[f_minor] sonic collision

[Brad Lehman]

Missed the couple of words "and organs" in one sentence; here's the 
corrected quotation from the Payzant book (which Gould read, blessed, 
and reviewed himself).  Also, the first Canadian edition of it was out 
in 1978, not 1984.  Here goes:

"It seems from his recordings and from his own accounts of them that 
Gould failed to assimilate the actions of harpsichords and organs, to 
come to terms with their tactilia. So he compelled himself to pretend 
that he was playing on his piano instead. So far as tactilia are 
concerned there is almost nothing in common among the actions of organs, 
pianos and harpsichords. Weight of touch produces no effect upon 
loudness on the organ, and very little if any on the harpsichord; hence, 
so far as 'control' is concerned these instruments are at least as 
different from the piano as they are in respect of 'tactile grab and 
immediacy'. Thus, for any pianist a drastic redirection of focal 
attention from the music itself to the tactilia is demanded when he goes 
from piano to harpsichord or organ.  This would be particularly the case 
if the pianist had not remained in regular contact with those two 
instruments, as Gould has not. In his case the effects of this drastic 
redirection of focal attention can be observed in his harpsichord and 
organ discs. In the former, as I have mentioned, he slams the key into 
its bed; it is like a centipede jabbing to find its footing on 
unfamiliar ground."   (Payzant, "Glenn Gould: Music and Mind", p112 of 
the 1984/1992 edition)


Brad Lehman


On 7/21/2010 4:49 PM, Brad Lehman wrote:
> It has nothing to do with "emotional bluster" by GG; he simply hit the
> instrument's keys too hard, making mechanical noise that really doesn't
> need to be there. Try this one:
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZ_PJvAYlX4
> But, it's even clearer on the Handel recording, because the general
> quality of the recording is much better....
>
> Geoffrey Payzant's book (1984), p112: "It seems from his recordings and
> from his own accounts of them that Gould failed to assimilate the
> actions of harpsichords, to come to terms with their tactilia. So he
> compelled himself to pretend that he was playing on his piano instead.
> So far as tactilia are concerned there is almost nothing in common among
> the actions of organs, pianos and harpsichords. Weight of touch produces
> no effect upon loudness on the organ, and very little if any on the
> harpsichord; hence, so far as 'control' is concerned these instruments
> are at least as different from the piano as they are in respect of
> 'tactile grab and immediacy'. Thus, for any pianist a drastic
> redirection of focal attention from the music itself to the tactilia is
> demanded when he goes from piano to harpsichord or organ. This would be
> particularly the case if the pianist had not remained in regular contact
> with those two instruments, as Gould has not. In his case the effects of
> this drastic redirection of focal attention can be observed in his
> harpsichord and organ discs. In the former, as I have mentioned, he
> slams the key into its bed; it is like a centipede jabbing to find its
> footing on unfamiliar ground."
>
> Brad Lehman
>
>
> On 7/21/2010 4:17 PM, michael macelletti wrote:
>> these " thumping " or " pounding " references to either gg's harpsichord
>> or piano playing are beginning to get a bit tiresome. YOU might want to
>> live in a world inhabited exclusively by the likes of lionel party, but
>> please, leave me out. i prefer gg's emotional bluster to effete
>> intellectual purity anytime.
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>> *From:* Brad Lehman <bpl at umich.edu>
>> *To:* Discussion of the Canadian pianist Glenn Gould.
>> <f_minor at glenngould.org>
>> *Sent:* Wed, July 21, 2010 11:22:57 AM
>> *Subject:* Re: [f_minor] sonic collision
>>
>> On 7/21/2010 9:33 AM, Houpt, Fred wrote:
>> > I think GG played the Clavichord but maybe not recorded on such.
>>
>> I don't recall seeing any mention of Gould playing the clavichord,
>> anywhere in the Gould literature that I've seen. Given the way he hit
>> that Wittmayer "harpsichord" too hard, pounding the jacks into the rail,
>> I don't think he had any clue about playing the clavichord or using its
>> fingerings, either. :)
>>
>> Wanna hear somebody hit a clavichord hard? Oscar Peterson's album of
>> "Porgy and Bess", accompanied by Joe Pass on guitar. The person in
>> charge of the clavichord said later that they'd had to retune the
>> instrument after every take, because Peterson was bending the strings so
>> much with his touch.
>>
>> Brad Lehman
>>
>>
>>
>>