Clavichord

An anthology of English keyboard music c.1650-1695 containing pieces by Anon, John Blow, Albertus Bryne, John Cobb, Giovanni Battista Draghi, Robert King, Thomas Farmer, Francis Forcer, Orlando Gibbons, Daniel Henstridge, John Hingeston, Nicolas Lebègue, John Lenton, Matthew Locke, Jean-Baptiste Lully, Davis Mell and Robert Smith. The anonymous music includes pieces for organ, harpsichord dances and settings of contemporary theatre airs and ballad tunes. For a detailed review by Alan Brown see https://academic.oup.com/em/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/em/caz089/5643598

The task of interpreting the gauge marks found on antique harpsichords, clavichords and pianos is analyzed in the context of texts from the historical literature written by instrument makers themselves, passages which inform us as to the true nature of the challenges they faced, the meaning of these marks and the practical solutions they employed in controlling diameter.

The purpose of this project was to build a hammered clavisimbalum after Arnaut de Zwolle c. 1440 that will be used in actual musical practice rather than primarily advancing the corpus of organology knowledge regarding the original instrument. This paper is a companion to the instrument itself, presented at the 45th Clavichordtage of the Deutsche Clavichord Societät in Stade in September 2019. It provides technical details about the realisation of this project, started and completed in 2019.

Este artigo dá uma visão dos tipos de instrumentos de teclado que se desenvolveram desde a Antiguidade até o período Barroco, dando início a uma série de artigos a serem publicados na "Revista Teclas e Afins" (Brasil), no intuito de revisitar cada um destes instrumentos, com base em importantes publicações na área acadêmica.

This article gives an overview for types of keyboard instruments developed since the antiquity to the Baroque era, starting a series of articles to be published on "Revista Teclas e Afins" (Brazil), in order to revisit each one of these instruments with basis on important academic area publications.

Clavichord No. 10 was described by its maker Arnold Dolmetsch as a ‘small clavichord of original and graceful proportions.' It was decorated by Edward Burne-Jones with female forms, motifs and Latin text. On the soundboard, for instance, we can see a stooping woman picking flowers, an image described by Burne-Jones' daughter, Margaret ‘as the lovely flower gatherer’. This presentation examines the clavichord’s decorative images to understand what they reveal about Burne-Jones’ relationship with his daughter within the wider context of Victorian perceptions of ideal femininity.

Edición facsímil del Libro llamado Arte de tañes fantasía de fray Tomás de Santa María (1565), según los ejemplares conservados en la Biblioteca de la Universidad de Barcelona (A-P6, 0700CM-4125-(V.1) y Biblioteca Nacional de Madrid (M-15088), con estudio preliminar de Luis Antonio González Marín

Teniendo en cuenta la autenticidad, la pertenencia al registro español y su ambigüedad tonal, se han listado un grupo de sonatas que se pueden considerar como 'españolas', debido a la influencia de la música popular andaluza presente en ellas.

The "librum Baudeceti" (book of Baudecetus) in Arnaut de Zwolle's c.1440 manuscript, from which instructions for a clavichord are taken, is probably refers to Baude Cordier or Baude Fresnel de Rains, a harp player employed at the Burgundian court until his death (in 1397/8). The instructions for Baude's clavichord division are not the basis of Arnaut's better-known clavichord design (B-b², 37 notes). An order of work is established, which is different from the present binding of the manuscript, with Arnaut's clavichord preceding the clavisimbalum and Baude's design. Baude describes a well-ordered division of a monochord starting at c, comprising 35 notes. This could be interpreted as a c-f² compass (only 30 notes), but understanding the 35 notes to refer to the entire Guidonian range in use (F,G,A-f²). Evidence from the c.1390 Norrlanda organ, from treatises (c.1430), Arnolt Schlick (1511), and Praetorius (1619) show that B♭ was played from a "white" key, which explains the compass of a pedal clavichord (c.1464). This information allows us to interpret Baude's compass as c-b♭², with b♭² as a "white" note for Baude's clavichord, exactly 35 notes. Although a firm conclusion for the compass is not possible, this study collates information on the use and conception of the keyboard from 1390 to 1511. Arnaut de Zwolle's instructions for making a clavichord (c.1440) are usually held to be the first practical description, at least of those which have survived to our time. In his manuscript Arnaut also reports on a design from a "librum Baudeceti" (book of Baudecetus), which must have pre-dated his own instrument. It is therefore interesting to examine these instructions more closely in order to see what can be gleaned about the development of clavichords before Arnaut's time.

An unsigned Italian harpsichord, no. 175 (W385), has an unusual string scale design. The only secure conclusion is that the scale design is Pythagorean for the string length between the plucking point and bridge. The original compass is still unknown, both F,G-f3 and C,D-c3 are possible.

Keywords: Royal College of Music no. 175, Pythagorean, Berti-Cristofori, clavicytherium, Kukelka, Arnaut de Zwolle, clavisimbalum, Ferrini

Presented at the 44. Clavichordtage ·of the Deutsche Clavichord Societät in co-operation with the Musikwissenschaftlichen Seminar der Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Göttingen, 2–4 November 2018. The paper gives a detailed description of the clavichord made in Frankfurt am Main in 1670 by Israel Gellinger. The instrument, in spite of the damages it has endured, is a valuable witness of keyboard instruments making in Germany during the middle of the seventeenth century. It is one of the rare extant historical keyboard instruments made in Frankfurt am Main. It has not been modified in its essential parts since its construction.

The discrepancy between Arnaut's clavicordium drawing and the instructions
for making the instrument is not explained by an error in the layout, nor
by Strohmayer’s hypothesis of related clavisimbalum - clavicordium sizes, but is the result of Arnault’s ignoring the instructions (which he might have taken from an earlier source) and using a keyboard width 2/3 of the case length

The paper provides new measurements, drawings and photographs of the clavichord on the Urbino intarsia (ca. 1479), including details unpublished until now, together with accurate dimensional measures. This contribution shows how the perspective of the studiolo can be reversed and how the dimensions of the „real‟ clavichord can be determined with a high level of certainty. It is demonstrated that the perspective drawn by Baccio Pontelli in 1479 is perfect: there is no need to postulate neither any distortion of perspective nor the co-existence of different types of perspectives. The author deduces from the new measurements the dimensions of the „real‟ clavichord: outer and inner dimensions, rack, keyboard, bridge, etc. Some dimensions published previously need to be amended. The paper ends with conclusions with respect to organological issues re. the Urbino clavichord: regular fretting 3-4, Pythagorean temperament.

This dissertation is a comprehensive study of two Arnold Dolmetsch clavichords, Nos. 8 and 10, which are decorated with female forms and motifs. They were produced in 1897, during the late nineteenth- century revival of early music and musical instruments. It investigates the idea, suggested by their distinctive case decoration, that the clavichord was a ‘feminine instrument’ essentially used by women. Through a detailed interpretation of their case iconography and performance practice it demonstrates how the Dolmetsch clavichords were enmeshed in the constructions of late-nineteenth century notions of femininity and gender identity.

Instrumentos renascentistas de cordas múltiplas percutidas se distinguem pela ação da tecla como martelo ou tangente. Ao final do século XV, o tratado "Liber proportionum musicalium" de Arnaut deZwolle apresenta plantas detalhadas para a construção de quatro instrumentos de teclado: dulce melos, clavicórdio, clavisymbalum e órgão. Nesses estágios de experimentação, a ideia de mecanizar instrumentos já existentes - como harpas, saltérios, dulcimers e monocórdios - pela incorporação de um teclado baseava-se no princípio original de produção sonora do instrumento, ou seja, por plectros (como em alaúdes e saltérios), martelos (no em dulcimers e sinos) e tangentes (como no monocórdio). Neste artigo, são discutidos dois tipos de duloce melos e dois tipos de clavicórdios.

In this Graduate thesis, my subject is the importance of playing the clavichord as a
precondition for sufficient playing of the piano, harpsichord, and organ. The subject is
conceived in four main parts. Firstly, I will put the clavichord into the historical context
of the 18th century in which it was widely popular. Secondly, I will explain the
mechanics of clavichord from which all the conclusion will be derived for influence on
other keyboard instruments (piano, harpsichord, and organ). In the final part, I will
present historical records as arguments for conclusions of the previous part, as to get
the full perspective of all aspects on the importance of the clavichord for other
keyboard instruments.
I used expert literature and historical treatises on both English and German language
and expert magazine which deal with subjects about clavichord.

This manual sets out to analyse and tackle the key problems posed by harpsichord technique, presented in order of difficulty; the principles outlined can be applied with just a few modifications to the clavichord and the fortepiano. The student will find three types of musical excerpts: purely technical exercises, which isolate the specific movement to be mastered; short fragments - what François Couperin styled évolutions ¬- in which the movement is practised in a more authentic context; and studies which are more complex in scope. I have chosen not to start from the elementary stage, since this is dealt with in other methods, but rather to go in some detail into the intermediate and advanced levels. The material has been largely transcribed or adapted from the harpsichord repertoire; in some cases I have composed it myself.

Paper commissioned by the Conservatorio Nacional Superior de Música of Buenos Aires, Argentina, where the author was at the time Professor of Harpsichord.

Please find an updated version as section
8.4 WAS J.S. BACH A CLAVICHORDIST OR EVEN A PIANIST?, pp. 190-193 of
"Playing the Baroque Harpsichord", 2nd ed., 2014.
See http://play.braybaroque.ie/