Russell Collection of Early
Keyboard Instruments

HS1-A1620.2: Single-manual harpsichord, anonymous. Naples, c.1620.

Concert Notes - The single-manual anonymous Italian harpsichord

The single-manual harpsichord being used in tonight's concert is unfortunately neither signed nor dated. It is clear from its construction, however, that it was made in Italy and that it must date from a period around 1600 to 1620 or 30. Recent research has shown that this harpsichord must be from Naples. The city or region of construction of an anonymous instrument can be determined by analysing the size of the unit of measurement used in its construction. Until the time of the Napoleonic invasions of the Italian peninsula each of the major cities in Italy used its own unit of measurement and the size of these units varied from place to place. The braccio, piede, canna, palmo, etc. and their subdivision into the oncia, soldo or pollice were therefore characteristic of each of the centres in which instruments and virtually all other manufactured items were built. Therefore if the unit of measurement used in the design and construction of an instrument can be determined, this can be used in turn to establish the centre of its origin. This procedure has been carried out for this harpsichord and it is clear that the Neapolitan oncia was used in its construction. In fact a number of the other characteristics of its building style such as the layered rosette, the panelled nameboard and the general style of the case mouldings are all typical of other instruments known to have been constructed in Naples.

The instrument is disposed with a single manual, 2 eight-foot registers and with a compass of C to d³. It became clear during the restoration of the harpsichord by the late John Barnes in 1975 that the original compass was C/E to f³ with a short octave in the bass and with a number of split accidental keys and extra split keys in the bass short octave to enable the extra notes F and G to be played. It was also clear that there had been a number of intermediate states of the instrument between the original and the present states. Many characteristics of the workmanship of the present final state are typical of those of Bartolomeo Cristofori, the inventor of the pianoforte. Cristofori is one of the great names in the field of early keyboard organology. His workmanship is of the highest quality and his sense of design and innovation are nothing less than brilliant. It is one of the greatest assets of the Russell Collection to have an example of the work of this great master among it other many treasures.

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