Bach played on clavichord.
When Bach was composing music, pianos didn’t exist. Instead, Bach composed almost all his music on a clavichord which, while sharing similarities with a piano, sounds completely different.
When you hear Bach played on a clavichord, it changes your entire perception of his music—makes you realize how it was meant to be heard.
Bach feels like he composed music for the person playing the instrument, as much as for the people listening to it.
It’s also pretty amazing on steel drums.
A very interesting instrument. The pedal notes especially are very resonant which adds a lot of character to the performance.
Legend has it Bach’s favorite instrument was the lautenwerck aka the lute-harpsichord. They are similar to the clavichord but have a rounded body, which gives the instrument a much softer tone. Bach supposedly owned 4. Here’s a short recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8z31MbF89-8
