CYNTHIA A. HOOVER
DIVISION OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY
Harpsichords and Clavichords
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION PRESS
CITY OF WASHINGTON
1969
Cover: Virginal by Giovanni Battista Boni, 1617 (see pages 22-25)
Photo: Robert Lautman
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office
Washington, D.C. 20402 Price 40 cents
Harpsichords and Clavichords
The harpsichord and the clavichord represent the two mostimportant types of stringed keyboard instruments used fromthe 15th through the 18th centuries. By the 19th century, thepiano had become the most important domestic keyboardinstrument.
In this booklet are described a few of the restored Smithsonianharpsichords and clavichords that are occasionally onexhibit in the Hall of Musical Instruments or in use in theseries of concerts sponsored by the Division of Musical Instruments.Models showing how the sound is produced on theseinstruments are also on exhibit.
A complete list of the keyboard collection is found inA Checklist of Keyboard Instruments at the Smithsonian Institution(Washington, 1967), which is available from the Division ofMusical Instruments, Smithsonian Institution, Washington ,D.C. 20560.
Harpsichords
The harpsichord and its smaller relatives, the virginal andthe spinet, have strings that are plucked. The harpsichord iswing-shaped, most virginals and spinets are either rectangularor polygonal.
When the harpsichord key is pressed, a wooden jack israised so that a quill or leather plectrum inserted into the jacktongue plucks the string. When the key is released, the jackfalls back into place, the pivoted tongue allowing the plectrumto pass the string without plucking it. A felt damper (insertedin a slit at the top of the jack) touches the string to stop thesound.
Figure 1 shows the jack arrangement in an 18th centuryEnglish spinet. The second jack from the left on the front rowhas been raised so that its quill is just about to pluck thestring. Note that the quill has lifted the string above its restposition.
Inherent in the design of a harpsichord is the limitation ofdynamic nuance. The sound of a harpsichord is not greatlyaltered by increasing or lessening the impact of fingers on thekeys. Rather, the dynamic level and quality of sound can bechanged by varying the number of strings plucked (many harpsichordshave three sets of strings: two sets tuned in unison [8′]and a third tuned an octave higher [4′]), by varying the locationof the plucking point, and by muting the strings with feltor leather pads.
The tone of a keyboard instrument is also affected by its5general outline, the material and thickness of the soundboard,the length and material of the strings, and the type of caseconstruction. The case must be strong enough to counteract thetension of the strings and yet light enough to allow the sound toresonate.