The glittering, sparkling sound of harpsichord and flute filled the halls of Shepherd King Lutheran Church on Nov. 12, 2023 when classical recording stars Mahan Esfahani and Brandon Patrick George brought their tour through Texas and performed for the San Antonio Chamber Music Society.
The program was filled with music by Johann Sebastian Bach and Bach's fifth son (and most successful), Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, and gave each performer an opportunity to shine solo, along with three duet sonatas.
George first met Esfahani shortly before the COVID-19 lockdowns, and the two musicians hit it off over Zoom calls during the pandemic. Finally, they were able to perform together in 2022 and the music-making since then has been spectacular.
During the concert's intermission, master harpsichord maker and Early Music expert Gerald Self shared some performance details about the beautiful instrument onstage, one he built himself.
"The harpsichord is basically a harp flipped on its side with a keyboard, and the strings are plucked with little tiny pieces of quill," Self explained. "No matter how hard or how softly one presses the key, the volume is just the same. The difference is there are three sets of strings. Each one can be plucked separately, or they can be combined. So there are various ways of combining the three sets of strings. And that produces kind of a layered, staggered dynamic. This instrument has two keyboards. One keyboard makes one sound, the other keyboard makes another sound. And you can add or subtract sounds if you wish. And you can couple all three sets of strings together. So you have four levels of subtle dynamic change. But the difference is you have to set it and play it. You can't play louder and softer just by manipulating the key."
Use the audio player at the top of this page to hear the whole recital, as well as an interview with Gerald Self.
PROGRAM:
- J.S. Bach: Sonata in C Major, BWV 1033
- C.P.E. Bach: Sonata in A minor for solo flute, Wq. 132
- J.S. Bach: Sonata in A Major, BWV 1032
- C.P.E. Bach: Harpsichord Sonata in A minor, Wq. 49/1, "Württemberg"
- J.S. Bach: Sonata in B Minor, BWV 1030
