One designation in Johann Sebastian Bach's music that used to mystify many was his instruction for certain pieces to be played aufs Lautenwerck. If one were lucky enough to know someone who was conversant in historical keyboard instruments, they would tell you that Bach was referring to the lute-harpsichord, a hybrid instrument strung with gut strings and played from a keyboard that sounded like a lute but had a somewhat wider range. When Bach died in 1750, his will shows that he was still in possession of two of them. ...
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One designation in Johann Sebastian Bach's music that used to mystify many was his instruction for certain pieces to be played aufs Lautenwerck. If one were lucky enough to know someone who was conversant in historical keyboard instruments, they would tell you that Bach was referring to the lute-harpsichord, a hybrid instrument strung with gut strings and played from a keyboard that sounded like a lute but had a somewhat wider range. When Bach died in 1750, his will shows that he was still in possession of two of them. However, audible evidence of the instrument is in short supply; as no historic lute-harpsichords exist, the literature written for them wound up in the hands of harpsichordists, pianists, and lute players, the latter group often having to contend with the reality that this music really didn't suit their instrument. The barrier was broken in 1993 when harpsichordist Kim Heindel recorded his disc Aufs Lautenwerck for the Dorian Discovery label on a rebuilt instrument. That disc only...
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