Instruments of Roman Sukac & Michael Scheer

ONE MANUAL HARPSICHORDS

The one manual harpsichord according to Giovanni da Pertici, Firenze 1681 (cembalo da theatro)

 

The developped harpsichord from 1681 shows some specials which can be find again on South German and South French harpsichords: both bridges are situated (like on virginals) on an activ soundboard and the ribbing is almost rectangular below the bridge. With compass C/E-f''' and two registers everything points to a "cembalo da theatro", that means an instruments for accompaniment. The soundboard grain is as on lots of Italian instruments not 90° but 82° to the keyboard.

The rebuilding has been extended to the full octave in the bass and provided with transposing possibilities 392/415/440 Hz.

According to an anonymous Italian harpsichord (Francesco Neri da Rimini?), anonymous approx. 1692 (cembalo da camera)

 

It's a big harpsichord of the Venice style, now hosted in the Smithsonian collection. Because of the stringing and measurements it has much similarity with the Opus 10 of Francesco Neri (a Domenican monk in Rimini) which is in a depot in Kolodeje nod Luzuici in the Czech Republic. The instrument of the Smithsonian collection and also the rebuildings are very brilliant in sound. They belong to the "Cembalo da camera" type with their both 8’ registers and the astonishing big ambitus (GG-d''').

The mechanic of Francesco Neri's Opus 10 of has been changed several times: the first radical change was the removal of the harpsichord mechanic. It was replaced by free flying tangents - gided in slides - from wood which had a piece of brass wire on top. As the height of the instruments were not very high, the speeding up possibilities for the tangents with their little mass were very restricted and so the pianoforte effect was not very impressive. So there was a second reconstruciton about 1702 to a clavichord. In this condition the instrument is at present.

The rebuilding of this instrument tries to not give up one of this both possibilities: harpsichord playing with the jack mechanic and also the dynamic tangent playing is possible.

The one manual harpsichord according to Hans Moermans, Antwerpen 1584

 

It seems that there were two harpsichord makers called Hans or Jan Moermans in Antwerp, the big centre of the Flandern harpsichord building during the 16th and 17th century. Maybe they were father and son. In 1570 the older joined the St. Lukas-Gilde as harpsichord maker. In that time the St. Lukas-Gilde in Antwerp was the guild for the harpsichord builders - also the very famous Ruckers family was organized there. Hans Moermans lived in "op de Cathelijnevest, Int gulden Serpent" in 1584. Exactly in that time he built this harpsichord - here present as rebuilding - which's rose is signed with the initials H M. It has been a note in 1610 that he not only built instruments but also sang (bass) in chorus of the O. L. Vrouve Kerk (church of our beloved wife).

The instrument built in 1584 belonged to Alphonose von Neste and was restored from F. Hubbard in Boston in 1963. It's a one manual harpsichord with 4’ and 8’. The compass G/B-f''', nearly 5 octaves, is expectional large for that time.

The rebuilding was extended in compass (contra F-f''') and has the transposing possibilities 392/415/440 Hz. The disposition is 2x 8’ + buff stop. The strings are from cupper (red brass), brass and soft iron wire, which has been drawn in historical way and diameters. The inside of this instrument is decorated with the typical Flemish ornament prints on Japanese paper, the outside is stained dark and waxed. The register levers and lid hinges are forged from iron and waxed. The instrument has a big Flemish baluster-stand.