The Harpsichord

The history of harpsichord making can be traced to the history of two main schools. One school consisted of independent but similar methods of harpsichord making in Italy and the Spanish Peninsula. The second school was inspired by the makers in Italy and was founded in Antwerp. Most of the instrument makers of France, England, and Germany patterned their instruments from the Antwerp school. Scholarly studies of harpsichords built in Italy were the dominant instruments before 1590 although many of the earliest documents that refer to plucked keyboard instruments are French or Burgundian in origin. The craftsmen of Antwerp were supervised in the standard of their work by Guilds. Instrument makers had no guild of their own until 1558. To decorate the cases of their instruments, makers were obliged to seek admission to the Guild of St. Luke’s that controlled the activities of painters. In 1557, ten makers petitioned the Deacon of the Guild of St. Luke’s to be admitted as harpsichord makers and not as artists. After the craftsman’s position was established and the standard was secured, apprentices began to study in the masters’ shops. The new establishment of the Guild led to prosperity and the birth of a national school. Since Antwerp was a great trading center in the sixteenth century, instruments were exported to all countries of Northern Europe. The healthy trade in Antwerp exposed harpsichord makers to Italian instruments that were very popular during the early sixteenth century. Flemish harpsichords are in fact very similar to Italian instruments with some important differences that will be mentioned later. One very influential family of Flemish harpsichord makers who were members of the Guild was the Ruckers family, founded during the mid-sixteenth century by Hans Ruckers. The family business flourished throughout the late sixteenth and seventeenth century and became renowned throughout Western Europe. The harpsichords of eighteenth century France were mainly based on the model set by the Ruckers family from the previous century with some important differences and improvements. Restoration, or ravalement, of these Ruckers harpsichords was also quite popular. Many were lengthened and widened with some changes made to registers, quills, etc. To understand harpsichord design and craft of eighteenth — century France, it is necessary to discuss the harpsichords created by the Ruckers family.

During eighteenth-century France, one family of harpsichord makers, namely the Blanchet family, was renowned for their restoration to and refinements of the Ruckers design. Many of the harpsichords built in France were destroyed during the time of the French Revolution, but there are a few that remain today and have been well documented. Two bear the insignias of Nicolas Blanchet. One instrument is undated and is located in Paris, France. The second instrument, dated from 1730, bears the inscription N. et Francois Blanchet. This harpsichord is privately owned by Charles Fischer in Framington, Mass. Another harpsichord bears the initials and insignia of Pascal Taskin, a renowned builder within the Blanchet dynasty. One of Pascal’s harpsichords that is dated 1769 and located at the University of Edinburgh is still in beautiful playing condition. After a brief background and basic description of the mechanics of the harpsichord, comparisons will be made between the Ruckers design and the design of certain harpsichords of the Blanchet family, especially the well-studied and preserved Taskin harpsichord of 1769, to notice the similarities and differences respectively.

 

Home | Firma | Instrumenten | Verzierungen | Audio | Konzertverleih | Referenzen | Neuheiten | Kontakt