András Schiff took a clavichord lesson back to the piano

A quiet keyboard need not give every note the same weight. On a clavichord, pressing a key raises a metal tangent at its other end to strike the string; releasing the key damps the sound. The Metropolitan Museum of Art describes a narrow but real range of louder and softer tones. There are choices to make inside that small dynamic span.

For his 2023 album Clavichord, András Schiff played Joris Potvlieghe’s replica of a 1743 Specken instrument. In his ECM note, he stresses the fine control of touch available through “only our fingers”. More tellingly, he says the experience changed how he played and heard Bach even when returning to a modern piano.

That is a performer’s account, not a ruling on which keyboard everyone should use for Bach. Trying another instrument can be a way of reconsidering the familiar one, without having to abandon it. The value of the detour need not end when the player changes keyboards again.

Schiff’s A-minor Invention, BWV 784, from that album is linked here. Follow which notes receive emphasis, then try the same piece on piano. Timbre is only one thing to compare: changing the weight of a note can change the shape of a familiar melody.