Newbie clavichord build

[Alan Caro]

Greg,

The distance from the tangent to string is progressive, generally being closer in the bass and farther in the treble. This is another indicator of the role that the string tension plays in the action. The long and often brass strings in the bass are not as taught as the treble strings, so when pressing the key, the looser tension makes the apparent key depth larger and it feels less responsive. This happens on harpsichords too, but harpsichords are generally scaled further down in the bass : (that is the doubling of string length for each octave reaches a but lower and as the key pressure on harpsichords does not affect the volume of sound produced, it's not as noticeable. I'd suggest following the plan notes- that seems about right. I've played quite a few modern clavichords that increased the tangent to string distance up to 9-12mm to try and increase the volume, but I find them difficult to play.

The feel of the action does take quite a lot of getting used to. No other keyboard instrument has that sensation. And of course, the quite amazing proportional control over the volume and the ability to produce vibrato and bend notes for effect isn't found on any other stringed keyboard instrument. This is the reason that learning the clavichord was so highly prized as it required an evenness of touch pressure not required on an organ or harpsichord. Clavichords are really amazingly elegant in terms of effective simplicity, considering the expressive control of a simple keylever on a balance rail with a vertical blade of brass as compared to up to 130+ parts in one note of a grand piano action.

Not a lot of sound, but one quickly tunes into it. I attended a recital series with 120-150 people in a 12th C. church in northern Italy and the requirement to not make the slightest sound really drew the audience into participation in the event. Clavichords have an odd introspective and calming effect.

In my view, recordings can help provide a further insight into the appropriate sound of a less familiar instrument like a clavichord.

I recommend, particularly, this one of music by Froberger, performed by Thurston Dart:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wILVMuon6r4&t=595s

Very expressive music that at the time could have only been realized on clavichord.

And Dart's Bach French suites, here introduced by Dart:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzI7rK7hwNc&t=858s

Christopher Hogwood also recorded quite a lot on clavichord:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcyPrOVYRVk

Igor Kipnis, who I met in Princeton in 1973, and interviewed on the radio in 2000, recorded quite a bit on clavichord in addition to his usual harpsichord:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-bV-Sm4aWs

> listen at 27:45

A lot of CPE Bach seems very suited to the clavichord and CPE was a promoter of it for learning:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zOt-oBekls

The clavichord videos by Win Winters- which include surprisingly successful selections of Beethoven (Beethoven did mention having a clavichord and there's is one in the museum of the Conservatoire de Paris that I've seen, claimed, probably spuriously to have been his) and


What are your plans for the case finish?

Alan