Keyboard-Duo Arrangements in Eighteenth-Century Musical Life

Abstract

It is well known that the instrumentation of eighteenth-century chamber music was highly flexible; composers frequently adapted their own works for a variety of instruments, and players often used whatever combinations they had available. One type of arrangement little used today but attested to in both verbal description and musical manuscripts of the period is that of trios and other chamber works adapted for two keyboard instruments. Players often executed such keyboard-duo arrangements on instruments with different mechanisms and timbres – for example, harpsichord and piano together – thus capturing something of the variety of timbres available in a mixed chamber ensemble.Keyboard duos were often played by members of a single family, or by teachers and students together, a practice that allowed for the construction of a sense of ‘sympathy’ – mutual understanding through shared experience and sentiment – between the players. These players shared common physical gestures at the instruments, which reinforced the emotional content of the music; this fostered the formation of a sympathetic connection even as players retained their individual identities.

Creation Characteristics of Music Piano Arrangement Based on Distributed Sensors

“…Regarding the creation of musical piano arrangements, many scholars have carried out relevant research on this, including CYPESS studied the execution of key duet arrangements on piano instruments with different mechanisms and timbres, and it is a technique that helps participants to develop a sense of "compassion" for one another via shared experiences and emotions [1]. Rill and Hämäläinen introduced a PACE (Presence, Authenticity, Courage and Ecosystem Awareness) co-creation guide, planning co-creative projects from the point that collective creativity and insight are emerging attributes of the design experience.…”