Luogo e data di registrazione		Bennebroek (Holland) - Novembre/Dicembre 1965 (Caccini, Farnaby, Tomkins, Anonym, J.C. Bach) Washington (USA) - Marzo 1966 (Frescobaldi) Aurich East Frieseland (Germany) - Febbraio 1967 (J.S. Bach)
	Registrazione: live / studio		studio
	Producer		Wolf Erichson | Charles P. Fisher (Frescobaldi)
	Prima Edizione LP		Telefunken "Das Alte Werk" | SAWT 9512-B | 1 LP - durata 51' 02" | (p) 1967 | ANA
	Edizione CD		Teldec Classics "Gustav Leonhardt Edition" | LC 6019 | 3984-21349-2 | 1 CD - durata 49' 19" | (c) 1998 | ADD | (Caccini, Frescobaldi) Teldec Classics "Gustav Leonhardt Edition" | LC 6019 | 3984 21760-2 | 2 CDs - durata 70' 20" - 57' 02" | (c) 1998 | ADD | (Farnaby, Tomkins) Teldec Classics "Gustav Leonhardt Edition" | LC 6019 | 3984-21766-2 | 1 CD - durata 49' 04" | (c) 1998 | ADD | (Anonym) Teldec Classics "Gustav Leonhardt Edition" | LC 6019 | 3984-21354-2 | 1 CD - durata 73' 43" | (c) 1998 | ADD | (J.S. Bach) Teldec Classics "Gustav Leonhardt Edition" | LC 6019 | 3984-21769-2 | 1 CD - durata 75' 38" | (c) 1998 | ADD | (J.C. Bach) * il brano di Girolamo Frescobaldi Toccata undecima non è stato ripubblicato in compact disc.
	Cover		Jan Steen "Dame am Cembalo". Mit freundl Genehmigung der National Gallery, London.
	Note		Non esiste, tale e quale, una ripubblicazione in Compact Disc di questa registrazione. I singoli brani sono però disseminati in diversi volumi che compongono la "Gustav Leonhardt Edition" che è composta da 21 Compact Disc.. Circa la Toccata undecima di Girolamo Frescobaldi non si è a conoscenza di un suo riversamento in Compact Disc.

Four of the most strongly contrasted examples of ancient harpsichord construction are brought together on this record. The contrasts are, in the first place, national in character and only secondarily the result of the varying ages of the instruments. These differences must not, however, obscure the fact that the four instruments are, in their structure, based on common principles differing considerably from the structure of most modern harpsichords. For instance, we find the resonance of the body and the soundboard always fully exploited in the old instruments, in contrast to many of the modern ones. The sound of the old harpsichords is therefore deep, being based on the fundamental note, which is only coloured by the overtones. It is not the string that sounds, but the entire body. The Italian instrument on our record, built by an anonymous master in 1693, is typical of Italy’s conservative harpsichord construction in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries: it has one manual - with a compass of ‚G ,A-c'''-and two eight-foot sets of strings. The points of impact are quite near to one another, so that the limited degree of contrast between the two stops ensures a fine blend of tone. As with all Italian instruments, its construction is exceptionally light: the walls about 4 mm in thickness, but of hard cypress wood; the descant strings are short in dimension. The tone is rapid and lively in its development and is not all too long in duration. It “speaks” rather than “sings”. In great contrast to this stands the Flemish instrument built by the Antwerp master Andreas Ruckers in 1648. It has one manual with a compass from C/E-c''' (short bass octave). Originally built with one eight-foot and one fourfoot set of strings, it was enlarged in 1700 with a second eight-foot set, though without altering the body. The fourfoot set is attacked by the back row of jacks. The Flemings, both in the 17th and in the 18th century, showed preference for a singing sound, more fluty and less gesticulating than the Italian. This was achieved by means of heavier construction of the body (walls about 13 mm thick; compare, however, the many times larger dimensions which modern makers use below the soundboard), in soft poplar or linden wood, by means of longer dimensions in the descant and a number of other factors. We are taken into a different world again by the onemanual harpsichord built in 1741 by the Hamburg maker Christian Zell. It has three sets of strings (8‘8‘4‘), the fourfoot being the middle row of jacks, and a compass of C-d'''. Judging by the three instruments of his that have been preserved, Zell does not seem to have given in to the constructional extravagances of his Hamburg colleague Hass; yet we find the same sound-ideal: a somewhat small, dainty tone, sweet, rich in overtones and singing on for a long time. And finally the big two-manual instrument by Jacobus and Abraham Kirckman, London 1775. Built at a time when the “hammerklavier” was already finding many adherents, its sound is directed towards homophonic playing: a rich but not very clear bass and a powerful, almost coarse descant. The instrument has a body of oak veneered with mahogany, and displays the late English standard specification: lower manual 8‘8‘4', one of the eight-foot stops also being played by the upper manual. The upper manual has, in addition, the so-called “lute stop”, a nasal-sounding stop that again attacks the same eight-foot set of strings at another point (it can be heard in our recording in the middle movement of the sonata, left hand). We here have the clever arrangement of four stops on three sets of strings. The four-foot set is attacked by the furthermost row of jacks, thus achieving the relatively softest attack and, on the other hand, letting the two eight-foot stops sound as similar as possible for blending. As a characteristic feature of the taste of that period we find a swell device: by operating a pedal, a part of the lid can be opened and shut (not used in our recording). Gustav Leonhard