Search - P.D.Q. [pseudonym of Peter Schickele] Bach, Dennis James, Christopher O'Riley :: P.D.Q. Bach: The Short-Tempered Clavier

P D Q Bach achieves un-just intonation

james k siegman | Elmhurst, Illinois | 12/16/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Although not my favorite PDQ album, I enjoyed this one immensely. I think it helps a lot to know the purpose of the well-tempered clavichord and what exactly JS Bach set out to prove. PDQ does his best to undo everything his father started and Professor Schikele does his best to hold it all together, even though it does get a little wierd at times (did he say "little"?). Definitely worth the price of admission. JKS"

Some good tracks

Feller who likes Old Yeller | Webster, NY | 02/28/2002

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I enjoyed the Short-Tempered Clavier pieces tremendously. Played masterfully by Christopher O'Reilley, they are witty and delightful. A new suprise is always around the corner, and upon my first listen I found myself grinning and sometimes laughing out loud.Then comes the rest of the album.In the succeeding pieces, Schickele uses the same jokes, the same tunes, and crummy synthesized instruments that become so annoying that I just want to turn the thing off.Do yourself a favor and leave after the first act."

Fun, but not the best of PDQ Bach

Mark Swinton | 04/18/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Others have written here of the slight difference between Peter Schickele's "early" and "late" PDQ Bach performances, hence it is slightly surperfluous to say that the more recent Telarc recordings (of which this is one) lack the sparkle and 'zany' character of the earlier ones from the 1970s.They are certainly still as clever: "The Short-Tempered Clavier" is of course a spoof of J. S. Bach's "Well-Tempered Keyboard", laced with quotations from other areas of the pianists repertoire as well as having the odd snatch of a very familiar tune here and there.The whole disc is set out as the document of a lecture given by Peter Schickele to a group of skeptical, 'unmusical' US senators, with the PDQ Bach keyboard works woven in as musical examples. Hence, as well as the title work (played on piano), the programme also features appearances by a theatre organ (on which is played the "Pochelbuchlein" - "The Little Pickle Book"), a calliope (used for the "Sonata da Circo" - "Circus Sonata" - the rendition of which is cut short by the explosion of the instrument!) and the organ of the King Congregational Church (get it?!) which is little more than two synthesisers stacked on top of each other.
Each piece is fun, although the impact of the musical jokes will vary depending upon how musically-minded the listener is. In other words, musicologists, pianists and organists are likely to get the most laughs out of the programme. The liner notes add an extra dimension to the fun by containing, as well as a "scholarly essay" on the history, discovery and publication of the music, various quips about those involved in the production of the recording, with in-jokes including a 'specification' of the King Congregational Church organ...Take it or leave it ... as a Christmas or birthday gift for a musical friend or family-member, it wouldn't be a bad choice."