Bach on harpsichord

Press, 28 March 1980, Page 11

Bach on harpsichord

By PHILIP NORMAN Take an eighteenth-century French expressive double manual Zuckermann harpsichord, add to it the fingers of two competent and informed players, spice it with the services of a very genial host-lecturer, and you have the recipe for an informative and enjoyable sampling of Bach’s harpsichord music.

Peter Low and Julie Coulson provided just this on Wednesday evening in the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament.

Marking the mid-point of the first Christchurch Bach Festival, this informal session took the format of alternating verbal explanations and musical illustrations.

Peter Low was the articulate lecturer-host who introduced and explained his way clearly and concisely through the wide variety of works presented. He . achieved the necessary balance of entertainment and instruction to capture and hold the audience’s interest. On the harpsichord Mr Low revealed a remarkably expressive right-hand, capable of sustaining and embellishing long melodic phrases. This was especially evident in the Andante in D minor from the Italian Concerto.

As a flautist Mr Low showed himself to be sensitive, but prone to intonation problems. The Baroque flute

was used at the beginning of the programme in a section entitled the “harpsichord in ensemble.” Unfortunately it gave a shaky beginning to the concert as the trio ensemble (joined by Wendy Low on bass viol) had slight problems of balance and cohesion. This concert saw the return of Julie Coulson to Christchurch music after two years of study for a diploma of music in harpsichord at' Auckland University. After an initial nervous start she quickly settled down to show clearly the results of her intensive study of the instrument. Her playing possesses grace and poise, but was marred at times by fumbled notes. Miss Coulson is very much at ease with the slower movements of Bach’s works as demonstrated by her highly ornamented treatment of the Sarabande from the “French Suite” in G minor.

Bach and the Harpsichord was clearly the result of long hours of practice and careful thought in preparation. To sum up the master composer’s output in this medium as succinctly as did Peter Low and Julie Coulson was no easy task.