French clavecin, from Late Lat. clavicymbalum, from lat. clavis - key (hence the key) and cymbalum - cymbals
Plucked keyboard music. tool. Known since the 16th century. (began to be constructed back in the 14th century), the first information about K. dates back to 1511; The oldest Italian instrument that has survived to this day. The work dates back to 1521. K. originated from the psalterium (as a result of the reconstruction and addition of a keyboard mechanism). Initially, the clavichord was quadrangular in shape and resembled a “free” clavichord in appearance, unlike which it had strings of different lengths (each key corresponded to a special one, tuned in a certain tone string) and a more complex keyboard mechanism. K.'s strings were set into vibration by plucking with the help of a bird's feather mounted on a rod - a pusher. When the key was pressed, the pusher located at its rear end rose and the feather hooked onto the string (later, instead of a bird's feather, a leather plectrum was used). The sound of K. is brilliant, but not very melodious (abrupt), which means it is not amenable. dynamic changes (it is louder, but less expressive than that of the clavichord), the change in the strength and timbre of the sound does not depend on the nature of the strike on the keys. In order to enhance the sonority of the strings, doubled, tripled, and even quadrupled strings were used (for each tone), which were tuned to unison, octave, and sometimes other intervals. From the beginning 17th century metallic ones were used instead of conductors. strings increasing in length (from treble to bass). The instrument acquired a triangular wing-shaped shape with a longitudinal (parallel to the keys) arrangement of strings. In the 17th-18th centuries. To give K. a dynamically more varied sound, instruments were made with 2 (sometimes 3) manual keyboards (manuals), which were arranged in a terrace-like manner, one above the other (usually the upper manual was tuned an octave higher), as well as with register switches for expanding trebles, octave doubling the bass and changing the timbre color (lute register, bassoon register, etc.). The registers were operated by levers located on the sides of the keyboard, or by buttons located under the keyboard, or by pedals. On some K., for greater timbre variety, a third keyboard was installed with some characteristic timbre coloring, often reminiscent of a lute (the so-called lute keyboard). Externally, the casings were usually finished very elegantly (the body was decorated with drawings, inlays, and carvings). The finish of the instrument was consistent with the stylish furniture of the Louis XV era. In the 16th-17th centuries. stood out for the quality of sound and their art, design by the Antwerp masters Rukkers.
Title "K." (in France; harpsichord - in England, keelflugel - in Germany, clavicembalo or abbreviated cymbal - in Italy) preserved for big instruments wing-shaped with a range of up to 5 octaves. There were also smaller instruments, usually rectangular in shape, with single strings and a range of up to 4 octaves, called: epinet (in France), spinet (in Italy), virginel (in England). K. with a vertically located body - clavicytherium. K. was used as a solo, chamber-ensemble and orchestral instrument.
The creator of the virtuoso harpsichord style was Italian. composer and harpsichordist D. Scarlatti (he owns numerous works for K.); founder French school of harpsichordists - J. Chambonnière (his “Harpsichord Pieces”, 2 books, 1670 were popular). Among the French harpsichordists con. 17-18 centuries - F. Couperin, J. F. Rameau, L. Daquin, F. Dandrieu. Franz. harpsichord music is an art of refined taste, refined manners, rationalistically clear, subordinate to the aristocratic. etiquette. K.'s delicate and cold sound harmonized with " in good form"a select society. The French harpsichordists found their vivid embodiment of the gallant style (Rococo). The favorite themes of harpsichord miniatures (miniature is a characteristic form of Rococo art) were female images(“Captivating”, “Flirty”, “Dark”, “Shy”, “Sister Monica”, “Florentine” by Couperin), great place were occupied by gallant dances (minuet, gavotte, etc.), idyllic. pictures peasant life(“The Reapers”, “The Grape Pickers” by Couperin), onomatopoeic miniatures (“The Hen”, “The Clock”, “The Chirping” by Couperin, “The Cuckoo” by Daken, etc.). Typical trait harpsichord music - an abundance of melodic. decorations K con. 18th century prod. French harpsichordists began to disappear from the performers' repertoire. Interest in French Harpsichord music was revived by the Impressionists, who sought to revive the traditions of Couperin and Rameau. Of the performers in K. in the 20th century. The Polish harpsichordist W. Landowska stood out. Prod. French harpsichordists were promoted by certain owls. musicians, including E. A. Bekman-Shcherbina, N. I. Golubovskaya, G. M. Kogan (a number of his articles are devoted to the work of harpsichordists), N. V. Otto. 3 collections were published in the USSR. French plays harpsichordists (edited by A. N. Yurovsky). In mid. 20th century interest in K. is being revived, incl. in the USSR. Ensembles are created that perform ancient music, where K is used as one of the leading instruments.
Literature: Alekseev A.D., Keyboard art, M.-L., 1952; Druskin M. S., Keyboard music, Leningrad, 1960.
I must admit that I am talking about the harpsichord as a deeply personal subject for me. Having been performing on it for almost forty years, I have developed a deep affection for certain authors and have played in concerts complete cycles of everything they wrote for this instrument. This primarily concerns François Couperin and Johann Sebastian Bach. What has been said, I hope, will serve as an apology for my biases, which I am afraid I will not be able to avoid.
DEVICE
A large family of keyboard and string instruments is known plucked instruments. They vary in size, shape and sound (color) resources. Almost every master who made such instruments in the old days tried to add something of his own to their design.
There is a lot of confusion about what they were called. In the most general outline instruments are divided according to their shape into longitudinal (reminiscent of a small piano, but with angular shapes - a grand piano has rounded shapes) and rectangular. Of course, this difference is by no means decorative: with different positions of the strings relative to the keyboard, the place on the string in which the plucking characteristic of all these instruments is made has a very significant effect on the timbre of the sound.
J. Wermeer of Delft. Woman sitting at the harpsichord
OK. 1673–1675. National Gallery, London
The harpsichord is the largest and most complex instrument of this family.
In Russia since the 18th century. The most widely used French name for the instrument is the harpsichord ( clavecin), but is found, mainly in musical and academic practice, and the Italian - cymbal ( cembalo; Italian names are also known clavicembalo, gravicembalo). In musicological literature, especially when it comes to English Baroque music, the English name of this instrument comes across without translation. harpsichord.
At the harpsichord main feature sound production consists in the fact that at the rear end of the key there is a so-called jumper (otherwise known as a pusher), in the upper part of which a feather is attached. When the musician presses a key, the back end of the key rises (since the key is a lever) and the jumper goes up, and the feather plucks the string. When the key is released, the feather slides silently thanks to a spring that allows it to deflect slightly.
Different types keyboard string instruments
It is noteworthy that W. Shakespeare gave a description of the action of the jumper, and an unusually accurate one, in his 128th sonnet. Of the many translation options, the essence of playing the harpsichord is most accurately conveyed - in addition to the artistic and poetic side - by the translation of Modest Tchaikovsky:
When you, my music, play,
Set these keys in motion
And, caressing them so tenderly with your fingers,
The consonance of strings gives rise to admiration,
I look at the keys with jealousy,
How they cling to the palms of your hands;
Lips are burning and thirsty for a kiss,
They look enviously at their audacity.
Oh, if fate suddenly turned
I join the ranks of these dry dancers!
I'm glad that your hand slid over them, -
Their soullessness is more blessed than the lips of the living.
But if they are happy, then
Let them kiss your fingers, and let me kiss your lips.
Of all types of keyboard-string plucked instruments, the harpsichord is the largest and most complex. It is used both as a solo instrument and as an accompanying instrument. It is indispensable in baroque music as an ensemble piece. But before talking about the huge repertoire for this instrument, it is necessary to explain something more about its design.
On a harpsichord, all the colors (timbres) and dynamics (that is, the strength of sound) were initially laid down in the instrument itself by the creator of each individual harpsichord. In this way it is to a certain extent similar to an organ. On a harpsichord, you cannot change the sound by changing how hard you press the key. By comparison: on the piano, the entire art of interpretation lies in the richness of the touch, that is, in the variety of ways of pressing or striking the key.
Diagram of the harpsichord mechanism
Rice. A: 1. Steg; 2. Damper; 3. Jumper (pusher); 4. Register bar; 5. Steg;
6. Jumper (push) frame; 7. Key
Rice. B. Jumper (pusher): 1. Damper; 2. String; 3. Feather; 4. Tongue; 5. Polster; 6. Spring
Of course, it depends on the sensitivity of the harpsichordist’s playing whether the instrument sounds musical or “like a saucepan” (that’s roughly how Voltaire put it). But the strength and timbre of the sound do not depend on the harpsichordist, since between the harpsichordist’s finger and the string there is a complex transmission mechanism in the form of a jumper and a feather. Again, for comparison: on a piano, hitting a key directly affects the action of the hammer striking the string, while on a harpsichord the effect on the feather is indirect.
STORY
The early history of the harpsichord goes back centuries. It was first mentioned in the treatise of John de Muris “The Mirror of Music” (1323). One of the earliest depictions of a harpsichord is in the Weimar Book of Wonders (1440).
For a long time it was believed that the oldest surviving instrument was made by Hieronymus of Bologna and dated 1521. It is kept in London, in the Victoria and Albert Museum. But recently it has been established that there is an instrument several years older, also created by an Italian master - Vincentius from Livigimeno. It was presented to Pope Leo X. Its production began, according to the inscription on the case, on September 18, 1515.
Harpsichord. Weimar Book of Miracles. 1440
To avoid monotony of sound, harpsichord makers, already at an early stage of the instrument’s development, began to supply each key not with one string, but with two, naturally, of different timbres. But it soon became clear that for technical reasons it was impossible to use more than two sets of strings for one keyboard. Then the idea arose to increase the number of keyboards. By the 17th century The most musically rich harpsichords are instruments with two keyboards (otherwise known as manuals, from lat. manus- "hand").
From a musical point of view, such an instrument is the best means for performing a diverse baroque repertoire. Many works of the harpsichord classics were written specifically for the effect of playing on two keyboards, for example, a number of sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti. F. Couperin specifically stated in the preface to the third collection of his harpsichord pieces that he included in it pieces that he calls "Pieces croises"(plays with crossing [arms]). “Pieces with such a name,” the composer continues, “should be performed on two keyboards, one of which should sound muffled by changing registers.” For those who do not have a two-manual harpsichord, Couperin gives recommendations on how to play the instrument with one keyboard. But in a number of cases, the requirement for a two-manual harpsichord is an indispensable condition for a full-fledged artistic performance essays. Thus, on the title page of the collection containing the famous “French Overture” and “Italian Concerto,” Bach indicated: “for clavicembalo with two manuals.”
From the point of view of the evolution of the harpsichord, two manuals turned out to be not the limit: we know examples of harpsichords with three keyboards, although we do not know works that would categorically require such an instrument for their performance. Rather, these are technical tricks of individual harpsichordists.
During its brilliant heyday (XVII-XVIII centuries), the harpsichord was played by musicians who mastered all the keyboard instruments that existed at that time, namely the organ and clavichord (that’s why they were called claviers).
Harpsichords were created not only by harpsichord makers, but also by masters who built organs. And it was natural to apply in harpsichord construction some fundamental ideas that were already widely used in the design of organs. In other words, harpsichord makers followed the path of organ builders in expanding the register resources of their instruments. If on the organ these were more and more new sets of pipes, distributed between manuals, then on the harpsichord they began to use a larger number of sets of strings, also distributed between manuals. These harpsichord registers did not differ too much in sound volume, but in timbre - very significantly.
Title page of the first collection of music
for virginel "Parthenia". London. 1611
So, in addition to two sets of strings (one for each keyboard), which sounded in unison and corresponded in height to the sounds recorded in the notes, there could be four-foot and sixteen-foot registers. (Even the designation of registers was borrowed by harpsichord makers from organ builders: pipes organs are designated in feet, and the main registers corresponding to musical notation are the so-called eight-foot ones, while pipes that produce sounds an octave above the notated ones are called four-foot ones, and those that produce sounds an octave lower are called sixteen-foot ones. On the harpsichord, the registers formed by the sets are indicated in the same measures strings.)
Thus, the sound range of a large concert harpsichord of the mid-18th century. It was not only not narrower than a piano, but even wider. And this despite the fact that the notation of harpsichord music looks narrower in range than piano music.
MUSIC
By the 18th century The harpsichord has accumulated an unusually rich repertoire. As an extremely aristocratic instrument, it spread throughout Europe, having its bright apologists everywhere. But if we talk about the most powerful schools of the 16th - early 17th centuries, then we must name first of all the English Virginalists.
We will not tell the history of the virginel here, we will only note that this is a type of plucked keyboard string instruments, similar in sound to the harpsichord. It is noteworthy that in one of the last thorough studies on the history of the harpsichord ( Kottick E. A History of the Harpsichord. Bloomington. 2003) virginel, like the spinet (another variety), are considered in line with the evolution of the harpsichord itself.
Regarding the name virginel, it is worth noting that one of the proposed etymologies traces it back to English virgin and further to Latin virgo, that is, “virgin,” since Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen, loved to play the virginal. In fact, virginal appeared even before Elizabeth. The origin of the term “virginel” is more correctly derived from another Latin word - virga(“stick”), which indicates the same jumper.
It is interesting that in the engraving decorating the first printed edition music for virginal (“Parthenia”), the musician is depicted in the guise of a Christian maiden - St. Cecilia. By the way, the name of the collection itself comes from the Greek. parthenos, which means "maiden".
To decorate this edition, an engraving from the painting by the Dutch artist Hendrik Goltzius “St. Cecilia". However, the engraver did not mirror reflection images on the board, so both the engraving itself and the performer turned out to be upside down - her left hand was much more developed than her right, which, of course, could not have been the case for a virginalist of that time. There are thousands of such mistakes in engravings. The eyes of a non-musician do not notice this, but a musician immediately sees the engraver’s mistake.
The founder of the harpsichord revival in the 20th century dedicated several wonderful pages full of enthusiastic feeling to the music of the English virginalists. remarkable Polish harpsichordist Wanda Landowska: “Overflowing from hearts more worthy than ours, and nourished by folk songs, the ancient English music- ardent or serene, naive or pathetic - glorifies nature and love. She exalts life. If she turns to mysticism, then she glorifies God. Unmistakably masterful, she is also spontaneous and daring. It often seems more modern than the latest and most advanced. Open your heart to the charm of this music, essentially unknown. Forget that she is old, and do not consider that because of this she is devoid of human feeling.”
These lines were written at the beginning of the twentieth century. Over the past century, an extraordinary amount has been done to reveal and evaluate in its entirety the invaluable musical heritage of the Virginalists. And what names these are! Composers William Bird and John Bull, Martin Pearson and Gil Farnaby, John Munday and Thomas Morley...
There were close contacts between England and the Netherlands (the engraving of “Parthenia” already testifies to this). Harpsichords and virginels Dutch masters, especially the Rookers dynasty, were well known in England. At the same time, strangely, the Netherlands itself cannot boast of such a vibrant school of composition.
On the continent, the distinctive harpsichord schools were Italian, French and German. We will mention only three of their main representatives - Francois Couperin, Domenico Scarlatti and Johann Sebastian Bach.
One of the clear and obvious signs of an outstanding composer's gift (which is true of any composer of any era) is the development of his own, purely personal, unique style of expression. And in the total mass of countless writers, there will not be so many true creators. These three names certainly belong to the creators. Each of them has their own unique style.
 Francois Couperin |
Francois Couperin(1668–1733) - a true harpsichord poet. He could probably consider himself a happy man: all (or almost all) of his harpsichord works, that is, exactly what constitutes his fame and world significance, were published by himself and form four volumes. Thus, we have a comprehensive idea of his harpsichord heritage. The author of these lines was lucky enough to perform a complete cycle of Couperin’s harpsichord works in eight concert programs, which were presented at a festival of his music held in Moscow under the patronage of Mr. Pierre Morel, Ambassador of France to Russia.
I am sorry that I cannot take my reader by the hand, lead him to the harpsichord and play, for example, “The French Masquerade, or Les Masques of the Dominos” by Couperin. How much charm and beauty it has! But there is also so much psychological depth. Here, each mask has a specific color and - what is very important - character. The author's notes explain the images and colors. There are twelve masks (and colors) in total, and they appear in a certain sequence.
I already had occasion to remember this play by Couperin in connection with the story about “Black Square” by K. Malevich (see “Art” No. 18/2007). The fact is that Couperin’s color scheme, starting with white (the first variation, symbolizing Virginity), ends with a black mask (Fury or Despair). So two creators different eras and various arts created works with deeply symbolic meaning: in Couperin this cycle symbolizes the periods human life- the ages of a person (twelve by the number of months, each six years - this is an allegory known in the Baroque era). As a result, Couperin has a black mask, Malevich has a black square. For both, the appearance of black is the result of many forces. Malevich directly stated: “I consider white and black to be derived from color and colorful scales.” Couperin presented us with this colorful range.
It is clear that Couperin had amazing harpsichords at his disposal. This is not surprising - he was a court harpsichordist after all. Louis XIV. The instruments, with their sound, were able to convey the full depth of the composer’s ideas.
Domenico Scarlatti(1685–1757). This composer has a completely different style, but just like Couperin, an unmistakable handwriting is the first and obvious sign of genius. This name is inextricably linked with the harpsichord. Although Domenico wrote a variety of music in his youth, he later became famous as the author of a huge number (555) of harpsichord sonatas. Scarlatti unusually expanded the performing capabilities of the harpsichord, introducing a hitherto unprecedented virtuoso scope into the technique of playing it.
A kind of parallel to Scarlatti in later history piano music is the work of Franz Liszt, who, as is known, specially studied the performing techniques of Domenico Scarlatti. (By the way, since we are talking about parallels with the art of piano, Couperin also had, in a certain sense, a spiritual heir - this is, of course, F. Chopin.)
For the second half of his life, Domenico Scarlatti (not to be confused with his father, the famous Italian opera composer Alessandro Scarlatti) was the court harpsichordist of the Spanish Queen Maria Barbara, and the vast majority of his sonatas were written specifically for her. One can safely conclude that she was a remarkable harpsichordist if she played these sometimes extremely technically difficult sonatas.
J. Wermeer of Delft. Girl at the spinet. OK. 1670. Private collection
In this regard, I remember one letter (1977) that I received from the outstanding Czech harpsichordist Zuzanna Ruzickova: “Dear Mr. Majkapar! I have one request for you. As you know, there is now a lot of interest in authentic harpsichords, and there is a lot of discussion around this. One of the key documents in the discussion on these instruments in connection with D. Scarlatti is the Vanloo painting, which depicts Maria Barbara of Portugal, wife of Philip V. (Z. Ružičkova was mistaken - Maria Barbara was the wife of Ferdinand VI, son of Philip V. - A.M.). Raphael Pouyana (a major contemporary French harpsichordist - A.M.) believes that the painting was painted after the death of Maria Barbara and therefore cannot be a historical source. The painting is in the Hermitage. It would be very important if you would send me documents on this painting.”
Fragment. 1768. Hermitage, St. Petersburg
The painting referred to in the letter is “Sextet” by L.M. Vanloo (1768).
It is in the Hermitage, in the department's storeroom French painting XVIII century. Custodian of the department I.S. Nemilova, having learned about the purpose of my visit, escorted me to a large room, or rather a hall, where there are paintings that were not included in the main exhibition. How many works, it turns out, are stored here that are of great interest from the point of view of musical iconography! One after another, we pulled out large frames, on which 10–15 paintings were installed, and examined the subjects that interested us. And finally, “Sextet” by L.M. Vanloo.
According to some reports, this painting depicts the Spanish Queen Maria Barbara. If this hypothesis were proven, then we might have a harpsichord played by Scarlatti himself! What are the grounds to recognize the harpsichordist depicted in Vanloo’s painting as Maria Barbara? Firstly, it seems to me that there really is an external resemblance between the lady depicted here and famous portraits Maria Barbara. Secondly, Vanloo lived at the Spanish court for a relatively long time and, therefore, could well have painted a picture on a theme from the life of the queen. Thirdly, another name of the painting is known - “Spanish Concert” and, fourthly, some foreign musicologists (for example, K. Sachs) are convinced that the painting is Maria Barbara.
But Nemilova, like Rafael Puyana, doubted this hypothesis. The painting was painted in 1768, that is, twelve years after the artist left Spain and ten years after the death of Maria Barbara. The history of her order is known: Catherine II conveyed to Vanloo through Prince Golitsyn the desire to have a painting by him. This work immediately came to St. Petersburg and was kept here all the time; Golitsyn gave it to Catherine as a “Concert”. As for the name “Spanish Concert,” the Spanish costumes in which the characters are depicted played a role in its origin, and, as Nemilova explained, these are theatrical costumes, and not those that were then in fashion.
 V. Landowska |
In the picture, of course, the harpsichord attracts attention - a two-manual instrument with a characteristic first half of the XVIII V. the coloring of the keys is the reverse of the modern one (those that are black on the piano are white on this harpsichord, and vice versa). In addition, it still lacks pedals for switching registers, although they were already known at that time. This improvement is found on most modern two-manual concert harpsichords. The need to switch registers by hand dictated a certain approach to choosing registration on the harpsichord.
Currently, two directions have clearly emerged in performing practice: supporters of the first believe that one should use all the modern capabilities of the instrument (this opinion was held, for example, by V. Landovska and, by the way, Zuzanna Ruzickova), others believe that when performing ancient music on a modern harpsichord, one should not go beyond the framework of those performing means with which the old masters wrote (this is the opinion of Erwin Bodki, Gustav Leonhardt, the same Rafael Puiana and others).
Since we have paid so much attention to Vanloo’s painting, we note that the artist himself, in turn, turned out to be a character in a musical portrait: the harpsichord piece by the French composer Jacques Dufly is known, which is called “Vanloo”.
 Johann Sebastian Bach |
Johann Sebastian Bach(1685–1750). His harpsichord heritage is of exceptional value. My experience of performing in concerts everything that Bach wrote for this instrument testifies: his legacy fits into fifteen (!) concert programs. At the same time, it is necessary to consider separately concerts for harpsichord and strings, as well as a lot of ensemble works that are unthinkable without the harpsichord.
It should be recognized that for all the uniqueness of Couperin and Scarlatti, each of them cultivated one individual style. Bach was universal. The already mentioned “Italian Concerto” and “French Overture” are examples of Bach’s study of the music of these national schools. And these are just two examples, their names reflecting Bach's awareness. Here you can add his cycle of “French Suites”. One could speculate about the English influence in his English Suites. How many musical samples? different styles in those of his works that do not reflect this in their titles, but are contained in the music itself! There is nothing to say about how widely the native German keyboard tradition is synthesized in his work.
We do not know exactly which harpsichords Bach played, but we know that he was interested in all technical innovations (including the organ). His interest in expanding the performance capabilities of the harpsichord and other keyboards is most clearly demonstrated by the famous cycle of preludes and fugues in all keys, The Well-Tempered Clavier.
Bach was a true master of the harpsichord. I. Forkel, Bach’s first biographer, reports: “No one could replace the feathers on his harpsichord that had become unusable with new ones so that he would be satisfied - he did it himself. He always tuned his harpsichord himself and was so skillful in this regard that tuning never took him more than a quarter of an hour. With his method of tuning, all 24 keys were at his disposal, and, improvising, he did with them whatever he pleased.”
Already during the lifetime of the brilliant creator of harpsichord music, the harpsichord began to lose its position. In 1747, when Bach visited the King of Prussia, Frederick the Great, in Potsdam, he gave him a theme to improvise, and Bach, apparently, improvised on the “pianoforte” (that was the name of a new instrument at that time) - one of fourteen or fifteen, which were made for the king by Bach’s friend, the famous organ maker Gottfried Silbermann. Bach approved of its sound, although he had not liked the piano before.
In his early youth, Mozart still wrote for the harpsichord, but in general his keyboard work is, of course, directed towards the piano. Publishers of Beethoven's early works pointed to title pages, that his sonatas (think even the Pathétique, which was published in 1799) are intended “for harpsichord or piano.” The publishers used a trick: they did not want to lose those customers who had old harpsichords in their homes. But more and more often, only the body remained of the harpsichords: the harpsichord “filling” was removed as unnecessary and replaced with new, hammer, that is, piano, mechanics.
This begs the question: why did this instrument, which had such long history and so rich artistic heritage, was towards the end of the 18th century. forced out of musical practice and replaced by the piano? And not just supplanted, but completely forgotten in the 19th century? And it cannot be said that when this process of replacing the harpsichord began, the piano was the best instrument in terms of its qualities. Quite the opposite! Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, one of the eldest sons of Johann Sebastian, wrote his double concerto for harpsichord and pianoforte and orchestra, intending to demonstrate with his own eyes the advantages of the harpsichord over the piano.
There is only one answer: the victory of the piano over the harpsichord became possible under conditions of a radical change in aesthetic preferences. Baroque aesthetics, which is based on either a clearly formulated or clearly felt concept of the theory of affects (the essence in brief: one mood, affect, - one sound color), for which the harpsichord was an ideal means of expression, gave way first to the worldview of sentimentalism, then to a stronger direction - classicism and, finally, romanticism. In all these styles, the most attractive and cultivated was, on the contrary, the idea variability- feelings, images, moods. And the piano was able to express this.
This instrument took on the pedal with its fantastic capabilities and became capable of creating incredible rises and falls in sonority ( crescendo And diminuendo). The harpsichord could not do all this in principle - due to the peculiarities of its design.
Let's stop and remember this moment so that we can start our next conversation with it - about the piano, and specifically about the big concert piano, that is, the “royal instrument”, the true ruler of all romantic music.
Our story mixes history and modernity, since today the harpsichord and other instruments of this family have turned out to be unusually widespread and in demand due to the enormous interest in the music of the Renaissance and Baroque, that is, the time when they arose and experienced their golden age.
The Parisian companies Pleyel and Erard also started producing harpsichords. On the initiative of Wanda Landowska, in 1912 the Pleyel factory began producing a model of a large concert harpsichord with a powerful metal frame carrying thick, tightly stretched strings. The instrument was equipped with a piano keyboard and a whole set of piano pedals. Thus began the era of a new harpsichord aesthetics. In the second half of the 20th century, the fashion for “piano” harpsichords passed away. Boston craftsmen Frank Hubbard and William Dowd were the first to make copies of antique harpsichords.
Device
Initially, the harpsichord had a quadrangular shape, but in the 17th century it acquired a wing-shaped, oblong triangular shape; metal strings began to be used instead of gut strings. Its strings are arranged horizontally, parallel to the keys, usually in the form of several choirs, with groups of strings of different manuals located at different height levels. Externally, harpsichords were usually elegantly finished: the body was decorated with drawings, inlays and carvings. During the era of Louis XV, the decoration of the harpsichord was consistent with the stylish furniture of the time. In the 16th-17th centuries they stood out for their sound quality and their decoration harpsichords by Antwerp masters Rukkers.
Registers
The sound of the harpsichord is brilliant, but not very melodious, jerky, and not amenable to dynamic changes, that is, a smooth increase and decrease in volume on the harpsichord is impossible. To change the strength and timbre of the sound, the harpsichord can have more than one register, which are activated by manual switches and levers located on the sides of the keyboard. Foot and knee register switches appeared in the late 1750s.
The harpsichord, depending on the model, may have the following registers:
- 8ft (8`)- register that sounds according to musical notation;
- lute- register of characteristic nasal timbre, reminiscent of pizzicato on bowed instruments; usually does not have its own row of strings, but is formed from an ordinary 8-foot register, the strings of which, when the lever is switched, are muted by pieces of leather or felt using a special mechanism;
- 4ft (4`)- register sounding one octave higher;
- 16ft (16`)- a register that sounds one octave lower.
Manuals and their range
In the 15th century, the range of the harpsichord was 3 octaves, with some chromatic notes missing in the lower octave. In the 16th century, the range expanded to 4 octaves (from C major octave to C 3rd: C - C'''), in the 18th century - to 5 octaves (from F counter octave to F 3rd: F' - F ''').
IN XVII-XVIII centuries To give the harpsichord a dynamically more varied sound, instruments were made with 2 (sometimes 3) manuals (keyboards), which were located terrace-like, one above the other, as well as with register switches for octave doubling and changing timbre color.
A typical 18th-century German or Dutch harpsichord has two manuals (keyboards), two sets of 8' strings and one set of 4' strings (sounding an octave higher), which, thanks to the available register switches, can be used separately or together, as well as a manual copulation mechanism ( copula), allowing you to use the registers of the second manual when playing the first.
Pusher
Figure 1 shows the function of the pusher (or jumper), the numbers indicate: 1 - limiter, 2 - felt, 3 - damper, 4 - string, 5 - plectrum (tongue), 6 - splint, 7 - axis, 8 - spring, 9 - pusher, 10 - deflection of the langet with plectrum.
Figure 2 |
- A- initial position, damper on the string.
- B- pressing the key: lifting the pusher, the damper releases the string, the plectrum approaches the string.
- C- the plectrum plucks the string, the string sounds, the height of the pusher jumping out is controlled by a limiter covered with felt underneath.
- D- the key is released, the pusher lowers, while the yoke is deflected to the side (10), allowing the plectrum to slide off the string almost silently, then the damper dampens the vibration of the string, and the yoke returns to its original state using a spring.
Figure 2 shows the structure of the upper part of the pusher: 1 - string, 2 - languette axis, 3 - languette (from the French languette), 4 - plectrum, 5 - damper.
The pushers are installed on the end of each key of the harpsichord; this is a separate device that is removed from the harpsichord for repair or adjustment. In the longitudinal cutout of the pusher, a languette (from the French languette) is attached to the axis, in which a plectrum is fixed - a tongue made of crow feather, bone or plastic (Delrin duraline plectrum - on many modern instruments), round or flat. In addition to one plectrum, double brass plectrums were also made, which were located one above the other. Two pluckings in a row were not perceptible to the ear, but the prickly attack characteristic of the harpsichord, that is, the sharp beginning of the sound, was made softer by such a device. Just above the tongue there is a damper made of felt or soft leather. When you press a key, the pusher is pushed up and the plectrum plucks the string. If the key is released, the release mechanism allows the plectrum to return to its original position without plucking the string again, and the vibration of the string is damped by the damper.
Varieties
- spinet- with strings diagonally from left to right;
- virginal- rectangular in shape, with a manual to the left of the center and strings located perpendicular to the keys;
- muselar- rectangular in shape, with a manual to the right of the center and strings located perpendicular to the keys;
- clavicytherium- a harpsichord with a vertically positioned body.
Imitations
On the Soviet piano Red October "Sonnet" there is a primitive imitation of a harpsichord by lowering the moderator with metal reeds. The Soviet Accord piano has the same property due to the fact that when you press the additional built-in third (central) pedal, the fabric with metal reeds sewn to it is lowered, which gives a sound similar to a harpsichord.
Composers
The founder of the French harpsichord school is considered to be J. Chambonnière, the creator of the virtuoso harpsichord style - Italian composer and harpsichordist D. Scarlatti. Among the French harpsichordists of the late XVII-XVIII centuries. stood out
| FAMILY: Keyboards. TONAL RANGE: Over 4 octaves MATERIAL: Wooden body, iron or copper strings, leather or feather plectrum. SIZE: Length 1.8 m, width 89 cm, height 91 cm. ORIGIN: The harpsichord apparently owes its origins to a keyboard variety of the psaltery (an ancient European stringed musical instrument) dating back to the late 14th century. DID YOU KNOW? The rods of bird feathers were attached to the end of the keys using "junks", which got their name because they jumped up when the keys were pressed. CLASSIFICATION: An accompanying instrument that produces sounds by vibrating strings. |
The harpsichord is a plucked keyboard instrument, the strings of which are set into vibration by plucking using rods made of bird feathers. The harpsichord has a sharp, abrupt sound. Horizontally positioned, with a harp-shaped body, this instrument has been popular in Europe since the late 15th century. It was used as a solo instrument, an accompanying instrument, and played an important role in the orchestra.
HARVISIOR IN CHAMBER MUSIC
The harpsichord was the main instrument in chamber music from the late 16th century to the early 18th century. The composers composed huge amount works for solo performance on the harpsichord, sometimes for dance. But the harpsichord took its place in the history of music development thanks to its participation in solo and trio sonatas of the Baroque period. Performers sometimes improvised accompaniment while performing the oas line.
HARVISPIN AS A COMPOSITION OF AN ORCHESTRA
The harpsichord was an essential element in most orchestral works of the 17th and 18th centuries. The harpsichord player directed the performance of the music with the keys of the keyboard. Reading the bass line in the sheet music; with marks indicating the harmonics ("figured bass"), the musician filled the string harmonics by playing the appropriate chords for each measure, sometimes improvising with short filler passages demonstrating brilliant playing technique. This practice was called “continuo” and was found in most musical compositions Baroque period.
SOCKET A similar ornate rosette is carved into the large soundboard of the harpsichord. The rosette allows the air inside the harpsichord body to vibrate more freely, improving the sound quality of the instrument. |
TUNING PINS Each of the harpsichord strings is fixed at one end to a tuning peg. These pegs are designed for tuning a harpsichord: the pegs are rotated using a special key, thereby changing the pitch of the string. |
KEYBOARD Two hand keyboards (manuals) control three sets of strings and can be used in the most various combinations to change volume and tone. Having two keyboards allows the performer to play a melody on one manual and accompany himself on the other. |  |
Already at first, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the harpsichord was very different from the clavichord. Instead of brass tangents, the craftsmen installed vertical wooden blocks with feathers at the top at the rear ends of the keys. The feathers made the string sound not by striking, but by plucking. The instrument became the owner of a louder voice, and the character of the sound also changed. Each key had its own string, and the clavichord at that time had not yet reached such luxury.
True, the first harpsichords were imperfect; they had many more shortcomings than advantages, so many music lovers for a long time unconditionally preferred the clavichord. But little by little the main advantage of the harpsichord became clear: it was able to perform in a large hall, which the clavichord could not do. Therefore, in the sixteenth century, the harpsichord was already widespread in many European countries.
But for another two hundred years after that, fierce debate flared up around the harpsichord and clavichord. Some believed that the harpsichord was dry and rough compared to the clavichord, that it did not give the musician the opportunity to play expressively and show all his skill. Others said that the harpsichord would still find itself if the techniques of playing it were developed, and that the future still lay with the harpsichord. Both those and others had serious grounds for their statements. A musician playing the harpsichord immediately after pressing a key lost all connection with the string; then it sounded on its own, without the slightest human intervention. The clavichord, as we remember, allowed the musician to influence the character of the sound of the string even after pressing the key. But the harpsichord, in addition to being a louder instrument, also opened up wide scope for improvement. And by the beginning of the eighteenth century, the clavichord was already a fully formed instrument, and it was difficult to improve anything in it. If improvements occurred, they were borrowed from the harpsichord.
Disputes are disputes, and instruments most often live their own lives, paying absolutely no attention to them. No matter how much they talked three hundred years ago about the imminent death of the clavichord, it was still being produced by some factories at the beginning of the twentieth century. No matter how much they say that the harpsichord will not replace the clavichord, but it has become one of the most important phenomena musical culture.
True, the paths of these two instruments diverged. The harpsichord became mainly a concert instrument, although it did not disdain the living rooms in houses where people with substantial income lived. But the clavichord remained a more democratic instrument; it was inexpensive, and therefore accessible to families with ordinary incomes. The life of the harpsichord was replete with events, after which it was improved, updated, and became more perfect.
After plucking, the string in the harpsichord sounded as a whole, without dividing, as in the clavichord, into working and non-working parts. The first harpsichords had gut strings. They were not suitable for the clavichord, because the gut string would sound almost inaudible when struck by the tangent. And when plucked, the gut string also sounds quite loud. Later, steel strings also appeared in the harpsichord.
The harpsichord had a completely new structural element compared to the clavichord - a flexible wooden soundboard, which, by resonating, enhanced and ennobled the sound of the strings. Later the soundboard was adopted from the harpsichord and some clavichords.
Masters experimented a lot with feathers that made the string sound. At first these were feathers in the literal sense: sharpened pieces of the trunks of crow or turkey feathers. Then feathers began to be made from leather, and even later - from brass and steel plates. The character of the sound was different, and in addition, the instrument became less capricious: the barrel of a crow feather, like the feather of any other bird, deteriorated very quickly from such unusual work, leather ones lasted much longer, and metal ones hardly wore out at all.
The design has also been improved wooden block, which replaced the tangent of the clavichord. On top it began to be equipped with a muffler, which, at the moment the key was released, lay on the string and stopped its vibrations. The craftsmen also thought out the reverse stroke of the feather - with the help of a special device it easily went around the string and did not cause a double sound.
The craftsmen worked hard to make the instrument sound stronger. They began to install double, then triple and even quadruple strings for each key. This feature of the harpsichord was also later adopted by some varieties of the clavichord.
Like clavichords, harpsichords were made in a variety of sizes. In large instruments, the unequal length of the strings dictated the shape of the body - the instrument became more and more similar to a modern grand piano. (Although, if we follow the chronology, it would be necessary to say the opposite: a piano is similar in shape to a harpsichord.) And in small harpsichords, which have only two or three octaves, the difference in the sizes of the strings was not so large, and the body remained rectangular. True, these instruments were small only in comparison with full concert instruments, and they themselves, in turn, seemed like giants next to the very tiny harpsichords, which were designed in the form of boxes, caskets, and books. But sometimes the craftsmen did not resort to any tricks, but simply made small tools. Their range most often did not exceed one and a half octaves. How miniature such instruments were can be judged by one curious exhibit kept in the Glinka Museum of Musical Culture. This is a travel cabinet with small drawers, and there is a harpsichord mounted under the drawers. The roads were long back then, so the cunning owner of the closet decided to order such a tool for himself - it doesn’t take up any unnecessary space, and allows you to somehow escape from the boredom of the road.
Meanwhile, large harpsichords sought to become even larger as a result of the constant quest of musical masters. After making sure that the strings are different Materials give a different timbre, and it, in turn, also depends on the material of the feathers; harpsichord makers tried to combine all the findings in one instrument. This is how harpsichords appeared with two or three keyboards located one above the other. Each of them controlled its own set of strings. Sometimes the keyboard was left alone, but with special levers it switched to different sets of strings. One set could consist of gut strings, another of single steel strings, and a third of double or triple steel strings. The timbre of the harpsichord was so varied.
History has preserved and brought to us information about unique instruments. The Italian composer and music theorist N. Vicentano designed a harpsichord that had six keyboards!
An interesting instrument was built by Amsterdam craftsmen. As if to counterbalance the disputes between supporters of the clavichord and harpsichord, they took and combined these two instruments in one body. The clavichord keyboard was located on the right, and the harpsichord on the left. One musician could alternate both instruments in his practice, but the two of them could sit down and play a duet on the harpsichord and clavichord. (Later, the harpsichord and piano were combined into one instrument in the same way).
But no matter how hard the masters tried, they could not overcome the main drawback of the harpsichord - its monotonous sound. The strength of the sound depended not on the energy with which the musician hit the key with his finger, but on the elasticity of the feather plucking the string. Skilled musicians could take the sound a little louder or a little quieter, but for the performance of many works such a small difference in sound strength was no longer enough.
Composers were also shackled. In the notes of musical pieces intended for the harpsichord, they could not indicate “fortissimo,” that is, “very loud,” since they knew that the harpsichord could not sound louder than some average level. They could not indicate “piano” and especially “pianissimo”, that is, “quiet” and “very quiet,” because they knew that this instrument was also incapable of such nuances. Harpsichords with two and three keyboards and sets of strings were made so that these sets were different not only in timbre, but also in volume. The musician could at least somehow vary the strength of the sound, but this was no longer enough. Two different musical sentences could be played at different volumes, but within the sentence the sounds were uniform in strength.
The idea of a new instrument was brewing, which would retain all the advantages of the harpsichord, or rather, the string keyboard in general, but in addition would become more obedient to the energetic or soft movements of the musician’s fingers. In other words, both “forte” and “piano” could sound as flexible as desired. Is it any wonder that a new instrument that embodies this main idea, so it began to be called - piano?
However, it must be said right away that the problem that was formulated by the old masters has not yet been completely solved. Yes, a new keyboard string player was born, but it was a different instrument, in the sound timbre of which there was nothing left of either the clavichord or the harpsichord. A tool that needed to be used again.
CLAVISIN [French] clavecin, from Late Lat. clavicymbalum, from lat. clavis - key (hence the key) and cymbalum - cymbals] - a plucked keyboard musical instrument. Known since the 16th century. (began to be constructed back in the 14th century), the first information about the harpsichord dates back to 1511; The oldest surviving instrument made in Italy dates back to 1521.
The harpsichord originated from the psalterium (as a result of the reconstruction and addition of a keyboard mechanism).
Initially, the harpsichord was quadrangular in shape and resembled a “free” clavichord in appearance, in contrast to which it had strings of different lengths (each key corresponded to a special string tuned to a certain tone) and a more complex keyboard mechanism. The strings of the harpsichord were set into vibration by plucking with the help of a bird's feather mounted on a rod - a pusher. When the key was pressed, the pusher located at its rear end rose and the feather hooked onto the string (later, instead of a bird's feather, a leather plectrum was used).
The structure of the upper part of the pusher: 1 - string, 2 - axis of the releasing mechanism, 3 - languette (from the French languette), 4 - plectrum (tongue), 5 - damper.
The sound of the harpsichord is brilliant, but unsung (short) - which means it is not amenable to dynamic changes (it is louder, but less expressive than that), the change in the strength and timbre of the sound does not depend on the nature of the strike on the keys. In order to enhance the sonority of the harpsichord, doubled, tripled and even quadrupled strings were used (for each tone), which were tuned in unison, octave, and sometimes other intervals.
Evolution
Since the beginning of the 17th century, instead of gut strings, metal strings were used, increasing in length (from treble to bass). The instrument acquired a triangular wing-shaped shape with a longitudinal (parallel to the keys) arrangement of strings.
In the 17th-18th centuries. To give the harpsichord a dynamically more varied sound, instruments were made with 2 (sometimes 3) manual keyboards (manuals), which were arranged in a terrace-like manner, one above the other (usually the upper manual was tuned an octave higher), as well as with register switches for expanding trebles, octave doubling of basses and changes in timbre coloring (lute register, bassoon register, etc.).
The registers were operated by levers located on the sides of the keyboard, or by buttons located under the keyboard, or by pedals. On some harpsichords, for greater timbre variety, a 3rd keyboard was arranged with some characteristic timbre coloring, often reminiscent of a lute (the so-called lute keyboard).
Appearance
Externally, harpsichords were usually decorated very elegantly (the body was decorated with drawings, inlays, and carvings). The finish of the instrument was consistent with the stylish furniture of the Louis XV era. In the 16th-17th centuries. The harpsichords of the Antwerp masters Rukkers stood out for their sound quality and artistic design.
Harpsichord in different countries
The name “harpsichord” (in France; harpsichord - in England, keelflugel - in Germany, clavichembalo or abbreviated cymbal - in Italy) was retained for large wing-shaped instruments with a range of up to 5 octaves. There were also smaller instruments, usually rectangular in shape, with single strings and a range of up to 4 octaves, called: epinet (in France), spinet (in Italy), virginel (in England).
Harpsichord with a vertical body - . The harpsichord was used as a solo, chamber ensemble and orchestral instrument.
The creator of the virtuoso harpsichord style was the Italian composer and harpsichordist D. Scarlatti (he owns numerous works for the harpsichord); the founder of the French school of harpsichordists is J. Chambonnière (his “Harpsichord Pieces”, 2 books, 1670 were popular).
Among the French harpsichordists of the late 17th and 18th centuries. - , J.F. Rameau, L. Daquin, F. Daidrieu. French harpsichord music is an art of refined taste, refined manners, rationalistically clear, subordinate to aristocratic etiquette. The delicate and cold sound of the harpsichord harmonized with the “good tone” of the elite society.
The gallant style (rococo) found its vivid embodiment among French harpsichordists. The favorite themes of harpsichord miniatures (miniature is a characteristic form of Rococo art) were female images (“Captivating”, “Flirty”, “Gloomy”, “Shy”, “Sister Monica”, “Florentine” by Couperin), gallant dances (minuet) occupied a large place , gavotte, etc.), idyllic pictures of peasant life (“Reapers”, “Grape Pickers” by Couperin), onomatopoeic miniatures (“Chicken”, “Clock”, “Cheeping” by Couperin, “Cuckoo” by Daquin, etc.). A typical feature of harpsichord music is an abundance of melodic embellishments.
By the end of the 18th century. works by French harpsichordists began to disappear from the repertoire of performers. As a result, the instrument, which had such a long history and such a rich artistic heritage, was forced out of musical practice and replaced by the piano. And not just superseded, but completely forgotten in the 19th century.
This occurred as a result of a radical change in aesthetic preferences. Baroque aesthetics, which was based on either a clearly formulated or clearly felt concept of the theory of affects (in brief the essence: one mood, affect - one sound color), for which the harpsichord was an ideal means of expression, gave way first to the worldview of sentimentalism, then to a stronger direction - classicism and, finally, romanticism. In all these styles, the most attractive and cultivated idea was, on the contrary, the idea of changeability - feelings, images, moods. And the piano was able to express this. The harpsichord could not do all this in principle - due to the peculiarities of its design.