Bach’s Partitas on a tangent piano, a premiere with Martin Helmchen

The discovery of a historical instrument in the tradition of those that Bach had known revealed to Martin Helmchen a new approach in the interpretation of Partitesusually presented on the harpsichord or modern piano. The rereading is total and fascinating throughout the forty movements of these six suites for the keyboard.

This new version of the cycle of Six Partitas for Bach’s keyboard sheds light on the gradual transition from a plucked string instrument to a new concept, that of the struck string. Of course, the clavichord had already opened the door to this possibility, making the instrument expressive. Bach had noticed it and it is reported that it was his favorite instrument at this level. However, he was somewhat disappointed by the first stringed instruments struck during his trip to Potsdam with the King of Prussia Frederick II. No doubt the first tests in this area carried out by Gottfried Silbermann required some improvements. The idea, however, gained ground thanks to various mechanical systems, particularly in terms of hammers.

Martin Helmchen plays a tangent piano (Tangentenflügel) built in 1790 by Franz Jakob Späth and Christoph Friedrich Schmahl. His choice simply stems from the discovery of this recently restored instrument which inspired him, allowing him to approach his interpretation of Bach’s music in a new way, impossible in this way on a harpsichord or a modern piano. He tells us this: “Everything conquered me: the colors, the symbiosis of the characteristics of the harpsichord, the clavichord and the old pianofortes, the registrations (with the lute playing), the possibilities which open up to me to render the polyphony and for singing on keys! » Certainly this piano was built forty years after the composer’s death, but remains a witness to keyboards which were perfected in the extension of those known by the musicians themselves. The basic principle of this instrument is a small wooden hammer which hits the string from below and which falls by itself so that the string vibrates freely. A damper stops the sound when the pianist releases the key.

What do these works sound like when listened to on such an instrument? The first impression is a great flexibility in the game and therefore in the speech. Martin Helmchen is a great pianist, established on the international scene. He puts himself at the service of this instrument and not the opposite, all the subtlety lies there. Any keyboard instrument whatsoever (organ, harpsichord, clavichord, piano, etc.) can generate expressive playing which is obtained with very different execution techniques of touch, accents of duration, etc. Here it is already the modern piano technique which invites itself with finesse and subtlety in the service of the musical discourse. The tempi are moderate which is deeply pleasant to listen to. The artist leaves aside this all-too-fashionable race to the abyss of excessive speed, the illusion of brilliant and virtuoso playing. The piano recording is subtle, every detail is clearly perceptible and the acoustics of the studio are harmoniously controlled.

In a very rich discography, this version asserts itself through its originality in a rational and informed proposal, which educates us even more in the knowledge of these marvelous pages.

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Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750): 6 Partitas BWV 825 to 830. Martin Helmchen, Späth & Schmahl tangent piano (1790). 2 Alpha CDs. Registered in September 2022 and January 2023. Presentation notice in French, English and German. Total duration: 71:14 and 72:49

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