TLS 5855: Mark Wilderspin: Dynamics

[Frank Forman]

TLS 5855: Mark Wilderspin: Dynamics

Mark Wilderspin is Director of Music at St Paul's School, London.

Robert Palmieri, editor
THE PIANO
An encyclopaedia
Second edition
540pp. Routledge. Paperback, £34.99. 978 1 13 879144 2

Igor Kipnis, editor
THE HARPSICHORD AND CLAVICHORD
An encyclopaedia
Second edition
576pp. Routledge. Paperback, £34.99. 978 1 13 879145 9

Douglas Kassel and Richard Bush, editors
THE ORGAN
An encyclopaedia
696pp. Routledge. Paperback, £39.99. 978 1 13 879146 6

Published: 17 June 2015

These three encyclopedias of keyboard instruments (first published in 2003
and now presented, revised and updated, in sturdy, high-quality paperback)
focus on the technicalities of instrument construction, traditions of
instrument building and the prominent builders associated with them. For
many, these are the less glamorous areas of knowledge relating to keyboard
instruments, and ones in which clarification and illumination are welcome.
Since all these instruments have long and complex performance traditions,
there is a great deal of space given over to revivalist, recreationist and
conservationist approaches, particularly in the case of harpsichords and
clavichords. In the case of piano and organ manufacture, there is more of a
living and evolving tradition, but adequate space is given to historical
forebears and earlier performance practice too.

The Piano encyclopedia appears the most comprehensive of the three, covering
virtually all aspects of the piano, though it should be reiterated that the
emphasis is on the instrument itself rather than on its repertoire. Composer
entries focus on the models of piano composers used rather than on their
works; and comments on the music are restricted to the writing for the
instrument, the use of texture and the ways in which some manufacturers
suited the composer's repertoire better than others. Beethoven's music, for
example, exploited the wider compass and greater dynamic contrast offered by
the instruments produced by makers such as Broadwood, while Chopin favoured
the lightness of touch of Pleyel pianos - ideally suited to the figuration
of his music and facilitating the subtle shades of cantabile playing for
which he was famous.

The Harpsichord and Clavichord volume makes a virtue of considering these
two historical instruments together, as many performers and scholars have an
interest in both. Discussion of the technical and historical aspects of
instrument construction is complemented by useful sections on topics such as
continuo playing, the harpsichord within an orchestra and the revivalist
traditions of the instruments associated with the Early Music movement.
Composer entries are again featured, with an emphasis on their writing for
the instruments.

Curiously, these composer entries, which are strong and give the first two
volumes a wider interest, are not included in the Organ encyclopedia,
despite the back cover's proudly stating that they are. Their absence is
probably due to constraints of space in a volume that has to cover a large
amount of technical ground in terms of organ actions, registration and their
associated terminologies. It is a great shame, though, that while J. S. Bach
is cited in the index and can be found in numerous articles (including the
article on the organ in Saxony), he is not given his own entry; and that
Olivier Messiaen, one of the pillars of modern French organ composition and
performance, is not mentioned at all.

Inevitably, any book tackling such broad and far-reaching topics is
selective, but some decisions in these volumes do seem strange. The English
composer John Bull is included in the Harpsichord and Clavichord volume, but
his contemporary William Byrd, who, with My Ladye Nevells Booke, was
responsible for one of the most important collections of Renaissance
keyboard music in England, is not. The articles on temperament are
excellent, but ornamentation is less well handled ("Acciaccatura" is defined
badly in the main body and the entry is contradicted in the "Ornamentation"
article by another author; "Shake" gets a listing, but "Trill" does not). In
the Organ volume, the American Guild of Organists has an entry, which tells
us that the organization modelled itself on the Royal College of Organists;
but the Royal College of Organists itself does not have an entry.

The editors of these volumes have brought together a wide range of
contributors, and many of their articles are enhanced by excellent
bibliographies. Diagrams and illustrations are used liberally, and each
volume provides lists of important instrument collections. Although the
volumes claim to have been updated, inevitably some revisions have been
neglected (Bob Moog, who died in 2005, is still listed as living); and the
cross-referencing is a little patchy. Nevertheless, these encylopedias will
be invaluable reference tools for anyone who wants to know more about these
most sophisticated musical instruments, and their rich traditions of
manufacture and performance.

[Steve de Mena]

On 6/30/15 1:50 AM, Frank Forman wrote:
> TLS 5855: Mark Wilderspin: Dynamics
>
> Mark Wilderspin is Director of Music at St Paul's School, London.
>

Isn't this copied from the paid The Times Literary Supplement website?

Steve