A Lautenwerck is a Baroque keyboard instrument with gut strings and two manuals that control different sets of quills. The larger part of the instrument’s body is large and round, and looks like it could be part of a gigantic lute. Imagine Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier played on a “super-lute” instead of a harpsichord, and you’ll know what to expect from John Paul’s recording.
Paul underlines this impression by limiting himself to a register that is quilled in leather, where the quills brush rather than pluck the strings, yielding a soft sound that nonetheless is capable of small dynamic gradations and accents. Paul’s generally relaxed and deliberate approach contrasts to harpsichordists looking to flaunt their virtuosity, although he certainly can play fast when so inclined, as in the Book II C major Fugue.
Harmonic motion and clear voice leading consistently govern Paul’s discreet use of agogics, rubato, and embellishments, especially in longer, harder to sustain fugues such as the Book I A minor and the Book II G-sharp minor. Occasionally the momentum Paul generates in certain Preludes dissipates when the subsequent fugue unfolds at a slower tempo than one might anticipate. For example, one normally expects the toccata-like energy of the Book I C minor Prelude to carry over into the C minor Fugue, yet the music flops due to Paul’s dragging pace and pedantic phrasing.
By contrast, the austere Book I C-sharp minor and B minor fugues flow in long, assured arcs that directly relate to the Preludes that precede them, while the Book II F minor Prelude and Fugue virtually merge by virtue of their common tempo. The Book II G minor Fugue’s close voice leading also benefits from Paul’s slight yet noticeable variations in touch.
Once you experience Bach’s “48” on the Lautenwerck, you’ll immediately fall in love with this unusual instrument, just as I did. There’s only one caveat: the persistent mechanical noises from the quill mechanism. Some listeners will find them more distracting than I did, although they are less noticeable when you play the discs at a relatively low volume. Well worth hearing.
