Russell Collection of Early
Keyboard Instruments

HD5-JG1763.29: Double-manual harpsichord,
Jean Goermans/Pascal Taskin. Paris, 1763/83-84.

Signature: "Fait par Pascal Taskin a Paris 1783" on the namebatten; "Refait par Pascal Taskin a Paris 1784" stamped with metal die stamps on the wrestplank. There is the date "1764" on the soundboard.

Rose: Initials: "IC" changed from "IG" (the author of this instrument has been identi-fied as Jean Goermans by Sheridan Germann). Diameter: 83-85. Location: 200 centre to the spine; 302 centre to the gap.

Scantlings:

Case width at the gap: Inside: 888. Outside: 939
Soundboard/wrestplank to top of the case: 53-58
Nameboard thickness: 10.0-10.4

Keyboard:
Compass: Compass: F₁ to f³, 61 notes.
3-octave span: 480
Total width of keyboard at the natural fronts: 821 (u.m.); 817 (l.m.)

Disposition:

	Plucking Direction	Pitch
Back Row:	(peau de buffle)	8'
Third Row:		8'
Second Row:		4'
Front Row:		8'

There is the usual French shove coupler and a genouillSre to operate the registers.

Stop lever and genouillère arrangement:
The buff stop lever is in the middle of the keywell above the upper-manual keyboard:

Each of the genouillère knee pommels engages in the lowered position, but can be hitched and held in the up, disengaged position:

Position which engages the register
D machine swell	OC 4'	G long 8' (dogleg)	B peau de buffle	--- lower peau de buffle jacks

Note: The arrow direction indicates the position which engages the register.

Scalings:

Width of the string band from the 8' long F₁ to the 8' short f³: 826.

Wrestplank gauge markings:

8'	4	4'	6
00 - F1 & F1	G & G	2 - F1 & F1	B to d
0 - G1 & G1	5 - A to B	3 - G1 - A1	7 - e to a
1 - A1 to B1	5 - c to e	4 - B1 to C	8 - b to f¹
2 - C to D	6 - f to g	4 - C to E	9 - g1 to f²
2 - E & E	7 - a to f¹	5 - E to F	10 - f² to f³
3 - F & F	8 - g¹ to f²	6 - G to A
	9 - g² to f³

These gauge markings are stamped in the wood of the wrestplank, and appear to date from the 1783/84 alteration by Taskin.

Soundboard wood quality:
Maximum number of 39 rings per 2.5 cms near g².
Minimum number of 12 rings per 2.5 cms near d.

Pin dimensions:

Total length of the tuning pins: 8': 53; 4': 50.*
The 8' bridge is back-pinned from F₁ to long f¹ inclusive; the 4' is back-pinned F₁, B

Keyboard pin dimensions:

Bridge and nut dimensions:

Soundboard wood quality:
Maximum number of 24 rings per 2.5 cms near f¹.
Minimum number of 9 rings per 2.5 cms between rose and gap.

Materials:

Decoration:
The soundboard is painted with flowers and a bird, but is lacking its original arabesques. The inside of the case is painted in red vermilion and decorated with chinoiserie in bronze powder. The outside of the case and stand is lacquered in black with the surfaces broken into panels with gold-coloured bronze-powder lines. The outside of the cheek, bentside, tail and lid have raised chinoiserie utilising a number of different colours of bronze powder.

Biography of Jean Goermans and Pascal Taskin:
Jean Goermans was the founder of a family of harpsichord and piano builders, originally of Flemish origin. He came to Paris and lived on the rue de la Verrerie, possibly at the same time that Pascal Taskin was working there for Blanchet. He had at least seven children and suffered extreme financial hardship as a result of the expenses of their education. Some of these children became musicians and stringed keyboard instrument builders.

Pascal Taskin, was born in Theux in what is now Belgium, and therefore also came from near the Flemish region. He apprenticed in the workshops of François-Ètienne Blanchet, and married Blanchet's widow after Blanchet's death in 1766. He was the court harpsichord builder to both Louis XV and Louis XVI, and much of his activity involved the ravalement of instruments by the Ruckers and Couchets and also, as here, in the modernisation of the instruments of other French builders.

Contents | Home Page | List of Instruments