Bach’s music is abstract music: it can be played in any instrument (one would think that by now this argument should have been settled…). Bach himself transferred his pieces freely from one medium to another, plagiarising himself countless times.
Most of his keyboard music was most likely not composed for the harpsichord, but for the
clavichord, his favourite keyboard instrument after the organ. The clavichord like the piano, has a most definite response to touch, which the harpsichord lacks (you must use the registers in the harpsichord, rather than different touches). The reason Bach’s keyboard music was mostly performed in the harpsichord during his life time (and immediately after his death) is very simple. All you have to do is to play a clavichord. You will notice two things immediately: it is a very, very soft instrument. If you are standing 2 or 3 metres away from it, you will not hear anything! Second: it goes out of tune all the time. On the other hand, not only it allows dynamics controlled by touch (its range is probably from pp to pppp, he he
), as you can do all sorts of tricks, like bending notes and finger vibrato, which of course you cannot do with either a harpsichord or a piano.
Now why would anyone play Bach on the piano without dynamics? I do not recall anyone playing his instrumental (other than keyboard) music, or orchestral music, or choral music without dynamics… So why should one assume that he intended all of his music to be played with dynamics, except for his keyboard music?
Bach (and his contemporaries) did not indicate dynamic directions in their scores
because it was the convention of the time to leave such matters to the performer.
So if you are playing Bach on the piano (or on the marimbas, for that matter – it sounds great!) you should and you must use all the resources of the instrument. If you want to play Bach on the piano and make the piano sound like a harpsichord, get yourself a harpsichord!
Also have a look at these threads where this subject has been discussed:
https://www.pianoforum.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=perf;action=display;num=1050165080(dynamics)
https://www.pianoforum.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=perf;action=display;num=1059889782(pedal use, piano x harpsichord)
https://www.pianoforum.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=perf;action=display;num=1075497476(pedal and dynamics with special reference to the prelude in C - WTC 1)
https://www.pianoforum.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=perf;action=display;num=1080428553(pedal)
https://www.pianoforum.net/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=perf;action=display;num=1082736762(performance stylistic differences between Bach and later composers)
Best wishes,
Bernhard.
Topic: Piano or Harpsichord style for prepiano music?