Harpsichords and Clavichords Part 2

In recent years the Smithsonian was fortunate to acquire one of the few remaining French harpsichords. The builder's name is known from the design on the soundboard rose which includes the initials "B" and "S"; also, the name "Benoist Stehlin" is inscribed on two of the jacks. The 1760 date is painted on the left side of the soundboard. An inventory of Stehlin's workshop and house made at the time of his death in 1774 lists a Ruckers harpsichord altered by Stehlin along with several other instruments in various stages of completion. Figures 28 and 30 show the instrument before its restoration.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 28. Stehlin harpsichord: Full view.]

This instrument was restored to playing condition in the conservation laboratory of the Division of Musical Instruments in 1968. Typical of most French instruments, it is equipped with a shove coupler, which enables the player to operate both manuals from the lower keyboard by shoving the upper keyboard away from him. In this pushed-back position, wooden uprights (dogs) attached to the upper surface of the far ends of the lower key levers couple the two manuals and cause the upper manual keys to descend when the lower manual keys are pressed.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 29. Stehlin harpsichord: Detail of rose.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 30. Stehlin harpsichord: Plan view.]

_Clavichords_

Dynamic shadings are possible in the clavichord, as in the piano, through variation of finger pressure. In both, the strings are struck-by metal tangents in the clavichord and by leather or felt hammers in the piano.

In the clavichord the strings extend over a soundboard bridge on the player's right and are damped (stopped from vibrating) by strips of cloth on the left. The metal hammer (tangent) mounted in the end of the key strikes the string and continues to touch it as long as the player presses the key. The tangent, while touching the string, divides it into two segments-the segment on the right being free to vibrate, the segment on the left being damped by the cloth. When the key is released, the cloth damps the entire string.

Figure 31 shows a player depressing a clavichord key (middle c). The tangent at the far end of the key lever has been raised so that it has struck the strings and has lifted them above rest position. The damping cloth on the left of this raised string can also be seen.

Known as early as the 15th century, the clavichord produces tones, though limited in volume, that are very expressive and even capable of vibrato (_Bebung_). Because it lacks carrying power, the clavichord historically was a solo or practice instrument, for it could not be heard in combination with other instruments or with the voice.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 31. Clavichord action. _Photo: Robert Lautman_.]

Fretted Clavichord, _about 1700; maker unknown, Germany_

Unfretted Clavichord, _18th century; maker unknown, Germany_

The clavichord was usually housed in a rectangular case which rested upon a simple stand. The range of the earlier instruments was about four octaves. By the 18th century the range had been expanded to five octaves.

The larger, later clavichords had separate strings for each key and were unfretted or _bundfrei_. Many smaller and earlier clavichords were fretted (_gebunden_), having some strings that would produce more than one pitch when struck at different points by adjacent keys.

Figure 32 shows the fretted clavichord keyboard in more detail. Tangents on keys numbered 16 and 17 strike the same strings to produce the notes e? and e. Some other fretted notes shown in the picture include: keys 18 and 19 (f and f?), keys 20 and 21 (g and g?]), keys 23 and 24 (b? and b), and keys 25 and 26 (middle c and c?). Figure 31 is also a detail from this clavichord.

The Smithsonian clavichord shown in Figures 35 and 36, in unrestored condition, is typical of the large unfretted instruments that became standard in Germany by the mid-18th century and for which Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach wrote many solo keyboard compositions.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 32. Fretted clavichord: Detail of fretting.

_Photo: Robert Lautman_.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 33. Fretted clavichord: Full view.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 34. Fretted clavichord: Plan view.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 35. Unfretted clavichord: Full view.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 36. Unfretted clavichord: Plan view.]

By the beginning of the 18th century the desire was strong for a more expressive keyboard instrument to use in ensembles. Harpsichord builders added new stops, devised special leather plectra, and added Venetian swell effects and other innovations to alter the sound of the harpsichord. But no matter what they did, they could not produce enough dynamic gradation to satisfy musical taste. The clavichord was capable of dynamic nuance, but it lacked carrying power.

Instrument builders, seeking to satisfy the demands created by the change in sensibility and musical taste, turned naturally to the domestic instruments they knew best-the harpsichord and clavichord-as the process of adaptation began. For this reason, as the pianoforte was developed and perfected, the general proportions and arrangement of the grand piano resembled those of the harpsichord. Similarly, the relation between the keyboard and strings, the scaling, and other features of the square piano resembled those of the clavichord.

By the beginning of the 19th century the pianoforte, an instrument capable of subtle changes between soft and loud, had become the most important domestic and concert keyboard instrument. After 1800 few clavichords or harpsichords were built or used until they were revived by early music enthusiasts at the end of the 19th century.

_Selected Bibliography_

BOALCH, DONALD. _Makers of the Harpsichord and Clavichord_. London: George Ronald, 1955.

HIRT, FRANZ JOSEF. _Meisterwerke des Klavierbaus_. Olten, Switzerland: Urs Graf-Verlag, 1955.

HUBBARD, FRANK. _Harpsichord Regulating and Repairing_. Boston: Tuner's Supply, Inc., 1963.

HUBBARD, FRANK. _Three Centuries of Harpsichord Making_. Cambridge, Ma.s.sachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1965.

JAMES, PHILIP. _Early Keyboard Instruments_. London: Peter Davies, 1930.

RIPIN, EDWIN M. "The Early Clavichord," _Musical Quarterly_, 53(4) (October 1967): 518-538.

RUSSELL, RAYMOND. _The Harpsichord and the Clavichord_. London: Faber and Faber, 1959.

SHORTRIDGE, JOHN D. "Italian Harpsichord-Building in the 16th and 17th Centuries."? _United States National Museum Bulletin_, 225 (15): 93-107, 1960.