Russell Collection of Early
Keyboard Instruments

HD4-JK1755.30: Double-manual harpsichord, Jacob Kirckman.
London, 1755.

Introduction - Jacob Kirckman / the Harpsichord

The harpsichord being used in tonight's concert was made in London in 1755 by Jacob Kirkman. Kirkman was an extremely prolific harpsichord maker, and there are more surviving instruments by him than by any other single maker of the historical period. He was born in the Alsace near Strasbourg and emigrated to England in the early 1730's. Kirkman worked as the shop foreman for Hermann Tabel, another emigré to London who had come from Antwerp in Flanders where he had worked in the Couchet workshops. Thus through Tabel and the Couchets (Ioannes Couchet was Ioannes Ruckers' nephew), Kirkman could trace the roots of his craft back to the Ruckers and the origins of the Flemish tradition in the 1580's.

According to Charles Burney "Kirckman worked with the celebrated Tabel as his foreman and finisher till the time of his death [in 1738]. Soon after which . . . Kirckman married his master's widow, by which prudent measure he became possessed of all Tabel's seasoned wood, tools and stock-in-trade . . ." Kirkman became a naturalised British citizen in 1755, the same year as that in which the harpsichord being used this evening was built.

This instrument is one of the instruments collected by Raymond Russell whose mother donated his collection to the University of Edinburgh to form the world-famous Russell Collection of Early Keyboard Instruments. This particular instrument is reputed to have been Russell's favourite harpsichord. In contrast to many rather plain English instruments, it is extremely richly decorated. The inside of most of the case is adorned with walnut and sycamore marquetry in an elaborate design of animate figures and vine scrollwork. The outside of the case is decorated with figured walnut panels with crossbanded borders separated by contrasting bands of wood stringing. The usual taste in Georgian interior decor was to place the furniture in a room around the walls, leaving the centre of the room free. Therefore normally harpsichords were pushed up against a wall where the spine would not be seen, and so was left unveneered and undecorated. But on this harpsichord even the rear spine side of the instrument is decorated, indicating that the it was meant to be placed out in the middle of the room and shown off to advantage and in greater importance than all of the other furniture in the room. The lid and lid flap have large elaborate brass strap hinges which are beautifully set off by the dark walnut veneer. The trestle stand has elaborate carved cabriole legs finishing in ball-and-claw feet. Aside from its great beauty and importance as a musical instrument, it is also and example of the finest English furniture design and execution.

The harpsichord has the usual English disposition with two sets of 8' and a one set of 4' strings. There is a set of jacks placed to pluck the strings very close to the nut giving a bright nasal sound, and called inappropriately the 'lute' stop. Like most double-manual harpsichords of the eighteenth century, this instrument can contrast the 'piano' sound of one 8' set of strings on the upper manual against the 'forte' sound of all three sets of strings on the lower manual.

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