Double manual harpsichord mechanism

On this instrument the first row of jacks is operated by the upper-manual keys and each jack has a plectrum on its right side used to pluck the strings of one of the 8-foot choirs; the second row of jacks, operated by the 61 keys in the lower manual, have plectrums on their left side for plucking the 4-foot choir strings; and the third row of jacks, also operated by the keys in the lower manual, likewise have left . On harpsichords with two keyboards (double-manual), the player can activate different sets of strings, one set that produces loud tones and another set that produces soft tones. Knobs or levers on the front of the harpsichord allowed the player to shift from one set of strings (called a "choir") to another, to dampen the strings, or to couple the strings together -- that is, to make two tones an octave apart . When Andreas Ruckers made this double-keyboard harpsichord in it was fit for a queen. A century after it had been owned by Queen Christina of Sweden the instrument was converted to a piano, a major operation that involved removing a keyboard and replacing the entire internal mechanism.

A typical two-manual harpsichord of the 18th century had strings at normal and octave-high pitch playable on the lower manual, strings at normal pitch controlled by the upper manual, and a coupling mechanism. The earliest school of harpsichord building developed in Italy in the 16th and 17th centuries. Italian harpsichords differed from others in that they normally were made of extremely thin wood and then placed in a stronger outer case of the same shape. This instrument was made by Benoist Stehlin of Paris in the mids, the golden era of French harpsichord manufacture. Austrian-born, Stehlin lived in relative obscurity, devoting his life to the building of harpsichords. This is one of three known to survive. Another (dated ) is at the Museé Antoine Lecuyer in St. Quentin, France, and a third (dated ) at the Musikinstrumenten. A two-manual harpsichord by Jacob and Abraham Kirckman, London The case of mahogany, the sides with slab-cut panels with stained fruitwood, holly stringing and quarter-cut mahogany crossbanding, the lid with shaped brass strap hinges, the keywell with burr walnut facia and cheeks, the soundboard with inset gilt rose pierced and carved with King David playing the harp flanked by the maker’s initials, the five octave keyboard, FF [sic] to f3, with ivory naturals and ebony accidentals.

pedal mechanism on his harpsichord replaced by hand stops because he was No.2) both on a Joseph Kirckman double-manual harpsichord and on a. Stops and Swell mechanisms on English and French harpsichords In it he chose to concentrate on double-manual instruments when. The Harpsichord Owner's Guide: A Manual for Buyers and Owners French double-manual harpsichords have a coupling mechanism, in which either the top.