Ryan Layne Whitney (Bach-Vivaldi Concerto BWV 978)

J.S. Bach-Antonio Vivaldi, Concerto in F major, BWV 978 (after Vivaldi Concerto Op. 3 No. 3), played on replica 1726 Traeri clavichord.

Jack Peters, the harpsichord and clavichord builder here in Seattle ( http://www.jackpeters.com ) from whom I acquired my replica 1670 Gellinger triple-fretted clavichord that I have played on YouTube, lent me this replica of the 1726 Traeri double-fretted clavichord. A very rare fretted clavichord is the 1726 Ugo Annibale Traeri which was made in Modena, Italy. The instrument which today resides in the Maidstone Museum in England is reputed to have belonged to Handel. The original was designed for quint pitch and has a broken short octave in the bass. Lowest F# and G# are split into front and back. The front of F# plays D, the back F#. The front of G# plays E, the back G#. However F and F# and G and G# share pairs of strings. What is really unique is the appearance of an inner case fitting inside an outer case. Mr. Jack Peters built this copy from a rare plan which got copied in pieces and sent from Austria several years ago. The plan was redrawn and deciphered and the small split keys made like the original. This extremely compact instrument (32") would have been ideal for a composer to travel with and its design predates the famous travel clavichords of Mozart. The Traeri family were famous organ builders in northern Italy and there is also at least one harpsichord in Bologna. The copy has boxwood naturals and snakewood sharps. Mastering the sequence of the 10 bass keys for arpeggios is a challenge which you will be able to observe in a future YouTube demonstration.