page_title: Contemporary harpsichord
section_title: Instruments
hierarchical_section_title: Contemporary harpsichord / Instruments
caption_attribution_description: English: Harpsichord build in 1976 Deutsch: Sperrhake Cembalo, (Passau) mit Pedalen zur Manualumschaltung und Kopplung, Seriennummer 766600 (1976) Français&#160;: Clavecin Sperrhake construit en 1976
context_page_description: The harpsichord was largely obsolete, and seldom played, during a period lasting from the late 18th century to the early 20th. The instrument was successfully revived during the 20th century, first in an ahistorical form strongly influenced by the piano, then with historically more faithful instruments. The revival was the joint work of performers, builders, and composers who wrote new harpsichord pieces. However the harpsichord never completely disappeared from the public eye as it was used through the mid-19th century for basso continuo because despite its low volume, it had considerable power to "cut through" the orchestra. The earliest revival efforts began in the mid-19th century due to its increasingly infrequent usage and there was concern that the instrument could become a forgotten relic of the past.
context_section_description: In the earlier stages, 20th-century harpsichords were heavily influenced by the technology of the modern piano, and usually included metal framing (which was entirely absent in historical instruments). It was felt that such construction would increase the stability of tuning. Since heavy framing tends to stifle harpsichord sound, instruments were bolstered by other means, notably the addition of a 16' stop (an additional set of strings that played an octave below normal pitch); such stops were somewhat unusual in the historical period but became widespread in the first half of the 20th century. An example was the harpsichord produced by Pleyel et Cie at the request of Landowska.
  Starting in the mid-20th century, instruments were introduced whose construction followed historical principles, with thinner cases, historical dispositions (arrangements of choirs of strings) and no metal framing. Among the leaders of this shift were Frank Hubbard, William Dowd, and Martin Skowroneck. With time, such instruments came to dominate the scene, and the older heavy-frame instruments are almost never manufactured today. They retain historical value, however, since they were the instruments that early to mid-20th-century composers had in mind when they wrote their works.
  The transition of harpsichord building toward historicist principles is covered in detail by Hubbard (1965), Zuckermann (1969), and Kottick (2003), cited below.
caption: A heavy-framed mid-century harpsichord by the Sperrhake firm. Such instruments were harshly criticized during the 1960s by Zuckermann, who described their sound as feeble and their appearance as tubby, a betrayal of the tradition of beauty seen in historical instruments.
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