wmartin@brl-tgr.ARPA (Will Martin ) (09/13/84)
I was watching the "Live from Lincoln Center" "Bach to Bach" concert last night on PBS, and noticed something I found odd when they showed a shot of the harpsichordist's hands as he played. The harpsichord he was using had two keyboards; he played mostly on the bottom one. However, as he played this one, some of the keys on the upper keyboard moved also, though no one touched them. In other shots, you could see that there were no pedals (I had first wondered if he was playing something with his feet that was connected in parallel with the upper keyboard, but that was wrong). Are the two keyboards of this sort of harpsichord connected together somehow, so that pressing one key also moves its corresponding one on the other set? What is the purpose of the two sets of keys, then? Will Martin seismo!brl-bmd!wmartin or wmartin@almsa-1.ARPA
ron@brl-tgr.ARPA (Ron Natalie <ron>) (09/14/84)
There may be a device on harpsichords similar to what there is on organs. On organs it's called a coupler and is sometimes used to gang two different keyboards together or octaves in the same keyboard. Sometimes it involves moving the keys of the slaved keyboard, and some times it just works internally somehow. -Ron
ark@rabbit.UUCP (Andrew Koenig) (09/16/84)
There are many different ways to arrange the keyboards and string choirs on a harpsichord. Rather than generalize, I will first describe the layout on my harpsichord, a Zuckermann Flemish Double, built in 1980 by Edward Brewer. I believe this instrument is similar to, although slightly smaller than, the ones used in the recent Lincoln Center concerts. In fact, Kenneth Cooper says in the program notes that Edward Brewer had a hand in building the harpsichord that he played at these concerts. My harpsichord has two keyboards, each extending from the G two and a half octaves below middle C to the D slightly more than two octaves above middle C. Each keyboard thus has 56 keys. There are three complete sets of strings (called "choirs"), for 168 strings in all. Two of the choirs play at nominal pitch, and are called the "8' strings;" the third are shorter and play an octave above the other two (and are called the "4' strings"). I believe that the length is related to the legth of an organ pipe that plays some standard pitch. Each string is plucked by a device called a jack. This is a little hard to describe without pictures. It's a long skinny affair with a tiny plectrum protruding from the side and a felt damper coming out the same side a little further on. Ordinarily, it hangs from the string by its damper, and is held in place horizontally by running through a channel just big enough to fit (called a register). The bottom of the jack rests on the far end of the key, which is just a long lever whose fulcrum is well behind the part you press with your fingers. When you press a key, the corresponding jack is lifted. This removes the damper from the string and also causes the plectrum to pluck the string so it sounds. When you let go of the key, the jack falls back with the damper touching the string, and the sound stops. Very simple. There are two 8' choirs because each is plucked in a different place. This affects the harmonic structure of the sound. The one that is plucked closer to the keyboard end of the instrument gives more high partials and results in a more "nasal" sound. You can easily demonstrate this effect for yourself on a guitar. Since the keyboard end of the instrument is called the front, the 8' strings that are plucked closer to the front are called the "front 8' strings," and the others are called the "back 8' strings." The 4' strings are essentially never used by themselves; they are there to lend extra brightness to the sound when desired. Enough about strings; on to keyboards. The top keyboard, which is slightly less comfortable to play than the bottom keyboard, is permanently connected to the front 8' strings, which give the more nasal sound. The back 8' strings are, and are intended to be, used more often than the front 8' strings. Their sound is more "normal." The bottom keyboard is connected to the back 8' strings and the 4' strings. To allow variations in sound, either of these connections can be effectively severed by moving levers, called stops, that protrude above the keyboard. These levers move the registers far enough that the plectra miss their strings, when then do not sound. One lever turns the back 8' strings on and off; the other turns the 4' strings on and off. When both are off, the bottom keyboard is silent. The keyboards can be coupled together by sliding the entire top keyboard in about an inch. This allows protruding pieces on the lower keyboard (inside the case) to rest on the undersides of the upper keys. When the keyboards are thus coupled, the top keyboard retains its usual properties, but pressing any key on the lower keyboard causes the corresponding key to move on the upper keyboard as well. Thus it might actually be useful to turn off the back 8' and 4' strings, couple the keyboards, and then use the lower keyboard to play the front 8' strings. Finally, there is a third lever, called a "buff stop." This moves small pieces of felt to where they can touch the back 8' strings and muffle the sound slightly. This provides yet another type of sound. All this complexity is important because it is impossible to do anything about how loudly a note sounds by how hard you hit a key. Thus, the stops and coupler are the only way to control the tone color and dynamics of the music.
crandell@ut-sally.UUCP (Jim Crandell) (09/26/84)
To: wmartin@brl-tgr.ARPA
Subject: Re: Harpsichord Keyboards
In-reply-to: your article <4584@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Two-manual harpsichords, like two-manual organs (after which they
are patterned) usually have an inter-manual coupler, a device which
when in use causes the keys of one manual to operate the action
of the other. There are two manuals (again, as on the organ)
because it is therefore possible to use two different tonal effects
-- derived from the selection of different combinations of ranks
of strings -- simultaneously (one with each hand) or in rapid
alternation.
--
Jim Crandell, C. S. Dept., The University of Texas at Austin
{ihnp4,seismo,ctvax}!ut-sally!crandell