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General State 1986
The instrument is generally functioning well
but would be improved with new jacks copied
from Taskin's work. The present tongues are
rather heavy - poor repetition.
Existing jacks and tongues are Dolmetsch's work.
Stringing: extreme bass requires red brass.
Peau-de-buffle regulation and some replacements.
Buff stop requires new leather.
Keyboard: somewhat worn and noisy.
September 1986
Tuned to a' = 409 Hz for Peter Fuller's recital.
Quills checked for voicing. Most quills were a
little on the stiff side. About 3 broken quills
(delrin plectra) were replaced with the same
material. The instrument was tuned again
twice on the day of the recital and carefully
moved into the concert hall, where temperature
and R.H. were almost identical to the gallery
(19oC, 60% R.H.). There were two further
tunings on the day of the concert and the
instrument moved back immediately afterwards.
About 35 people were present.
Total playing time by Peter Fuller 4hrs.
9th-11th October 1986
Preparation for concert by "Flora Danica".
Very little preparation was required apart
from tuning. Moved from gallery to concert
hall 10.00 pm, 9.10.86. Ventilation system
switched on. Humidity dropped to 50% R.H.
by morning of 10.10.86. Tuned to a' = 415 Hz.
Practice time 6 hrs. 11.10.86 - am tuned a' = 415 Hz.
Practised 6 hrs. Two tunings during concert: played 2 hrs.
27th October 1986
Tuned to a' = 409 Hz. Long 8' B
replaced with 36 mm yellow brass
(Fr. gauged) M.R. wire (Old wire 38 mm).
September 1987
Voicing of quill register checked.
29th September 1987
Careful check of voicing. 6 delrin
plectra replaced. Tuned a' = 415 Hz.
Practice time by Fiammetta Schofield 4 hrs.
30th September 1987
Practice by Fiammetta Schofield.
Tuning. Playing time 1( hrs.
Recording for BBC Scotland pm.
David Dorward, producer.
19th January 1988
Tuned to a' = 409 Hz (no pitch change)
at the same pitch + temperament as the 1769 Taskin.
February 1988
Georgian Concert Society concert. Tuned twice. Playing time 4 hrs.
9th May 1988
Tuned to a' = 415 (matching 1769) (pitch raised about 3 Hz).
26th June 1988
Tuned in gallery to A = 409.
3 4' strings brass need replacing.
January 1989
Tuned (a' = 409).
10th March 1989
Tuned to a' = 409 Hz.
Green Taskin tuned at the same time.
Temperament
14th March 1989
Preparation work for G.C.S. concert.
M.C. playing time over 3 days - 7 hrs.
Instrument moved to Concert Hall.
00.30 hrs 18.3.89. 10.30 hrs 18.3.89 GO'B tuned.
Concert 19.45 hrs. GO'B tuned. Playing time 1hr.
GO'B suggested skims to feet at tail.
5th April 1989
Tuned a' 409. Barnes tempt. J.R.
June 1989
Tuned a' = 409. Barnes temperament. J.N.R.
Summer Concert Series 1989
Removed to Concert Hall 17/6.89.
Tuned to a' 415 on morning of 18th June.
Rehearsal in afternoon. Tuned again for the
c troublesome tongues, but this time tried
apponcert by GO'B. Played by John Kitchen
(with Alison Crum, gamba, Christopher Field,
baroque violin). No problems with the action.
Playing time - 5 hrs. Returned to Newman Gallery.
Festival period. Tuned twice a' = 415 Hz. Minor regulation J.N.R.
October 1989
Tuned a' = 415 Hz. J.N.R.
9th December 1989
Georgian Concert Society concert.
Moved to Concert Hall. Tuned to
a' = 415 Hz. Played by Lucy Carolan. 4 hrs.
6th January 1990
Tuned to a' = 415 Hz (Barnes).
January - July 1990
Periodic tunings.
2nd August 1990
Tuned to a' 415 (Barnes) J.N.R. 4' G
string replaced (.30 brass).
12th September 1990
Tuned to a' = 415 Hz
31st October 1990
Tuned to a' = 415 Hz
12th December 1990
Tuned to a' = 415 Hz
January - April 1991
Periodic tunings.
May 1991 - Improvements to voicing and regulation
The voicing and regulation of the instrument had
become somewhat uneven. The plucking order of i)
4' ( ii) upper 8' ( iii) upper 8' does not seem
correct, because i) there is a large staggering
gap between the 4' and the lower 8', resulting
in unintentional sounding of 4' when playing
8' + 4' on the lower manual. ii) The upper
manual 8' jacks and the 4' jacks require
excessive packing to produce this plucking
order. French jack rails seem to have been
provided with a uniform thickness of cloth
so that the heads of the jacks would be
arrested at approximately the same height.
Previous experiments on the 1769 Taskin
choosing groups of jacks for a single note
and re-establishing the original jack lengths
as far as possible indicated that the plucking
order was 4' - back 8' - front 8' with very
little staggering between the plucks.
The plucking first of the 4' is suggested
by the fact that if a 4' and an 8' jack are
lined up from above, the difference in the
level of the quill measured from the top of
the jack is always less than the difference
in height between the 4' and 8' string.
Tests on the 1769 Taskin choosing groups of
3 original jacks (with the third register
with reinstated quill/delrin plectra) seemed
to indicate that the 4' always plucks first
followed in quick succession by the other two
8' registers, the lower slightly in advance
of the upper. With fairly light quilling and
only minimal projection of the plectra beyond
the string, the distance of touch travel between
the 4' and the upper 8' plucks amounts to not
more than about 3 mm. Similar experiments on the
1755 Kirckman show a similar staggering pattern
but with the front 8' (dogleg) plucking first.
In preparing the instrument for John Kitchen's recital I decided to reverse the plucking order of the 2 x 8's. In general this amounted to removing approximately 1 mm of the leather skim from the front 8' and adding a similar amount to the back 8'. This change resulted in a much "tighter" regulation eliminating the sponginess of the previous regulation. The 2 x 8' ensemble became more comfortable and the 4' + lower 8' worked better together.
All registers were checked for voicing and a number of old delrin plectra showing signs of fatigue were replaced using mostly raven quill:
Upper 8' - lower 14 notes requilled; top 15 notes requilled Lower 8' - 12 notes in upper 2 octaves requilled.
Peau de buffle register -
This was not playing very satisfactorily,
very few of the plectra effectively plucking
the strings. In some cases it was possible
to advance the leather plectra slightly to
produce a reasonable sound but quite a large number
required replacement. I used thick oil-tanned Red
deerskin, of the type which can be used for
recovering early English hammer heads, but
thicker. The plectra were drawn from a strip
through the front of the plectrum hole and cut
flush with the back of the tongue. The plectra
were voiced by cutting to a length at which they
projected just beyond the strings, a small amount
of the "skin" surface was removed so that the
strings were released only by the fibrous under
layer. The plectra were then undercut with a
slanting cut to remove excess stiffness. The
upper surface was also bent over and filed, to
produce a sort of "stroking" pluck:
33 plectra in this register were replaced. Voicing and regulation, carefully checked.
Practising time by John Kitchen and recital 8th June 1991, approximately 5 hrs. Tuned to A 415 "Rameau" temperament ("Témpérament ordinare").
13th June 1991
Retuned in gallery.
2nd July 1991
Tuned to A 415
23rd July 1991
Tuned to A 415
24th August 1991
Tuned to A 415
16th November 1991
Prepared for concert by "The Musical Offering"
(G.C.S. series)
Two tunings at a' 415. Moved into
Concert Hall. Total playing time
including rehearsal - 5 hrs.
2nd August 1992
Used for part of a concert organised by Raymond Monelle as part of a conference.
Played by John Kitchen as part of recital - 1hr.
Tuned to a' = 415 Hz.
September/October 1992
Occasional tunings.
29th October 1992
Moved into Concert Hall for G.C.S. concert. Minor regulation and voicing adjustments.
30th October 1992
Tuned to a' = 415 Hz.
Practice for concert (Chandos Baroque) - 3 hrs. (M Proud).
31st October 1992
Tuned for rehearsal and concert - 3 hrs.
Playing time in concert - 1( hrs, total 7( hrs. Returned to Newman Gallery.
November/December 1992
Routine tunings.
January - August 1993
Routine tunings - approximately three week intervals.
August 1993
Prepared for Lucy Carolan's recital in
Harpsichords at St Cecilia's series, 1
6/17 August. Some slight attention to
voicing and damping. An extra layer of
black woollen cloth was lightly tacked to
the front of the jackrail to reduce "bouncing"
of lost motion in upper manual jacks when
played from lower keyboard. The upper
keyboard was removed and balance and guide
mortises from c to f' were tightened by
applying small deposits of "Seccotine" animal
glue to worn surfaces. The keys were refitted
after overnight drying of the glue and glue
deposits filed where necessary to obtain a
good fit. This process applied to the rest
of the keyboards would considerably improve
the touch, and reduce action noise.
Four tunings for rehearsals and concert. Total playing time approximately 6 hrs.
September 1993 - February 1994
Routine tunings in gallery.
25th February - 3rd March 1994
Stringing with red brass wire (by Malcolm Rose)
The extreme bass of the instrument from F1 - D in the
8's and F1 - C in the 4' was
strung principally with yellow brass wire
(dating from the 1977 restoration).
Ormiston half hard brass was principally
used with some experimental M. Rose and
Willard Martin (?) wire. It was decided
to remove this section, which as indicated
by the stamped gauge numbers on the
wrestplank would originally have carried
red brass gauges. The new gauges of
Malcolm Rose red brass are as follows:
| Note | New Gauges |
|---|---|
| 8' | C, D |
0.48 mm |
| B1, C | 0.52 mm |
B 1 |
0.56 mm |
| G1, A1 |
0.60mm |
| G1 | 0.65mm |
| F1, F1 |
0.70mm |
| 4' | |
| B1 - C |
0.40mm |
| G1, A1 |
0.49mm |
| F1 - G1 | 0.48mm |
These equivalents had been worked out by Grant O'Brien from the tension chart at the beginning of this document.
The strings removed were as follows:
| Note | Old Gauges |
|---|---|
| 8' | D short | 0.46 mm |
| D long | 0.50 mm brass |
| Cshort |
0.51 mm brass |
| Clong |
0.51 mm brass |
| C short | 0.51 mm brass |
| C long | 0.51 mm brass |
| B1 short | 0.51 mm brass |
| B1 long | 0.515 mm brass |
| B1 short |
0.51 mm brass |
| A1 short | 0.58 mm red brass |
| A1 long | 0.58 mm red brass |
| G1 short |
0.615 mm brass |
| G1 long |
0.615 mm brass |
| G1 short | 0.615 mm brass |
| G1 long | 0.59 mm red brass |
| Fshort |
0.655 mm brass |
| F1 long |
0.655 mm red brass |
| F1 short | 0.66 mm red brass |
| F1 long | 0.66 mm red brass |
| 4' | |
| C | 0.36 mm brass |
| B1 | 0.40mm brass |
| B1 |
0.40mm brass |
| A1 | 0.40mm brass |
| G1 |
0.452 mm brass |
| G1 | 0.452 mm brass |
| F1 |
0.51 mm brass |
| F1 | 0.51 mm brass |
These strings have been labelled and retained. The following tuning pin holes were skimmed using planed shavings of pear-wood glued into the tuning pin holes using "Seccotine".
8' G, both strings. A (long), D (long)
9th April 1994
Tuning to a' = 415 Hz (unequal)
16th April 1994
Tuning to a' = 415 Hz (Barnes)
11th May 1994
Preparations for recording. Cover
to genouillère mechanism removed to
inspect motion and travel of registers.
Problems:
a) ghosting of 4' in off position,
b) interference (ghosting?) of p. de. b.
register in off position, even with elevator
lever (not working efficiently). Solutions
a) glue card skim to notch in knee lever to increase
"off" movement" or trim all offending quills.
b) Remove all jacks for this register. Examine
when action dismantled.
Voicing and regulation
Back 8' checked. Weak quills in tenor
section. e - c¹
replaced in delrin. Even out all back 8'.
Problems were encountered with getting the
registers to clear properly using the genouillère
mechanism. I found that it is crucial to pack up
the front legs of the instrument to provide close
contact between the genouillère mechanism attached
to the stand and the trapwork inside the instrument.
If this is done then the "peau-de-buffle" raising
mechanism works perfectly. The "peau-de-buffle"
register was regulated and about four new plectra made.
Some jacks were packed to improve staggering. Some jacks
in the lower 8' were provided with tongue restraints made
from thin strips of bellows-leather, glued into place
using seccotine.
16th - 20th May 1994
The instrument was used for WDR
recordings of Gaspard Le Roux's
Pièces de Clavecin, Paris, 19=705,
by Mitzi Meyerson and Lisa Crawford.
This instrument and the 1769 Taskin were
moved into the Concert Hall on 17th May.
The total playing time over five days of
rehearsal and recording was 26 hrs, approximately.
A description of the temperaments used is given
in the 1769 Taskin note book. The instrument remained
in the Concert Hall during the ensuing week and was
used by John Kitchen for his recital in the university
summer series on 28th May. This involved two rehearsal
and a total playing time of 6 hrs.
String replaced on 18.5.94 A (0.38 yellow brass) replaced with 0.38 MR yellow brass. Instrument returned to Newman Gallery on 31.5.94.
6th June 1994
Tuning "tidied -up" in bass, treble + 4'.
25th June 1994
Tuned to a' 415 Hz Young/Vallotti
30th June 1994
Tuned to a' 415 Hz Young/Vallotti (drifted v. sharp)
2nd August 1994
Tuned to a' 415 Hz
25th August 1994
Moved to Concert Hall
27th August 1994
Rehearsal and performance by Penelope Cave.
Tuned 3 times a' 415 Hz (Young).
Total playing time 4( hrs. Returned to Newman Gallery.
5th September 1994
Tuned a' 415 Hz (Young) JR.
22nd October 1994
Tuned a' 415 Hz (Young) JR.
16th December 1994
Tuned a' 415 Hz (Young) JR.
28th January 1995
Tuned a' 415 Hz (Young).
16th February 1995
Tuned a' 415 Hz (Young).
4th March 1995
Tuned a' 415 Hz (Young).
11th April 1995
Tuned a' 415 Hz (Barnes).
5th May 1995
Moved into Concert Hall for S.F.O. meeting.
Tuned a' 415 Hz (Vallotti).
Regulated peau-de-buffle stop.
One or two new plectra fitted.
Played by John Kitchen for approx 1 hr.
Returned to Newman Gallery 6.6.95.
27 June 1995
Tuned a' 415 Hz (Vallotti/Barnes).
21st July 1995
Tuned a' 415 Hz (Vallotti/Barnes).
24th August 1995
Moved into Concert Hall for "Fringe"
concert (Lucy Carolan). Tuned a' 415 Hz (Young).
2 hrs playing.
25th August 1995
6 hrs rehearsal time. Minor voicing changes.
26th August 1995
Tuned a' 415 Hz (twice). Peau-de-buffle
removed for concert. Playing and rehearsal
time 5 hrs. Total playing time 13 hrs.
10th October 1995
Tuned a' 415 Hz (Young).
15th December 1995
Tuned a' 415 Hz (Young).
12th January 1996
Tuned a' 415 Hz (Young).
7th February 1996
Tuned a' 415 Hz (Young). Some voicing
required. Replaced string for long 8' C.
.48 mm MR.
20th February 1996
Replaced string for long 8' D. .48 mm MR (broken at bridge pin).
21st February 1996
Tuned a' 415 Hz (Young) using meter.
Minor regulation. Played by Mitzi
Meyerson 40 mins. Problem noted:
clicking of upper manual keys on return:
sounding like wood on wood.
22nd February 1996
Upper keyboard removed. Noise found
to be caused by looseness of key
mortises rattling against guide pins.
Tried moistening mortise with a
little water to swell grain. This
proved quite effective and was applied
to guides for f - f7#179.
Problem significantly reduced
by only answer will be careful
repair to key levers. Playing time by
Mitzi Meyerson (am) 1 hr 30 mins + 2hrs.
23rd February 1996
Tuned a' 415 Hz (Young). Playing time am = 4 hrs.
Noisy upper manual tail guides. a, b, c¹,
e¹, g¹, a¹, c², d²,
small skims of hand made paper approx.
10 mm x 2 mm glued to bearing surfaced
improved things, but the real problem clicking
also seemed to be related to the upper manual
key tails falling back against the coupler dogs.
Additional box cloth on the lower edge of the
upper manual keytails has worn through to the glue
layer and a click is produced every time the key
lever is released. The looseness of the key guides
probably tends to amplify this. The removal of
these pads would assist in producing a slight
"lost motion" which could be advantageous in a
plucking order in which the upper manual jacks
speak last - the present pads may have been added
to facilitate the plucking of the upper manual 8'
in advance of the lower (as it used to be before my
alteration in May 1991). My temporary solution to
this problem was to "teasel" the wool at points of
contact with a fine needle, but this will provide
only temporary relief.
24th February 1996
Tuning for rehearsal. Practice time 3 hrs.
Tuning and concert 1( hrs. Returned to
gallery after concert. Total playing time 13 hrs 15 mins.
23rd March 1996
Tuning check.
24th March 1996
Tuning check. String d .46 mm lower 8' replaced.
18th April 1996
Removed to Laigh Room for photography by Joe Rock.
Moved back to gallery same day.
24th April 1996
Tuning checked.
25th May 1996
Tuning checked.
4th June 1996
Tuning checked. A 415 (Young).
13th August 1996
Moved into Concert Hall for J Kitchen concert.
D red brass string replaced (MR) 0.46 mm.
Tuning and minor voicing adjustments.
14th August 1996
Rehearsal 3 hrs. Recital (2 tunings).
Playing time 1hrs.
15th August 1996
Returned to Newman Gallery.
19th August 1996
Tuning tidied up.
29th August 1996
Tuned to a 409 Hz (Young).
October 1996
Preparations for WDR recordings.
10th October 1996
Keyboards removed. Wear in the balance holes
and mortises compensated for by application of
soluble glue (seccotine) to top edges of mortises
and balance pin holes, also rear guides on upper
keyboard. Excess deposits removed with fine
needle files. Lower manual: significant wear
on brass guide pins makes this keyboard quite
rattley. Soluble glue mixed with powdered
graphite applied to one side only of guide
rack slots. 'L' or 'R' selected to even out
key-spacings at the front of the keys.
Keys treated:
On reassembly of the keys a very noticeable improvement to the playing quality of the action was noted. Further minor applications could be a pplied in future.*
19th October 1996
Instrument moved into Concert Hall for WDR Gaspard Le Roux recordings.
*Before action was reassembled,
repairs were made to the backs of the upper manual
keys. See note (23.2.96). "Clacking" noise of return
of upper manual keys caused by coupler dogs striking
worn-through box cloth tabs on upper manual keys .
I experimented with peeling off these tabs (which are
obviously a modern repair), reversing them and regluing with "seccotine".
Notes F1 to B1
and c² to
f³ were unaltered as wear was minimal.
During the recording sessions,
Lisa Crawford found problems with
repetition on the upper manual 8'.
This has been a besetting problem with
this instrument. The springs on the jacks
are quite strong. The tongues are rather
more massive than Taskin's were and the tongues
can be seen flying backwards by several millimetres
in fast passages. I have previously attached small
"bridles" to the backs of particularlylying strips of
kid leather c. 1.5 mm wide to the backs of tongues in a
run from .... to ...... in the upper 8' jacks.
Lisa immediately noticed the improvement in this register -
a much more secure and positive feel. The bridles were
glued on with a dab of seccotine on each side of the
tongue slots. The present jacks are by Dolmetsch and
slightly loose in the guides, but quite nicely if a
little roughly made. Continuing this work through the
present jacks would probably make a very considerable
improvement to the playing quality of the instrument
with little outlay of time. Talk to G. Temperament
5th common meantone: a' 409 Hz, f-a 1( beats per sec. beats per sec.(
F - 1/5, C - 1/5, G - 1/5, D - 1/5, A - 1/5,
E - 1/5, B - 1/5, F - 1/5,
C - 1/5, G - 1/5,
E + 1/5, B 0, F
. Retunings for remote keys
18th October 1996
Moved instrument into Concert Hall.
19th October 1996
Tuned.
20th October 1996
Rehearsal time - 6 hrs.
21st October 1996
Tuning and rehearsal - 6 hrs.
22nd October 1996
Tuning and rehearsal - 6 hrs.
23rd October 1996
Tunings and rehearsal - 4 hrs.
24th October 1996
Tunings and rehearsal + recording - 5 hrs.
25th October 1996
Tunings, recording - 5 hrs.
Total for sessions - 32 hrs.
1st November 1996
Tuned to a' 415 Hz. Broken string replaced.
G- 8' lower - 0.40 mm MR brass.
December 1996
Tuning checks.
3rd January 1997
Tuned to a' 415 Hz (Young).
15th January 1997
Tuned to a' 415 Hz (Young).
1st February 1997
Tuned to a' 415 Hz (Young).
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