German harpsichords

Querspinett Silbermann, Historisches Museum Basel

Spinet, Johann Heinrich Silbermann
Strasbourg c1770; Basel, Musikmuseum

These spinets became the most popular type of small harpsichord during the 18th century. The instruments are impressing by a rather convincing sound quality as well as elegant design.

 

music sample:
(excerpt) Wilhelm Friedemann Bach: Fuge [in f minor]

played by Christine Schornsheim
Instrument: Spinet, Johann Heinrich Silbermann, Strasbourg 1770; Basel, Musikmuseum


thes 1500s.Harpsichord making had a long tradition in Germen-speaking countries well documented to about the 1500s. But a "German school" of harpsichords was a rather late development. The earliest instruments followed either Italian or Flemish examples but with "odd" sorts of woods used since eg the cypress which Italian builders preferred was nobserved in several regions ot obtainable north of the alps and had to be replaced by local timbers.

Some distinct traditions of harpsichord building could be obeserved in several regions over the 17th and 18th century, eg in Hamburg, in Saxony or Austria. A common treat is the close link to organ building technology since most harpsichord makers also made organs, either incidentally or as their main profession. This became obvious in their attempts to enhance the number of ranks; some even produced harpsichors with a 16' or 2' stop. The only known extant harpsichord with three manuals was made by an Hamburg maker (Hieronymus Haas). These adaptions to achieve organ-like features, by  increasing string numbers and tension, affected the sound qualities in some negative ways. However impressive by number of stops since these could only be used in specific combinations the actual musical potentials were not so different from French instruments.


The historical importance of German harpsichords lies in the important repertoire composed for them. From the early 17th century on and influenced by Dutch (Sweelinck) as well as Italian (Frescobaldi) composers a tradition of composing for keyboard emerged lasting at least to Bach and beyond (by his sons transmitted to the composers of the Viennese classical period) establishing a quality level still valid for any keyboard instrument until today.

 
 
 

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