What other questions do you have about the differences between harpsichords from different countries and time periods? Let me know with a comment below!
@@hoihoihoihoihoihoihoihoi Unfortunately I don't, though it's definitely something I'll look into in the future! As far as I know, the Spanish were not major players in the harpsichord building scene, but certainly had and build harpsichords like all the other countries in Europe (and produced some great harpsichord/keyboard composers, such as Antonio de Cabezón in the 16th century and Juan Bautista Cabanilles in the 17th century).
@@harpsichord Spain had another great great composer for the harpsichord: Antonio Soler, a catholic priest, who wrote dozens of Spanish style music for the harpsichord, whose bright pieces where Infuenced by Domenico Scarlatti music, and today Soler 's harpsichord music is considered as good as Scarlatti 's one.
I have a rough idea of how different instruments sound, but I'd like to know what specifically to listen out for so I can be more quick and decisive in identifying what kind of harpsichord is being played I'd be ever so grateful if you made a video on that!
A couple of corrections larger 16c Italian instruments originally with 4 ' were originally strung in iron like flemish instruments eg Trasuntino and Baffo they were later converted to brass. There are many Italian harpsichords with spruce soundboards as well as cypress.
Fantastic episode, as always! I'd be very curious to learn about claviorgana and if there were as many variations on them. And I'm curious to what extent construction and string material affect the playing.
Thank you for your comment and I apologize for my slow reply! As for claviorgana, I know essentially nothing about them, but that would for sure be a topic I should learn more about! As for differences in feel and playing, instruments that are strung in all brass (like Italian harpsichords) do definitely have a different feel in the hand because of the lower tension on the strings. They also tend to have a shallower key well--i.e., you the keys are set to not depress as far as on other instruments--which means that you generally have to play them more toward the edge of the keys to get the instrument to speak consistently. Other differences that affect playing include width of the keys themselves, which I didn't discuss in the video itself because I'm actually not sure if it's a distinctive trait based on country. In my personal experience, however, French instruments tend to have narrower keys than Italian harpsichords, in particular, which can make it hard to transition instruments suddenly without hitting a bunch of wrong notes because the hand sizes you need are enough different when then keys are wider or narrower. Those are the two differences that come to mind right away, but there are definitely other differences, too!
Dear Alice, A very informative and detailed video. Concerning repertoire, ideally which sort of instrument would make for the most versatile playing, of pieces from all times?
Hello friend. Question. What type of harpsichord did Domenico Scarlatti compose his sonatas on. I got introduced to D Scarlatti through my classical guitar studies and have ever since been in love with virginals/ harpsichords etc. But in my world (of guitar) I always get conflicting reports. My guess is an early Flemish style? But built in Italy before such knowledge migrated to the UK? Maestro Scarlatti lived in Italy but ended up in Spain where he composed much of his now beloved Sonatas . Any light you can shed on this is most excellent. Much love. Robert
7:08 Sorry , but " grand ravalement " do not mean "great restoration " . Grand ravalement means going down further on the keyboard. In French , upstream is amont and downstream is aval . So , by going lower on their French instruments - meaning more bass keys than Flemish instruments, French consider they would go further downstream than their northern neighbors . To transform instruments this way , of course, it is a transformation of the instrument . Restoration mean to bring the instrument back to its original condition like bringing an oil painting to its original colors. Restoration is one thing and ravalement is another one .
Ana magdalena bach's book is a very good place to start, besides, you can play some pieces from "a choice of lessons for the harpshicord or spinet" by h. Purcell You can also start from correte pieces pour le clavesin, his pieces are mostly relaxed in exigency
I answered more fully on your comment on another video, but I'll put it here also in case anyone else wants to know: I use the Cleartune app, which is super versatile and very cheap (currently $3.99 in the App Store)!
IMO the explanation about virginals and spinets is not quite correct. Virginals are all the instruments with angled stringing, in contrast to harpsichords, which are strung perpendicularly. Virginals can be divided into two types: the one with the keyboard to the right of the instrument is called 'muselaer'. This implies that the strings are plucked in the middle, in contrast to the other type, which is called 'spinet'. Here the keyboard is found to the left of the instrument and the strings are therefor plucked close to the bridge, regardless the form of the case being rectangular or of the bentside type. The tone properties of both the types are very different as are the playing possibilities due to the different amplitudes of the vibrating strings. Cheers, Willem
Dear Alice! As allways: great video! I have two questions/suggestions for future videos: 1. I'd really like a video about trills on the harpsichord (from a technical perspective). 2. A video about free ornamentation/diminution within baroque pieces would be perfect! You know, not how to play the trill signs etc. but how to add ornamentations not written in the sheet music. Greetings from germany
Great videos, thanks for the information. I had no idea about many of the examples. There are 3 instruments that called my attention, the double manual, the triple manual and the mother and child virginal. I still have my concerns about timbre and how somehow in the 18th century, counterpoint music could have been played intentionally with different colors. That and the fact that there is no such thing as standardized instruments blew my mind. Where did you get your instrument from? Greetings
Wonderful history of a wonderful instrument. Thank you. Do you have any knowledge or understanding of who invented the keyboard layout specifically? I have not been able to find any details on who created the 2 and 3 key layout. Since the organ came before harpsichord…I can’t find any answers:( any insight would be appreciated!
Hi Alice, the Harpsichord I'm getting actually has a Pedal Board like a Pipe Organ so I can play Organ pieces on a Harpsichord, it's called Pedal Harpsichord.
Italy has always existed as a geographical term since the most ancient times, so much so that the etymology of the word 'Italia' is now lost. The diverse and often conflicting states on the land hadn't seen unity for more than a millennium at that point, but the cultural interconnections were there nonetheless. Think of today's Balkans: a bunch of states with perfect autonomy from one another, but which present some strong degrees of cultural common ground. They were also once united under a bigger political entity that then disintegrated. A united nation you could call "Balkania" isn't a thing right now, but you can already describe something as "balkanic". "Balkanic" is a concept that already exists. So yeah if you're confused whenever you read Bach writing "Concerto Italiano", think of an artist creating a "balkanic" work in our day and age.
Thanks a lot for the great video! I recently purchased a very nice spinet. However, it is not bentside. That is, all sides are perfectly straight so that the entire spinet has a triangular shape, except from the keyboard, which sticks out like in the Italian-style virginals you mentioned. Do you know if such "straight-side" spinets are historically accurate?
how much did you purchase for and where did you buy it, if you don't mind me asking? I'm looking for one but have not come across anything affordable sadly
@@chloe-ev3qk Sure! I'm glad to answer any question. I bought it in Germany. It belonged to a young lady who inherited it from her grandmother and didn't play it herself. I found it online without a listed price. I talked to the owner and she wanted someone to have the spinet who'd take good care of it. In the end she gave it to me for around 350 USD. It was in great shape, I only had to retune it many times and regulate the mechanisms. I'm very happy with it these days and love its sound! Depending on the country you live in, you might be able to find a similar offer online. I myself subscribed to the keyword "spinet" and immediately got the notification once the offer was uploaded. Hope that helps! Let me know if you have more questions :)
I was really hoping this video would have some sound samples of the different instruments. I recently acquired a 1974 BWM Benn (Minneapolis maker) double manual harpsichord that I think is a French replica, but my knowledge isn't sufficient to know for sure. It has two 8' and one 4' choirs, buff stop, shove coupler, and four sets of jacks. The strings appear to be steel in the soprano, alto, and tenor, and the bass strings are brass. The action is so jacked up (pun intended) that I'm going to have to 3D print a complete set of new jacks, tongues, and plectra for it in order to make it playable, as the maker is now retired. Sorry, tangent. Is there any chance you might be able to make a video in which you play the same piece on a wide variety of different instruments to demonstrate the practical and acoustic differences between them?
I love the rare incorporation of the Venetian Swell on very late English harpsichords, to compete with the demand for dynamics when the pianoforte was emerging
If the keyboard of a virginal is to the right then it may be referred to as a Muselar. The plucking point is different producing a different tone. A most exellent summary of development and types of harpsichords. Many thanks.
All very interesting but basically a slide show of pics of various well known harpsichords and a narrated description as to how they sound. It would be much less boring if we could hear the actual instruments or similar ones ,I take it you live in the northern hemisphere and should be able to access instruments in collections. Down here in Australia original harpsichords are extremely rare and as overseas travel is now nearly impossible a tour of good examples would be much appreciated
I new little to nothing about this topic so I found it interesting, if you already know this much about a topic do your own research and if you love it enough take a trip to play the instrument, don’t go in the comments and be a dick
Nest time you post a video , watch it yourself , first . Here , we can't here the voice . For that : thumbs down !!!!! Amateur work !!!!!Unacceptable !!!!
What other questions do you have about the differences between harpsichords from different countries and time periods? Let me know with a comment below!
know much about spanish?
@@hoihoihoihoihoihoihoihoi Unfortunately I don't, though it's definitely something I'll look into in the future! As far as I know, the Spanish were not major players in the harpsichord building scene, but certainly had and build harpsichords like all the other countries in Europe (and produced some great harpsichord/keyboard composers, such as Antonio de Cabezón in the 16th century and Juan Bautista Cabanilles in the 17th century).
@@harpsichord Spain had another great great composer for the harpsichord: Antonio Soler, a catholic priest, who wrote dozens of Spanish style music for the harpsichord, whose bright pieces where Infuenced by Domenico Scarlatti music, and today Soler 's harpsichord music is considered as good as Scarlatti 's one.
I have a rough idea of how different instruments sound, but I'd like to know what specifically to listen out for so I can be more quick and decisive in identifying what kind of harpsichord is being played
I'd be ever so grateful if you made a video on that!
Great video! Do you have a video or recommend videos that have audio clips with the sound differences between various styles of building?
This channel is underrated
Agreed!
Extremely underrated
Agreed
A couple of corrections larger 16c Italian instruments originally with 4 ' were originally strung in iron like flemish instruments eg Trasuntino and Baffo they were later converted to brass. There are many Italian harpsichords with spruce soundboards as well as cypress.
This video was great, thanks! I'm personally very curious about harpsichords with pedal boards and would love to see a video about that.
Thank you so very much for your outstanding presentations!
A truly excellent and concise explanation of the history of the harpsichord!
What an amazing channel on baroque music. Thanks for sharing.
Wonderful video. I've been inventing in my mind a way to make a harpsichord with variable volume dynamics. It's something I've been thinking about for many years. I draw inspiration from being a guitarist. When you hold a plectrum (i.e. pick) tightly between your thumb and finger, it creates more stiffness and therefore a louder sound as more tension is built up from the pick on the string before the pick moves past and the string releases. So I thought: What if you could use a harpsichord pedal mechanism to create increased tension on the tongues which hold the plectra? Basically it would pull a string (more like nylon fishing line, extremely strong and light) which would put tension on a clamp mechanism that made the tongue stiffer so that more tension would build up before releasing. The clamp mechanism would function very similar to bicycle hand brakes, and "all the hand brakes" to all the keys would be activated simultaneously by the pedal.
I know it's not likely that anyone will steal this idea and profit from it, and I'd love for it to actually be built, but all the same: The information contained in this comment is the intellectual property of Adam Colbert i.e. Adam Colbert Music ©2023 all rights reserved
Great presentation, comprehensive and informative! Thank you!
Excellent, high quality content.
Fantastic episode, as always!
I'd be very curious to learn about claviorgana and if there were as many variations on them.
And I'm curious to what extent construction and string material affect the playing.
Thank you for your comment and I apologize for my slow reply!
As for claviorgana, I know essentially nothing about them, but that would for sure be a topic I should learn more about!
As for differences in feel and playing, instruments that are strung in all brass (like Italian harpsichords) do definitely have a different feel in the hand because of the lower tension on the strings. They also tend to have a shallower key well--i.e., you the keys are set to not depress as far as on other instruments--which means that you generally have to play them more toward the edge of the keys to get the instrument to speak consistently.
Other differences that affect playing include width of the keys themselves, which I didn't discuss in the video itself because I'm actually not sure if it's a distinctive trait based on country. In my personal experience, however, French instruments tend to have narrower keys than Italian harpsichords, in particular, which can make it hard to transition instruments suddenly without hitting a bunch of wrong notes because the hand sizes you need are enough different when then keys are wider or narrower.
Those are the two differences that come to mind right away, but there are definitely other differences, too!
@@harpsichord Thank you very much for the enlightening explanation!
And absolutely nothing to either thank me or be sorry for.
Do you have a video where you play each of the types of harpsichords? Thank you!
Great, thank you!
Dear Alice,
A very informative and detailed video. Concerning repertoire, ideally which sort of instrument would make for the most versatile playing, of pieces from all times?
so is the instrument you play a virginal?
yes it is
Can you do a video on gut-strung harpsichords?
Hello friend. Question. What type of harpsichord did Domenico Scarlatti compose his sonatas on. I got introduced to D Scarlatti through my classical guitar studies and have ever since been in love with virginals/ harpsichords etc. But in my world (of guitar) I always get conflicting reports. My guess is an early Flemish style? But built in Italy before such knowledge migrated to the UK? Maestro Scarlatti lived in Italy but ended up in Spain where he composed much of his now beloved Sonatas . Any light you can shed on this is most excellent. Much love. Robert
Check out the Japanned appearance of that Flemish harpsichord at 7:00" !
7:08 Sorry , but " grand ravalement " do not mean "great restoration " . Grand ravalement means going down further on the keyboard. In French , upstream is amont and downstream is aval . So , by going lower on their French instruments - meaning more bass keys than Flemish instruments, French consider they would go further downstream than their northern neighbors .
To transform instruments this way , of course, it is a transformation of the instrument . Restoration mean to bring the instrument back to its original condition like bringing an oil painting to its original colors. Restoration is one thing and ravalement is another one .
What is the easiest music to play on a harpsichord? I want to get one but I'm not a good musician.
Ana magdalena bach's book is a very good place to start, besides, you can play some pieces from "a choice of lessons for the harpshicord or spinet" by h. Purcell
You can also start from correte pieces pour le clavesin, his pieces are mostly relaxed in exigency
I read some harpsichords had rounded keys,but couldn't find any representation and source,what do you think?thank you!
Ooops, I didn't mean the UK. I meant Belgium or there abouts.
what app do you use to tune your harpsichord?
I answered more fully on your comment on another video, but I'll put it here also in case anyone else wants to know: I use the Cleartune app, which is super versatile and very cheap (currently $3.99 in the App Store)!
@@harpsichord yes! Thank you, Alice!
intro music name?
It's the "Jigg" from Handel's Suite in e minor, HWV 438. Here's a link to me playing the whole movement: ua-cam.com/video/IjCMCLlBK3w/v-deo.html
@@harpsichord thanks
IMO the explanation about virginals and spinets is not quite correct. Virginals are all the instruments with angled stringing, in contrast to harpsichords, which are strung perpendicularly. Virginals can be divided into two types: the one with the keyboard to the right of the instrument is called 'muselaer'. This implies that the strings are plucked in the middle, in contrast to the other type, which is called 'spinet'. Here the keyboard is found to the left of the instrument and the strings are therefor plucked close to the bridge, regardless the form of the case being rectangular or of the bentside type. The tone properties of both the types are very different as are the playing possibilities due to the different amplitudes of the vibrating strings.
Cheers, Willem
Less talk and more music, please.
I think this is possibly the most boring video I have ever watched in my life.
Dear Alice!
As allways: great video!
I have two questions/suggestions for future videos:
1. I'd really like a video about trills on the harpsichord (from a technical perspective).
2. A video about free ornamentation/diminution within baroque pieces would be perfect! You know, not how to play the trill signs etc. but how to add ornamentations not written in the sheet music.
Greetings from germany
Thank you for these great suggestions! I think both would make great video ideas and I try to make something on them in upcoming videos!
There are Contemporary Harpsichords which have Foot Stop Pedals, & they made 3 Manual Harpsichords.
Before 18nd century, they built any instrument that mechanic allow.
What about virginals and clavichords. Did they differ from country to country... Very cool .. I guess I commented too quickly....
Great videos, thanks for the information.
I had no idea about many of the examples. There are 3 instruments that called my attention, the double manual, the triple manual and the mother and child virginal. I still have my concerns about timbre and how somehow in the 18th century, counterpoint music could have been played intentionally with different colors.
That and the fact that there is no such thing as standardized instruments blew my mind. Where did you get your instrument from?
Greetings
Wonderful history of a wonderful instrument. Thank you.
Do you have any knowledge or understanding of who invented the keyboard layout specifically? I have not been able to find any details on who created the 2 and 3 key layout. Since the organ came before harpsichord…I can’t find any answers:( any insight would be appreciated!
Hi Alice, the Harpsichord I'm getting actually has a Pedal Board like a Pipe Organ so I can play Organ pieces on a Harpsichord, it's called Pedal Harpsichord.
I loved this video - do u have another video where it shows each one how it sounds ?
Beautiful video.
Is it counterproductive to refer to countries like Italy and Germany that didn’t exist at the time?
Italy has always existed as a geographical term since the most ancient times, so much so that the etymology of the word 'Italia' is now lost.
The diverse and often conflicting states on the land hadn't seen unity for more than a millennium at that point, but the cultural interconnections were there nonetheless.
Think of today's Balkans: a bunch of states with perfect autonomy from one another, but which present some strong degrees of cultural common ground.
They were also once united under a bigger political entity that then disintegrated.
A united nation you could call "Balkania" isn't a thing right now, but you can already describe something as "balkanic". "Balkanic" is a concept that already exists.
So yeah if you're confused whenever you read Bach writing "Concerto Italiano", think of an artist creating a "balkanic" work in our day and age.
What is the name of the piece which starts at 00:37 please
I was wondering the same. In case you're still interested it's this piece ua-cam.com/video/IjCMCLlBK3w/v-deo.html
Thanks a lot for the great video!
I recently purchased a very nice spinet. However, it is not bentside. That is, all sides are perfectly straight so that the entire spinet has a triangular shape, except from the keyboard, which sticks out like in the Italian-style virginals you mentioned.
Do you know if such "straight-side" spinets are historically accurate?
Probably not. Pentagonal rather than triangular. It allows a more Pythagorean string lengths with adequate soundboard area.
how much did you purchase for and where did you buy it, if you don't mind me asking? I'm looking for one but have not come across anything affordable sadly
@@chloe-ev3qk Sure! I'm glad to answer any question.
I bought it in Germany. It belonged to a young lady who inherited it from her grandmother and didn't play it herself. I found it online without a listed price. I talked to the owner and she wanted someone to have the spinet who'd take good care of it. In the end she gave it to me for around 350 USD. It was in great shape, I only had to retune it many times and regulate the mechanisms. I'm very happy with it these days and love its sound!
Depending on the country you live in, you might be able to find a similar offer online. I myself subscribed to the keyword "spinet" and immediately got the notification once the offer was uploaded.
Hope that helps! Let me know if you have more questions :)
@@annulrsolformrkelse4023 wow! you're so lucky! the spinets I have found are 4,000 plus
@@chloe-ev3qk I'm sure you should be able to find a cheaper used one! Around 600USD might be realistic when you buy it directly from a previous owner.
I was really hoping this video would have some sound samples of the different instruments. I recently acquired a 1974 BWM Benn (Minneapolis maker) double manual harpsichord that I think is a French replica, but my knowledge isn't sufficient to know for sure. It has two 8' and one 4' choirs, buff stop, shove coupler, and four sets of jacks. The strings appear to be steel in the soprano, alto, and tenor, and the bass strings are brass. The action is so jacked up (pun intended) that I'm going to have to 3D print a complete set of new jacks, tongues, and plectra for it in order to make it playable, as the maker is now retired. Sorry, tangent. Is there any chance you might be able to make a video in which you play the same piece on a wide variety of different instruments to demonstrate the practical and acoustic differences between them?
What type of harpsichord did Domenico Scarlatti compose on? I always get conflicting reports. Thanks for your excellent channel.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge Dr Baldwin. I really enjoyed your video and have subscribed as a result. Many thanks once again
I love the rare incorporation of the Venetian Swell on very late English harpsichords, to compete with the demand for dynamics when the pianoforte was emerging
Thank you sharing your harpsichord knowledge with us. from Australia
If the keyboard of a virginal is to the right then it may be referred to as a Muselar. The plucking point is different producing a different tone.
A most exellent summary of development and types of harpsichords. Many thanks.
This incredible diversity is why I love early music. Is there a particular reason later (or maybe French-style) harpsichords have black naturals?
I have learned so much with this video. Thank you again!
All very interesting but basically a slide show of pics of various well known harpsichords and a narrated description as to how they sound. It would be much less boring if we could hear the actual instruments or similar ones ,I take it you live in the northern hemisphere and should be able to access instruments in collections. Down here in Australia original harpsichords are extremely rare and as overseas travel is now nearly impossible a tour of good examples would be much appreciated
I new little to nothing about this topic so I found it interesting, if you already know this much about a topic do your own research and if you love it enough take a trip to play the instrument, don’t go in the comments and be a dick
love your videos! thank you for sharing your knowledge, alice!
Thank you so much!
Very coolll
Thank you!
Nest time you post a video , watch it yourself , first . Here , we can't here the voice . For that : thumbs down !!!!! Amateur work !!!!!Unacceptable !!!!
????
Much bla,bla,bla and a few notes.
Dreadful video. Why don't you just play the different types of harpsichords from different countries and show us?
Are you stupid?