Music for Two Harpsichords
James Taylor & Tom Ó Drisceoil, harpsichords
Chapter House, St Mary's Cathedral, Kilkenny | Tickets €15/10

Programme:
Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer (1656-1746): Le Journal du Printemps, Suite No.1 in C Major (arr. Taylor/Ó Drisceoil).
Johann Ludwig Krebs (1713-1780): Concerto for Two Harpsichords in A minor, Krebs-WV 840.
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750): Concerto for Two Harpsichords in C Major, BWV 1061a.

James Taylor and Tom Ó Drisceoil present a selection of German baroque music for two harpsichords. This instrumental combination is rarely heard today, but it was valued by baroque composers for its richness and fullness of sound. This is a rare opportunity to hear two harpsichords in one space, and will feature two double manual harpsichords.

This programme explores music by three generations of German composers, all of whom influenced one another’s writing. Fischer’s French-inspired suite is presented here in a two-harpsichord arrangement, and features a March and Battle Air, as well as a graceful chaconne. Krebs's Italianate double concerto follows, and bookends a gorgeous lyrical slow movement in A Major with two strident fast movements in a minor. Bach's well-known double concerto is the only one of his harpsichord concertos originally written for the instrument, and will be performed here in the original version without string accompaniment.