November 21, 2008
Mahan Esfahani
Wednesday, November 19, brought hardworking Mahan Esfani to the Recital Hall for an outstanding evening of harpsichord and organ music.
In the pre-concert talk, Esfahani wore blue knit gloves to warm his fingers and took questions from the audience. The 24-year-old defended his choice of harpsichord as the “instrument of will.” He pointed out that composers and audiences in the 17th century not only had emotions but composed and performed emotionally. He related it to listening to an old recording on a 78 record or cylinder and maintained “there’s something about hearing the music exactly like it sounded in the 17th century that evokes a visceral response. The artist went on to discuss the composers on the program, asserting that “Bach is the composer that, if you spent your whole life studying his music, it would be a life well spent.”
He made three converts sitting next to me, and I suspect they weren’t the only ones in the nearly-sold-out audience. After expressing mutual dislike for harpsichord music, they reluctantly agreed to keep an open mind. By intermission they were completely won over. Esfahani was right – it is emotional and dynamic music, beautifully executed on a very special instrument.
This concert was the harpsichord’s public debut. It is a double manual German style after M. Mietke (1702 – 1704), made by Bruce Kennedy and generously provided by owner Philip Ambrose.
Click here for some in-depth program notes written by Esfahani and provided for the concert.
After a Bach Toccata, the second half was devoted to the UVM Recital Hall organ and included works by Henry Purcell, John Blow and Charles Racquet.
What did you think of the concert?
What's your opinion of the harpsichord?
Posted by lane at 12:21 PM | Comments (6)