I recently came across 2 CDs of the 6 Partitas of Bach played on Harpsichord by Ralph Kirkpatrick. These were 1958 ARCHIVE tapes that have been re-mastered in 1995 by a company called BOSTON SKYLINE, in a series called "From the Vault". I had never heard of them, but have always enjoyed much of what I heard from ARCHIVE / ARKIV in the past. The original LPs are: 198003, 004 and 005. I am not well-versed in harpsichord lore, but these are very interesting and quite wonderful performances. The recording is not always pristine (they even apologize for "the loud airplane that seems to have flown overhead between the Courante and the Sarabande of Partita No. 3!) The sound can get a bit murky at times, but not excessively so. The liner notes from the originals speak about Mr. Kirkpatrick playing on a harpsichord "modeled on those played by Bach himself". As I went through all the partitas, I heard what could easily have been many instruments. At times it sounded metallic, at times like gut; Sometimes it was very rich and full of reverb, others it was short and thud-like. At times it even sounded like vibes. The notes also say that Kirkpatrick is arguably the father of the harpsichord revival of the 20th century. Does anyone know how true this is (about this harpsichord - and Kirkpatrick)? Is his "style" any different from current harpsichord playing? How true is the claim about this particular harpsichord? If you are not aware of these re-masterings, here are some more from the series: THE SIENA PIANOFORTE - Charles Rosen Playing Scarlatti and Mozart THE GOLDBERG VARIATIONS - Seymour Hayden, Harpsichord (1977) SCARLATTI BY HAYDEN - 13 sonatas J.S. BACH - FOUR CONCERTI TRANSCRIBED - ASMF & Neville Marriner MASTERWORKS FOR THE HARP - Osian Ellis, Desmond Dupre, Thurston Dart, Marisa Robles, ASMF & Marriner - (L'Oiseau-Lyre & Argo) DANCE MUSIC OF THE RENEISSANCE - Praetorius, Wildman & Schein, Collegium Terpsichore & Fritz Neumeyer Miguel Muelle http://mmuelle.home.mindspring.com