Shawn Thomas’s hands floated across the surface of his keyboard, touching down every few seconds before lifting off.
As the recital progressed, the harpsichord pinged, and a clarinet answered smoothly back. The harpsichord responded in a tinny, eloquent voice.
“It’s kind of a pointy sound,” said Thomas, a 23-year-old graduate student, describing the tone produced by his harpsichord. “It’s not fat or mellow. It’s an acquired taste.”
Thomas was one of 16 students who performed at the inaugural Baroque Chamber Music Recital on Monday. About 30 students attended the hour-long concert, which was hosted by the Baroque Chamber Music Ensemble class in the UF Music Building.
This was the first year UF offered a course to learn to play the harpsichord, called Baroque Chamber Music Ensemble. The final for the course, which is offered under MUN 1469, MUN 3463 and MUN 6010, was Monday’s recital.
The recital let students experience a small ensemble focused on the often-forgotten harpsichord, said Laura Ellis, an associate professor of music and teacher of the class.
“It was a little intimidating at first because I knew the focus was going to be on me,” Thomas said.
Students could take the course for one or two credit hours. The course met three times a week to practice.
UF only owns three well-functioning harpsichords. Each instrument costs between $10,000 and $20,000. The instrument has become increasingly harder to find after losing popularity to its successor, the fortepiano, in the 18th century. The fortepiano is an early version of the modern-day piano.
“We’re fortunate to have a couple good harpsichords here,” Ellis said.
Thomas said he enjoyed the opportunity to have a chance to work one-on-one with the instrument. He said he had only heard recordings of the harpsichord and seen others play the instrument before, and he had studied organ for eight years.
Ellis said she planned to teach the class again in the Fall. Without the course, she feared students might not have the chance to understand the whole picture of music history.
“It’d be similar to looking at the English language and not looking at the plays of Shakespeare because it’s old stuff,” Ellis said. “Where we are today wouldn’t have happened if the harpsichord hadn’t been there.”
Peter Orta plays "Sonata for Two Harpsichords in F Major" by Bach at the Harpsichord Ensemble studio recital Monday afternoon. Students demonstrated skills they learned during the first semester the harpsichord was taught at UF.
