Six Sonatas for Cembalo

Description

Harpsichord — Along with my Mass and one or two other works, my Six Sonatas for Cembalo or Pianoforte are Mission-style pieces. They were directly stimulated by my studies about and feelings for the land, peoples, and history of California. Indeed, they are a part of the "Regionalist" school of thought that was so prevalent and, for a young person, stimulating in the 1930's. These Six Sonatas reflect the romance and geometry of impassioned Spain, as well as the pastoral Indian imagery of native America in its Western life. The artistic model was, of course, Scarlatti and Manuel de Falla. The collection was first published by Henry Cowell's wondrous New Music Edition. It received wide distribution through the cultural offices of the United States Government abroad and became recommended teaching material within the country. Either in part or entire these sonatas have been played by Sylvia Marlowe, Ralph Kirkpatrick, and a number of other harpsichordists. By "cembalo" I mean the plucking string keyboards. While the two keyboards of a French classic clavecin or large German or English instrument might be very useful, I have heard these works played very beautifully and satisJyingly on tiny single manual instruments. Nowadays, thank Heavens, serious harpsichordists are concerned with fine intonation for their instrument and are exploring the necessary historical tunings and temperaments for the 17th and 18th century European repertoire. I heartily applaud this most musical development and suggest for these sonatas, for those who know how to tune them: 1. A standard quarter-comma Meantone Temperament; 2. Kirnberger's Well Temperament; 3. Werkmeister's Third Temperament; or 4. The Earl of Stanhope's Well Temperament.. I would like to thank harpsichordist and editor Susan Summerfield for her many suggestions on ornamentation, articulation and registration for the sonatas. --Lou Harrison