a ciaccona by bernardo storace, 1664.

[duccio]

I discovered this contemporary Italian composer on youtube about a month ago and very much enjoy his original compositions, but I especially like the unusual interpretations of several older pieces he plays such as this one. The instrument is a highly amplified clavichord, possibly, maybe with an interior contact mic, but I am not sure. Clavichords are usually so very soft, that this level of amplification would pick up the noise of the keys moving up and down... it's a mystery. The score is written in an original old notation with six and seven line staves, and note values are written with twice the time value as is used today. Try following along; it's challenging. The performance is very imaginative.

Well, I'm busted. I have to admit that this type of early keyboard music is one of my most favorite of all musics, going way back to when I was a late teenager and got a harpsichord kit (like advertised in the Whole Earth Catalog). Everything about harpsichord music is continually fascinating to me. It's breathtaking.