January of 2006.