Pedal harpsichords existed in C18, although they were comparatively
rare, and served more as parctice instruments for organists. They
were separate instruments designed to be place on the floor under a
regular harpsichord. Some had connections to the upper instrument so
the strings could be coupled together; others didn't.
I don't know what Biggs played, but I'd guess it was one of the
German factory models which were the only things available for quite
a while, and were heavily marketed to their niche market.
John
At 8:17 AM -0400 9/4/09, [email protected] wrote:
o;?And while we're about it, what about E Power Biggs' pedal harpsichord ?
-------------- Original Message --------------
From: John Howell <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Finale] OT: Ophecleide
Date: Tue, 1 Sep 2009 21:23:14 -0400
.
.
.
In the harpsichord revival, there were actually at least 3 stages:
Pleyel's plucked piano ("this is what the harpsichord SHOULD have
been, obviously!") much too heavy to sound above a pianissimo; the
factory "revival" instruments (mostly German, although at least one
Canadian maker followed this line) still much too heavy to sound and
with a miriad of modern "improvements" ("we're ever so much smar
ter
than the old guys were" which simply introduced new and more
wonderful problems); and instruments based on observing and
duplicating 16th-18th century designs and manufacturing methods ("the
old guys knew what they were doing and it's foolish to re-invent the
wheel--badly!").
.
.
.
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--
John R. Howell, Assoc. Prof. of Music
Virginia Tech Department of Music
College of Liberal Arts & Human Sciences
Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.A. 24061-0240
Vox (540) 231-8411 Fax (540) 231-5034
(mailto:[email protected])
http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/howell/howell.html
"We never play anything the same way once." Shelly Manne's definition
of jazz musicians.
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