A History of the Harpsichord Edward L. Kottick
Based on painstaking research, the book considers the place of the instrument in society and vividly describes the market forces that brought about changes in its form, decoration, and cultural importance. An accompanying CD includes performances on several of the historical instruments described and illustrated in the volume, including a 1580 spinett virginal by Martin van der Biest and instruments built by Ruckers and Pleyel. The volume devotes attention to American harpsichord design as well as to present and future uses of the instrument.
Instrument maker, scholar, researcher, author, and lecturer, musicologist Edward L. Kottick built his first harpsichord in 1963. He has investigated the instrument's acoustical properties as well as its historical aspects, and has published articles on the harpsichord in both scientific and scholarly journals. His collection of more than 3,000 slides, a product of his visits to the major museums in the U.S. and Europe, keeps him in demand as a speaker.
Specs: 592 pages, 229 b&w and 23 color photos, index, 7 x 10
Contents
I. The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries 1. From Psaltery and Monochord to Harpsichord and Virginal Hermann Poll and the clavicembalum The psaltery and the monochord Iconographical evidence of the harpsichord A digression on pitch and scale The manuscript of Henri Arnaut Clavichords and virginals The Royal College of Music clavicytherium Summing up II. The Sixteenth Century
2. The Emergence of the Northern Harpsichord Archival records Germany and the Mller harpsichord Antwerp and the virginals of Ioes Karest France England and the Theewes claviorganum Summing up
3. Antwerp Harpsichord Building between Karest and Ruckers Antwerp The surviving virginals A virginal by Hans Ruckers The surviving grands Summing up
4. Early Italian Style The earliest Italian harpsichords Harpsichords, Italian style Virginals and spinets Italian scales Decoration Venice and the tradition of opulence Milan Naples and elsewhere Summing up III. The Seventeenth Century
5. The Ruckers-Couchet Dynasty The Ruckers-Couchet family Virginals Single-manual harpsichords Double-manual harpsichords The harpsichord/virginal combination The late Couchet instruments The decoration of harpsichords and virginals The Flemish harpsichord as a cultural icon Summing up
6. Later Italian Style New developments in the seventeenth century Rome Florence Naples and elsewhere Anonymous instruments Summing up
7. Seventeenth-Century International Style Characteristics of International style Regional distinctions Summing up
8. France Virginals and spinets Harpsichord making in Paris Lyons and elsewhere Summing up
9. Germany and Austria Virginals and spinets Harpsichords Austria Summing up
10. England Virginals Bentside spinets Harpsichords Summing up IV. The Eighteenth Century
11. The Decline of the Italian Harpsichord Florence Rome and elsewhere Summing up
12. The Iberian Peninsula Spain Mara Brbara's inventory Later Spanish instruments Portugal The Portuguese piano tradition Summing up
13. Harpsichord Building in France up to the Revolution Ravalement The development of the classic French harpsichord The Ruckers-inspired French double Decoration The Blanchet-Taskin dynasty Other Paris builders Lyons and elsewhere The late French harpsichord Summing up
14. The Low Countries in the Post-Ruckers Era Antwerp Tournai Elsewhere Summing up
15. Germany, Scandinavia, Austria, and Switzerland Rivals of the harpsichord Hamburg Scandinavia Berlin Hannover and Brunswick Gross Breitenbach Dresden Freiberg Augsburg Austria Switzerland Summing up
16. Great Britain and America Harpsichord building from 1700 to 1725 Hermann Tabel Shudi, Kirkman, and their competitors The Ruckers-inspired English harpsichord Developments after 1760 Bentside spinets Scotland and Ireland America Summing up V. The Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
17. The Harpsichord Hibernates Some builders The harpsichord played and preserved Historicism and antiquarianism Collectors and collections Leopoldo Franciolini and the collectors Summing up
18. The Harpsichord Revival from the Paris Exposition to World War II The Paris Exposition of 1889 and French builders The "Bach" harpsichord and German builders Arnold Dolmetsch and the English harpsichord Wanda Landowska and her Pleyel America and John Challis Summing up
19. The Modern Harpsichord Historically informed builders: Gough, Hubbard, and Dowd Authenticity with stability: Herz, Schtze, and Rutkowski and Robinette Built to last: de Blaise, Morley, and Sabathil The Serien builders: Ammer, Neupert, Wittmayer, and Sperrhake New directions: John Challis and John Paul The electronic harpsichord: Wittmayer, Baldwin, and the electronic keyboard Kits Summing up
20. Into the Future Glossary Notes Bibliography Index
Copyright 2003: Indiana University Press.
