J.S. Bach: Partita No. 2, Sinfonia (on replica Stein 1787 clavichord)

J.S. Bach: Partita No. 2 in C minor, BWV 826, Sinfonia, on replica Stein 1787 clavichord. This replica of Johann Andreas Stein’s 1787 single-strung, unfretted clavichord, built by Jack Peters of Seattle ( ), is based on the sole surviving example in Gemeentemuseum at The Hague. It is an instrument with a double-pinned bridge that has a small footprint on a small soundboard. About this instrument, Jack Peters writes: “An atypical single strung historical clavichord. The piano maker Stein was known for his ingenious inventions, including the ’Melodica’ and the ’Saitenharmonica.’ Starting as an organ builder he evolved into a celebrated fortepiano maker to the Mozarts. His late, 1787, 54-note (C-f3) clavichord in the Hague Gemeentemuseum is a model of compactness and restraint. Not only short but also very narrow, the stringband is squeezed onto a tiny bridge and soundboard. The sound is surprisingly Viennese-pianolike and its extended treble allows the music of late composers like Haydn and . Bach. John Koster, in his article in De Clavichordio I, points out the great differences between it and the earlier Mozart clavichord now in the Hungarian National Museum (1762). Wound strings are critical to the success of the bass octave, as are the heavy iron and phosphor bronze for the single strings of the treble. The extremely narrow tangents must be regulated with great precision.“ ---- Jack Peters replicator and builder in Seattle. [Sorry that the lighting was a bit dim.]