Harpsichord history of origin. Harpsichord: history, video, interesting facts, listen. Different types of keyboard string instruments

Musical instrument: Harpsichord

Surely at concerts you have noticed a musical instrument similar to a piano, but much smaller in size, with several keyboards and a completely different, ringing metallic sound? The name of this instrument is harpsichord. In each country it is called differently: in France and Russia it is a harpsichord, in Italy it is a cymbalo (and sometimes a clavicembalo), in England it is a harpsichord. The harpsichord is a keyboard stringed musical instrument in which the sound is produced by plucking.

Sound

The sound of the harpsichord is difficult to confuse with any other instrument; it is special, brilliant and abrupt. As soon as you hear this sound, you immediately imagine ancient dances, balls, and noble court ladies in magnificent dresses with unimaginable hairstyles. The main difference between the harpsichord is that its sound cannot smoothly change dynamics, like other instruments. In order to solve this problem, the craftsmen came up with the idea of ​​adding other registers that are activated using manual switches and levers. They are located on the sides of the keyboard. A little later, foot switches also appeared to make playing easier.

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Interesting Facts

• The harpsichord has always been considered an aristocratic instrument that adorned the salons and halls of the richest people in Europe. That is why in the old days it was made from expensive types of wood, the keys were covered with tortoise shell plates, mother of pearl, and sometimes inlaid with precious stones.
• Have you noticed that some harpsichords have black lower keys and white upper keys - everything is exactly the opposite of that of a grand piano or upright piano? Harpsichords with key colors like this were common in France in the 17th century. As historians explain, this decoration of the keyboard was associated with the gallant style that was dominant in art at that time - the snow-white hands of the harpsichordists looked very graceful and prominent on the black keyboard.
• At first, the harpsichord was placed on a table; a little later, the craftsmen added beautiful legs.

• At one time, the conductor had to sit at the harpsichord, and he managed to play with his left hand and direct the musicians with his right.
• Trying to recreate the sound of a harpsichord, some masters resorted to trickery. Thus, in the Red October piano, made in Soviet times, the third pedal lowers a special fabric onto the strings, to which metal reeds are attached. The hammers strike them and a characteristic sound occurs. The Soviet Accord piano has the same design.
• Foot switches on the harpsichord did not appear until 1750.
• At first, the dynamics of sound were changed by doubling and tripling the strings; only in the 17th-18th centuries did they begin to make instruments with 2 or even 3 manuals, located one above the other with different registers. In this case, the upper manual was tuned an octave higher.
• For a long time, the oldest harpsichord that has survived to this day was considered to be the instrument of the Italian master Hieronymus in 1521. However, later they found an older harpsichord, made on September 18, 1515 by Vincentius from Livigimeno.
• Harpsichords of the 16th century were predominantly of Italian origin (Venice) and were made of cypress. French instruments with two keyboards (manuals) were made of walnut.
• Most harpsichords have lute register, it is characterized by a nasal timbre. In order to achieve such a sound, the strings were muffled with pieces of felt or leather.
• In the Middle Ages, at the court of the Spanish King Philip II there was a so-called “cat harpsichord”. It was a device consisting of a keyboard and a rectangular box with several compartments in which cats were placed. Before this, the animals were listened to by stepping on their tails and ranked according to their voices. Then the tails of the unfortunate cats were secured under the keys, when pressed, a needle was pierced into them. The animal screamed loudly, and the performer continued to play his melody. It is known that Perth I also ordered a “cat harpsichord” for his cabinet of curiosities.
• The famous French harpsichordist F. Couperin has a treatise “The Art of Playing the Harpsichord,” which is still used by musicians in our time.
• It was Couperin who began to actively use the thumb (first finger) when playing the harpsichord; before that, musicians played with only four, and the fifth was not used. This idea was soon picked up by other performers.
• Famous performer Handel, as a child he was forced to practice playing the harpsichord in the attic, since his father was against a career as a musician and dreamed of his son receiving a law education.
• It is interesting that the action of the jumper was described by W. Shakespeare in his 128th sonnet.
• Musicians who played the harpsichord were called clavierists, since they successfully played body and clavichord.
• It is noteworthy that the range of the concert harpsichord of the mid-18th century was wider than that of the piano, which replaced it a little later

Works

I.S. Bach - Concerto for harpsichord, strings and basso continuo in D major (listen)

M. Corette - Concerto for harpsichord and orchestra in D minor (listen)

G.F. Handel - Harpsichord Suite No. 4 Sarabande (listen)

Design

Externally, the harpsichord looks a little like a piano. The elongated triangular shape is complemented by beautiful legs, and the strings are arranged horizontally, parallel to the keys. Each key is equipped with a pusher, sometimes also called a jumper, with a tongue attached to its upper end. The sound of a harpsichord is produced by plucking. When you press a key, elastic tongues made of bird feathers move; more modern models have already used plastic ones. They catch a tight string, and because of this, a characteristic plucking sound occurs.

Origin story

The first information about this instrument is usually attributed to 1511, so it is believed that it originated in the 16th century. However, a little later, new information appeared that the Italian source of 1397 (“Decameron” by G. Boccacio) also contains information about the instrument. The oldest image dates back to 1425 - on an altar in Minden.

The harpsichord owes its origin to the psalterium. The design of this ancient predecessor was changed and a keyboard mechanism was added. The first harpsichords were not very similar to the modern version. They were rectangular in shape and looked more like a “free” clavichord, only the strings were of different lengths.

At one time, the harpsichord was very popular and was successfully used in ensembles and orchestras. In the 17th – 18th centuries, the instrument became widespread as a solo instrument. The peculiar timbre of the harpsichord perfectly suited this gallant time. By the beginning of the 19th century, the instrument practically went out of use, until the culture of playing it was revived at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries.

Varieties

The name “harpsichord” belongs to keyboard instruments with a range of up to 5 octaves and having a wing-shaped shape. There are also smaller varieties of the instrument, which come with one set of strings, and their range reaches only 4 octaves. So, among them stand out: the spinet, in which the strings are located diagonally, the muzelard - rectangular in shape and the strings located strictly perpendicular to the keyboard. In addition, virginel is also a variety.

Video: listen to the harpsichord

CLAVISIN [French] clavecin, from Late Lat. clavicymbalum, from lat. clavis - key (hence the key) and cymbalum - cymbals] - a plucked keyboard musical instrument. Known since the 16th century. (began to be constructed back in the 14th century), the first information about the harpsichord dates back to 1511; The oldest surviving instrument made in Italy dates back to 1521.

The harpsichord originated from the psalterium (as a result of the reconstruction and addition of a keyboard mechanism).

Initially, the harpsichord was quadrangular in shape and resembled a “free” clavichord in appearance, in contrast to which it had strings of different lengths (each key corresponded to a special string tuned to a certain tone) and a more complex keyboard mechanism. The strings of the harpsichord were set into vibration by plucking with the help of a bird's feather mounted on a rod - a pusher. When the key was pressed, the pusher located at its rear end rose and the feather hooked onto the string (later, instead of a bird's feather, a leather plectrum was used).

The structure of the upper part of the pusher: 1 - string, 2 - axis of the releasing mechanism, 3 - languette (from the French languette), 4 - plectrum (tongue), 5 - damper.

The sound of the harpsichord is brilliant, but unsung (short) - which means it is not amenable to dynamic changes (it is louder, but less expressive than that), the change in the strength and timbre of the sound does not depend on the nature of the strike on the keys. In order to enhance the sonority of the harpsichord, doubled, tripled and even quadrupled strings were used (for each tone), which were tuned in unison, octave, and sometimes other intervals.

Evolution

Since the beginning of the 17th century, instead of gut strings, metal strings were used, increasing in length (from treble to bass). The instrument acquired a triangular wing-shaped shape with a longitudinal (parallel to the keys) arrangement of strings.

In the 17th-18th centuries. To give the harpsichord a dynamically more varied sound, instruments were made with 2 (sometimes 3) manual keyboards (manuals), which were arranged in a terrace-like manner, one above the other (usually the upper manual was tuned an octave higher), as well as with register switches for expanding trebles, octave doubling of basses and changes in timbre coloring (lute register, bassoon register, etc.).

The registers were operated by levers located on the sides of the keyboard, or by buttons located under the keyboard, or by pedals. On some harpsichords, for greater timbre variety, a 3rd keyboard was arranged with some characteristic timbre coloring, often reminiscent of a lute (the so-called lute keyboard).

Appearance

Externally, harpsichords were usually decorated very elegantly (the body was decorated with drawings, inlays, and carvings). The finish of the instrument was consistent with the stylish furniture of the Louis XV era. In the 16th-17th centuries. The harpsichords of the Antwerp masters Rukkers stood out for their sound quality and artistic design.

Harpsichord in different countries

The name “harpsichord” (in France; harpsichord - in England, keelflugel - in Germany, clavichembalo or abbreviated cymbal - in Italy) was retained for large wing-shaped instruments with a range of up to 5 octaves. There were also smaller instruments, usually rectangular in shape, with single strings and a range of up to 4 octaves, called: epinet (in France), spinet (in Italy), virginel (in England).

Harpsichord with a vertical body - . The harpsichord was used as a solo, chamber ensemble and orchestral instrument.

The creator of the virtuoso harpsichord style was the Italian composer and harpsichordist D. Scarlatti (he owns numerous works for the harpsichord); the founder of the French school of harpsichordists is J. Chambonnière (his “Harpsichord Pieces”, 2 books, 1670 were popular).

Among the French harpsichordists of the late 17th and 18th centuries. - , J.F. Rameau, L. Daquin, F. Daidrieu. French harpsichord music is an art of refined taste, refined manners, rationalistically clear, subordinate to aristocratic etiquette. The delicate and cold sound of the harpsichord harmonized with the “good tone” of the elite society.

The gallant style (rococo) found its vivid embodiment among the French harpsichordists. The favorite themes of harpsichord miniatures (miniature is a characteristic form of Rococo art) were female images (“Captivating”, “Flirty”, “Gloomy”, “Shy”, “Sister Monica”, “Florentine” by Couperin), gallant dances (minuet) occupied a large place , gavotte, etc.), idyllic pictures of peasant life (“Reapers”, “Grape Pickers” by Couperin), onomatopoeic miniatures (“Chicken”, “Clock”, “Cheeping” by Couperin, “Cuckoo” by Daquin, etc.). A typical feature of harpsichord music is an abundance of melodic embellishments.

By the end of the 18th century. works by French harpsichordists began to disappear from the repertoire of performers. As a result, the instrument, which had such a long history and such a rich artistic heritage, was forced out of musical practice and replaced by the piano. And not just superseded, but completely forgotten in the 19th century.

This occurred as a result of a radical change in aesthetic preferences. Baroque aesthetics, which is based on either a clearly formulated or clearly felt concept of the theory of affects (in brief the essence: one mood, affect - one sound color), for which the harpsichord was an ideal means of expression, gave way first to the worldview of sentimentalism, then to a stronger direction - classicism and, finally, romanticism. In all these styles, the most attractive and cultivated idea was, on the contrary, the idea of ​​changeability - feelings, images, moods. And the piano was able to express this. The harpsichord could not do all this in principle - due to the peculiarities of its design.

I must admit that I am talking about the harpsichord as a deeply personal subject for me. Having been performing on it for almost forty years, I have developed a deep affection for certain authors and have played in concerts complete cycles of everything they wrote for this instrument. This primarily concerns François Couperin and Johann Sebastian Bach. What has been said, I hope, will serve as an apology for my biases, which I am afraid I will not be able to avoid.

DEVICE

A large family of keyboard-string plucked instruments is known. They vary in size, shape and sound (color) resources. Almost every master who made such instruments in the old days tried to add something of his own to their design.

There is a lot of confusion about what they were called. In the most general terms, instruments are divided according to their shape into longitudinal (reminiscent of a small piano, but with angular shapes - a grand piano has rounded shapes) and rectangular. Of course, this difference is by no means decorative: with different positions of the strings relative to the keyboard, the place on the string in which the plucking characteristic of all these instruments is made has a very significant effect on the timbre of the sound.

J. Wermeer of Delft. Woman sitting at the harpsichord
OK. 1673–1675. National Gallery, London

The harpsichord is the largest and most complex instrument of this family.

In Russia since the 18th century. The most widely used French name for the instrument is the harpsichord ( clavecin), but is found, mainly in musical and academic practice, and the Italian - cymbal ( cembalo; Italian names are also known clavicembalo, gravicembalo). In musicological literature, especially when it comes to English Baroque music, the English name of this instrument comes across without translation. harpsichord.

The harpsichord's main feature of sound production is that at the rear end of the key there is a so-called jumper (otherwise known as a pusher), in the upper part of which a feather is attached. When the musician presses a key, the back end of the key rises (since the key is a lever) and the jumper goes up, and the feather plucks the string. When the key is released, the feather slides silently thanks to a spring that allows it to deflect slightly.

Different types of keyboard string instruments

It is noteworthy that W. Shakespeare gave a description of the action of the jumper, and an unusually accurate one, in his 128th sonnet. Of the many translation options, the essence of playing the harpsichord most accurately - in addition to the artistic and poetic side - is conveyed by Modest Tchaikovsky's translation:

When you, my music, play,
Set these keys in motion
And, caressing them so tenderly with your fingers,
The consonance of strings gives rise to admiration,
I look at the keys with jealousy,
How they cling to the palms of your hands;
Lips are burning and thirsty for a kiss,
They look enviously at their audacity.
Oh, if fate suddenly turned
I join the ranks of these dry dancers!
I'm glad that your hand slid over them, -
Their soullessness is more blessed than the lips of the living.
But if they are happy, then
Let them kiss your fingers, and let me kiss your lips.

Of all types of keyboard-string plucked instruments, the harpsichord is the largest and most complex. It is used both as a solo instrument and as an accompanying instrument. It is indispensable in baroque music as an ensemble piece. But before talking about the huge repertoire for this instrument, it is necessary to explain something more about its design.

On a harpsichord, all the colors (timbres) and dynamics (that is, the strength of sound) were initially laid down in the instrument itself by the creator of each individual harpsichord. In this way it is to a certain extent similar to an organ. On a harpsichord, you cannot change the sound by changing how hard you press the key. By comparison: on the piano, the entire art of interpretation lies in the richness of the touch, that is, in the variety of ways of pressing or striking the key.

Diagram of the harpsichord mechanism

Rice. A: 1. Steg; 2. Damper; 3. Jumper (pusher); 4. Register bar; 5. Steg;
6. Jumper (push) frame; 7. Key

Rice. B. Jumper (pusher): 1. Damper; 2. String; 3. Feather; 4. Tongue; 5. Polster; 6. Spring

Of course, it depends on the sensitivity of the harpsichordist’s playing whether the instrument sounds musical or “like a saucepan” (that’s roughly how Voltaire put it). But the strength and timbre of the sound do not depend on the harpsichordist, since between the harpsichordist’s finger and the string there is a complex transmission mechanism in the form of a jumper and a feather. Again, for comparison: on a piano, hitting a key directly affects the action of the hammer striking the string, while on a harpsichord the effect on the feather is indirect.

STORY

The early history of the harpsichord goes back centuries. It was first mentioned in the treatise of John de Muris “The Mirror of Music” (1323). One of the earliest depictions of a harpsichord is in the Weimar Book of Wonders (1440).

For a long time it was believed that the oldest surviving instrument was made by Hieronymus of Bologna and dated 1521. It is kept in London, in the Victoria and Albert Museum. But recently it has been established that there is an instrument several years older, also created by an Italian master - Vincentius from Livigimeno. It was presented to Pope Leo X. Its production began, according to the inscription on the case, on September 18, 1515.

Harpsichord. Weimar Book of Miracles. 1440

To avoid monotony of sound, harpsichord makers, already at an early stage of the instrument’s development, began to supply each key not with one string, but with two, naturally, of different timbres. But it soon became clear that for technical reasons it was impossible to use more than two sets of strings for one keyboard. Then the idea arose to increase the number of keyboards. By the 17th century The most musically rich harpsichords are instruments with two keyboards (otherwise known as manuals, from lat. manus- "hand").

From a musical point of view, such an instrument is the best means for performing a diverse baroque repertoire. Many works of the harpsichord classics were written specifically for the effect of playing on two keyboards, for example, a number of sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti. F. Couperin specifically stated in the preface to the third collection of his harpsichord pieces that he placed in it pieces that he calls "Pieces croises"(plays with crossing [arms]). “Pieces with such a name,” the composer continues, “should be performed on two keyboards, one of which should sound muffled by changing registers.” For those who do not have a two-manual harpsichord, Couperin gives recommendations on how to play the instrument with one keyboard. But in a number of cases, the requirement for a two-manual harpsichord is an indispensable condition for the full artistic performance of a composition. Thus, on the title page of the collection containing the famous “French Overture” and “Italian Concerto,” Bach indicated: “for clavicembalo with two manuals.”

From the point of view of the evolution of the harpsichord, two manuals turned out to be not the limit: we know examples of harpsichords with three keyboards, although we do not know works that would categorically require such an instrument for their performance. Rather, these are technical tricks of individual harpsichordists.

During its brilliant heyday (XVII-XVIII centuries), the harpsichord was played by musicians who mastered all the keyboard instruments that existed at that time, namely the organ and clavichord (that’s why they were called claviers).

Harpsichords were created not only by harpsichord makers, but also by organ builders. And it was natural to apply in harpsichord construction some fundamental ideas that were already widely used in the design of organs. In other words, harpsichord makers followed the path of organ builders in expanding the register resources of their instruments. If on the organ these were more and more new sets of pipes, distributed between manuals, then on the harpsichord they began to use a larger number of sets of strings, also distributed between manuals. These harpsichord registers did not differ too much in sound volume, but in timbre - very significantly.

Title page of the first collection of music
for virginel "Parthenia". London. 1611

So, in addition to two sets of strings (one for each keyboard), which sounded in unison and corresponded in height to the sounds recorded in the notes, there could be four-foot and sixteen-foot registers. (Even the designation of registers was borrowed by harpsichord makers from organ builders: pipes organs are designated in feet, and the main registers corresponding to musical notation are the so-called eight-foot ones, while pipes that produce sounds an octave above the notated ones are called four-foot ones, and those that produce sounds an octave below are called sixteen-foot ones. On the harpsichord, the registers formed by the sets are indicated in the same measures strings.)

Thus, the sound range of a large concert harpsichord of the mid-18th century. It was not only not narrower than a piano, but even wider. And this despite the fact that the notation of harpsichord music looks narrower in range than piano music.

MUSIC

By the 18th century The harpsichord has accumulated an unusually rich repertoire. As an extremely aristocratic instrument, it spread throughout Europe, having its bright apologists everywhere. But if we talk about the most powerful schools of the 16th - early 17th centuries, then we must name first of all the English Virginalists.

We will not tell the history of the virginel here, we will only note that this is a type of keyboard-plucked string instrument, similar in sound to the harpsichord. It is noteworthy that in one of the last thorough studies on the history of the harpsichord ( Kottick E. A History of the Harpsichord. Bloomington. 2003) virginel, like the spinet (another variety), are considered in line with the evolution of the harpsichord itself.

Regarding the name virginel, it is worth noting that one of the proposed etymologies traces it back to English virgin and further to Latin virgo, that is, “virgin”, since Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen, loved to play the virginal. In fact, virginal appeared even before Elizabeth. The origin of the term “virginel” is more correctly derived from another Latin word - virga(“stick”), which indicates the same jumper.

It is interesting that in the engraving decorating the first printed edition of music for the virginal (“Parthenia”), the musician is depicted in the guise of a Christian maiden - St. Cecilia. By the way, the name of the collection itself comes from the Greek. parthenos, which means "maiden".

To decorate this edition, an engraving from the painting by the Dutch artist Hendrik Goltzius “St. Cecilia". However, the engraver did not make a mirror image of the image on the board, so both the engraving itself and the performer turned out to be upside down - her left hand was much more developed than her right, which, of course, could not have been the case for a virginalist of that time. There are thousands of such mistakes in engravings. A non-musician's eye does not notice this, but a musician immediately sees the engraver's mistake.

The founder of the harpsichord revival in the 20th century dedicated several wonderful pages full of enthusiastic feeling to the music of the English virginalists. wonderful Polish harpsichordist Wanda Landowska: “Poured from hearts more worthy than ours, and nourished by folk songs, old English music - passionate or serene, naive or pathetic - sings of nature and love. She exalts life. If she turns to mysticism, then she glorifies God. Unmistakably masterful, she is also spontaneous and daring. It often seems more modern than the latest and most advanced. Open your heart to the charm of this music, essentially unknown. Forget that she is old, and do not consider that because of this she is devoid of human feeling.”

These lines were written at the beginning of the twentieth century. Over the past century, an extraordinary amount has been done to reveal and evaluate in its entirety the invaluable musical heritage of the Virginalists. And what names these are! Composers William Bird and John Bull, Martin Pearson and Gil Farnaby, John Munday and Thomas Morley...

There were close contacts between England and the Netherlands (the engraving of “Parthenia” already testifies to this). Harpsichords and virginels of the Dutch masters, especially the Ruckers dynasty, were well known in England. At the same time, strangely, the Netherlands itself cannot boast of such a vibrant school of composition.

On the continent, the distinctive harpsichord schools were Italian, French and German. We will mention only three of their main representatives - Francois Couperin, Domenico Scarlatti and Johann Sebastian Bach.

One of the clear and obvious signs of an outstanding composer's gift (which is true of any composer of any era) is the development of his own, purely personal, unique style of expression. And in the total mass of countless writers, there will not be so many true creators. These three names certainly belong to the creators. Each of them has their own unique style.

Francois Couperin

Francois Couperin(1668–1733) - a true harpsichord poet. He could probably consider himself a happy man: all (or almost all) of his harpsichord works, that is, exactly what constitutes his fame and world significance, were published by himself and form four volumes. Thus, we have a comprehensive idea of ​​his harpsichord heritage. The author of these lines was lucky enough to perform a complete cycle of Couperin's harpsichord works in eight concert programs, which were presented at the festival of his music, held in Moscow under the patronage of Mr. Pierre Morel, the French Ambassador to Russia.

I am sorry that I cannot take my reader by the hand, lead him to the harpsichord and play, for example, “The French Masquerade, or Les Masques of the Dominos” by Couperin. How much charm and beauty it has! But there is also so much psychological depth. Here, each mask has a specific color and - what is very important - character. The author's notes explain the images and colors. There are twelve masks (and colors) in total, and they appear in a certain sequence.

I already had occasion to remember this play by Couperin in connection with the story about “Black Square” by K. Malevich (see “Art” No. 18/2007). The fact is that Couperin’s color scheme, starting with white (the first variation, symbolizing Virginity), ends with a black mask (Fury or Despair). Thus, two creators of different eras and different arts created works with a deeply symbolic meaning: in Couperin, this cycle symbolizes periods of human life - the ages of a person (twelve in the number of months, each six years - this is an allegory known in the Baroque era). As a result, Couperin has a black mask, Malevich has a black square. For both, the appearance of black is the result of many forces. Malevich directly stated: “I consider white and black to be derived from color and colorful scales.” Couperin presented us with this colorful range.

It is clear that Couperin had amazing harpsichords at his disposal. This is not surprising - after all, he was the court harpsichordist of Louis XIV. The instruments, with their sound, were able to convey the full depth of the composer’s ideas.

Domenico Scarlatti(1685–1757). This composer has a completely different style, but just like Couperin, an unmistakable handwriting is the first and obvious sign of genius. This name is inextricably linked with the harpsichord. Although Domenico wrote a variety of music in his youth, he later became famous as the author of a huge number (555) of harpsichord sonatas. Scarlatti unusually expanded the performing capabilities of the harpsichord, introducing a hitherto unprecedented virtuoso scope into the technique of playing it.

A kind of parallel to Scarlatti in the later history of piano music is the work of Franz Liszt, who, as is known, specially studied the performing techniques of Domenico Scarlatti. (By the way, since we are talking about parallels with the art of piano, Couperin also had, in a certain sense, a spiritual heir - this is, of course, F. Chopin.)

For the second half of his life, Domenico Scarlatti (not to be confused with his father, the famous Italian opera composer Alessandro Scarlatti) was the court harpsichordist of the Spanish Queen Maria Barbara, and the vast majority of his sonatas were written specifically for her. One can safely conclude that she was a remarkable harpsichordist if she played these sometimes extremely technically difficult sonatas.

J. Wermeer of Delft. Girl at the spinet. OK. 1670. Private collection

In this regard, I remember one letter (1977) that I received from the outstanding Czech harpsichordist Zuzanna Ruzickova: “Dear Mr. Majkapar! I have one request for you. As you know, there is now a lot of interest in authentic harpsichords, and there is a lot of discussion around this. One of the key documents in the discussion on these instruments in connection with D. Scarlatti is the Vanloo painting, which depicts Maria Barbara of Portugal, wife of Philip V. (Z. Ruzickova was mistaken - Maria Barbara was the wife of Ferdinand VI, son of Philip V. - A.M.). Raphael Pouyana (a major contemporary French harpsichordist - A.M.) believes that the painting was painted after the death of Maria Barbara and therefore cannot be a historical source. The painting is in the Hermitage. It would be very important if you would send me documents on this painting.”

Fragment. 1768. Hermitage, St. Petersburg

The painting referred to in the letter is “Sextet” by L.M. Vanloo (1768).

It is in the Hermitage, in the storeroom of the department of French painting of the 18th century. Custodian of the department I.S. Nemilova, having learned about the purpose of my visit, escorted me to a large room, or rather a hall, where there are paintings that were not included in the main exhibition. How many works, it turns out, are stored here that are of great interest from the point of view of musical iconography! One after another, we pulled out large frames, on which 10–15 paintings were installed, and examined the subjects that interested us. And finally, “Sextet” by L.M. Vanloo.

According to some reports, this painting depicts the Spanish Queen Maria Barbara. If this hypothesis were proven, then we could have a harpsichord played by Scarlatti himself! What are the grounds to recognize the harpsichordist depicted in Vanloo’s painting as Maria Barbara? Firstly, it seems to me that there really is a superficial resemblance between the lady depicted here and the famous portraits of Maria Barbara. Secondly, Vanloo lived at the Spanish court for a relatively long time and, therefore, could well have painted a picture on a theme from the life of the queen. Thirdly, another name of the painting is known - “Spanish Concert” and, fourthly, some foreign musicologists (for example, K. Sachs) are convinced that the painting is Maria Barbara.

But Nemilova, like Rafael Puyana, doubted this hypothesis. The painting was painted in 1768, that is, twelve years after the artist left Spain and ten years after the death of Maria Barbara. The history of her order is known: Catherine II conveyed to Vanloo through Prince Golitsyn the desire to have a painting by him. This work immediately came to St. Petersburg and was kept here all the time; Golitsyn gave it to Catherine as a “Concert”. As for the name “Spanish Concert,” the Spanish costumes in which the characters are depicted played a role in its origin, and, as Nemilova explained, these are theatrical costumes, and not those that were then in fashion.

V. Landowska

In the picture, of course, the harpsichord attracts attention - a two-manual instrument with a characteristic style of the first half of the 18th century. the coloring of the keys is the reverse of the modern one (those that are black on the piano are white on this harpsichord, and vice versa). In addition, it still lacks pedals for switching registers, although they were already known at that time. This improvement is found on most modern two-manual concert harpsichords. The need to switch registers by hand dictated a certain approach to choosing registration on the harpsichord.

Currently, two directions have clearly emerged in performing practice: supporters of the first believe that one should use all the modern capabilities of the instrument (this opinion was held, for example, by V. Landovska and, by the way, Zuzanna Ruzickova), others believe that when performing ancient music on a modern harpsichord, one should not go beyond the framework of those performing means with which the old masters wrote (this is the opinion of Erwin Bodki, Gustav Leonhardt, the same Rafael Puiana and others).

Since we have paid so much attention to Vanloo’s painting, we note that the artist himself, in turn, turned out to be a character in a musical portrait: the harpsichord piece by the French composer Jacques Dufly is known, which is called “Vanloo”.

Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach(1685–1750). His harpsichord heritage is of exceptional value. My experience of performing in concerts everything that Bach wrote for this instrument testifies: his legacy fits into fifteen (!) concert programs. At the same time, it is necessary to consider separately concerts for harpsichord and strings, as well as a lot of ensemble works that are unthinkable without the harpsichord.

It should be recognized that for all the uniqueness of Couperin and Scarlatti, each of them cultivated one individual style. Bach was universal. The already mentioned “Italian Concerto” and “French Overture” are examples of Bach’s study of the music of these national schools. And these are just two examples, their names reflecting Bach's awareness. Here you can add his cycle of “French Suites”. One could speculate about the English influence in his English Suites. And how many musical examples of different styles are in those of his works that do not reflect this in their titles, but are contained in the music itself! There is nothing to say about how widely the native German keyboard tradition is synthesized in his work.

We do not know exactly which harpsichords Bach played, but we know that he was interested in all technical innovations (including the organ). His interest in expanding the performance capabilities of the harpsichord and other keyboards is most clearly demonstrated by the famous cycle of preludes and fugues in all keys, The Well-Tempered Clavier.

Bach was a true master of the harpsichord. I. Forkel, Bach’s first biographer, reports: “No one could replace the feathers on his harpsichord that had become unusable with new ones so that he would be satisfied - he did it himself. He always tuned his harpsichord himself and was so skillful in this regard that tuning never took him more than a quarter of an hour. With his method of tuning, all 24 keys were at his disposal, and, improvising, he did with them whatever he pleased.”

Already during the lifetime of the brilliant creator of harpsichord music, the harpsichord began to lose its position. In 1747, when Bach visited the King of Prussia, Frederick the Great, in Potsdam, he gave him a theme to improvise, and Bach, apparently, improvised on the “pianoforte” (that was the name of a new instrument at that time) - one of fourteen or fifteen, which were made for the king by Bach’s friend, the famous organ maker Gottfried Silbermann. Bach approved of its sound, although he had not liked the piano before.

In his early youth, Mozart still wrote for the harpsichord, but in general his keyboard work is, of course, directed towards the piano. Publishers of Beethoven's early works indicated on the title pages that his sonatas (think even the "Pathetique," which was published in 1799) were intended "for harpsichord or piano." The publishers used a trick: they did not want to lose those customers who had old harpsichords in their homes. But more and more often, only the body remained of the harpsichords: the harpsichord “filling” was removed as unnecessary and replaced with new, hammer, that is, piano, mechanics.

This begs the question: why was this instrument, which had such a long history and such a rich artistic heritage, by the end of the 18th century. forced out of musical practice and replaced by the piano? And not just supplanted, but completely forgotten in the 19th century? And it cannot be said that when this process of replacing the harpsichord began, the piano was the best instrument in terms of its qualities. Quite the opposite! Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, one of the eldest sons of Johann Sebastian, wrote his double concerto for harpsichord and pianoforte and orchestra, intending to demonstrate with his own eyes the advantages of the harpsichord over the piano.

There is only one answer: the victory of the piano over the harpsichord became possible under conditions of a radical change in aesthetic preferences. Baroque aesthetics, which is based on either a clearly formulated or clearly felt concept of the theory of affects (the essence in brief: one mood, affect, - one sound color), for which the harpsichord was an ideal means of expression, gave way first to the worldview of sentimentalism, then to a stronger direction - classicism and, finally, romanticism. In all these styles, the most attractive and cultivated was, on the contrary, the idea variability- feelings, images, moods. And the piano was able to express this.

This instrument took on the pedal with its fantastic capabilities and became capable of creating incredible rises and falls in sonority ( crescendo And diminuendo). The harpsichord could not do all this in principle - due to the peculiarities of its design.

Let's stop and remember this moment so that we can start our next conversation with it - about the piano, and specifically about the big concert piano, that is, the “royal instrument”, the true ruler of all romantic music.

Our story mixes history and modernity, since today the harpsichord and other instruments of this family have turned out to be unusually widespread and in demand due to the enormous interest in the music of the Renaissance and Baroque, that is, the time when they arose and experienced their golden age.

HARPSICHORD

Surely at concerts you have noticed a musical instrument similar to a piano, but much smaller in size, with several keyboards and a completely different, ringing metallic sound? The name of this instrument is harpsichord (derives from the French word). In each country it is called differently: in France and Russia it is a harpsichord, in Italy it is a cymbalo (and sometimes a clavicembalo), in England it is a harpsichord. The harpsichord is a keyboard stringed musical instrument in which the sound is produced by plucking.

Sound, timbre:

The sound of the harpsichord is difficult to confuse with any other instrument; it is special, brilliant and abrupt. As soon as you hear this sound, you immediately imagine ancient dances, balls, and noble court ladies in magnificent dresses with unimaginable hairstyles. The main difference between the harpsichord is that its sound cannot smoothly change dynamics, like other instruments. In order to solve this problem, the craftsmen came up with the idea of ​​adding other registers that are activated using manual switches and levers. They are located on the sides of the keyboard. A little later, foot switches also appeared to make playing easier.
Interesting Facts:

• The harpsichord has always been considered an aristocratic instrument that adorned the salons and halls of the richest people in Europe. That is why in the old days it was made from expensive types of wood, the keys were covered with tortoise shell plates, mother of pearl, and sometimes inlaid with precious stones.
• Have you noticed that some harpsichords have black lower keys and white upper keys - everything is exactly the opposite of that of a grand piano or upright piano? Harpsichords with key colors like this were common in France in the 17th century. As historians explain, this decoration of the keyboard was associated with the gallant style that was dominant in art at that time - the snow-white hands of the harpsichordists looked very graceful and prominent on the black keyboard.
• At first, the harpsichord was placed on a table; a little later, the craftsmen added beautiful legs.
• At one time, the conductor had to sit at the harpsichord, and he managed to play with his left hand and direct the musicians with his right.
• Trying to recreate the sound of a harpsichord, some masters resorted to trickery. Thus, in the Red October piano, made in Soviet times, the third pedal lowers a special fabric onto the strings, to which metal reeds are attached. The hammers strike them and a characteristic sound occurs. The Soviet Accord piano has the same design.
• Foot switches on the harpsichord did not appear until 1750.
• At first, the dynamics of sound were changed by doubling and tripling the strings; only in the 17th-18th centuries did they begin to make instruments with 2 or even 3 manuals, located one above the other with different registers. In this case, the upper manual was tuned an octave higher.
• For a long time, the oldest harpsichord that has survived to this day was considered to be the instrument of the Italian master Hieronymus in 1521. However, later they found an older harpsichord, made on September 18, 1515 by Vincentius from Livigimeno.
• Harpsichords of the 16th century were predominantly of Italian origin (Venice) and were made of cypress. French instruments with two keyboards (manuals) were made of walnut.
• Most harpsichords have a lute register, which is characterized by a nasal timbre. In order to achieve such a sound, the strings were muffled with pieces of felt or leather.
• In the Middle Ages, at the court of the Spanish King Philip II there was a so-called “cat harpsichord”. It was a device consisting of a keyboard and a rectangular box with several compartments in which cats were placed. Before this, the animals were listened to by stepping on their tails and ranked according to their voices. Then the tails of the unfortunate cats were secured under the keys, when pressed, a needle was pierced into them. The animal screamed loudly, and the performer continued to play his melody. It is known that Perth I also ordered a “cat harpsichord” for his cabinet of curiosities.
• The famous French harpsichordist F. Couperin has a treatise “The Art of Playing the Harpsichord,” which is still used by musicians in our time.
• It was Couperin who began to actively use the thumb (first finger) when playing the harpsichord; before that, musicians played with only four, and the fifth was not used. This idea was soon picked up by other performers.
• The famous performer Handel, as a child, was forced to practice playing the harpsichord in the attic, since his father was against a career as a musician and dreamed of him receiving a law degree.
• It is interesting that the action of the jumper was described by W. Shakespeare in his 128th sonnet.
• Musicians who played the harpsichord were called claviers, since they also successfully played the organ and clavichord.
• It is noteworthy that the range of the concert harpsichord is ser. 18th century was wider than the piano, which replaced it a little later

An article on the history of ancient clavichords, harpsichords and similar keyboard instruments. What adds interest is that this article is authored by Evgenia Braudo, was published as a brochure in 1916 in the “Musical Contemporary” series under No. 6. As always, I recognized and translated it from pre-revolutionary to modern Russian. Pictures, of course, suckers in quality, but if you want, I think you can find normal ones on the Internet.

Relatively recently, music science began to pay serious attention to history of ancient instruments. Even twenty years ago, these people from distant antiquity, evoking an idea of ​​the alluring beauty of past centuries, of forgotten musical masterpieces, were of interest only to learned archaeologists and museum curators. In recent years, thanks to the successful activities of various “associations for playing ancient instruments,” of which there are a considerable number in all major cultural centers, this area of ​​musical research has begun to attract outstanding scientific forces. For the very first attempts to present the pearls of old music in the frame of their inherent sonority showed that the musical art of the old years, so refined and fragile, requires a masterly fusion of technique with content, and that only an accurate clarification of the design features of all these curious harpsichords, clavichords, and viols makes it possible truly revive the faded gems of old craftsmanship.

The following lines, dedicated to the thousand-year history of the most widespread musical instrument, which in all eras of history has been the custodian of the highest musical values, are intended not so much to present its external evolution, but to point out those structural features of the distant ancestors of our modern piano, which undoubtedly influenced the development of the keyboard style of past centuries.

Genealogy clavier goes back to times very distant from us. Its progenitor is a small wooden box with a string stretched on it, which can be divided into any two parts using a movable threshold. This is a monochord, a physical device familiar to readers from high school physics lessons. Even in ancient times, this instrument served for the mathematical determination of tones. By shortening any string, for example G, by 1/9 of its length and vibrating the remaining 8/9 of it, we obtain a major second, A; 4/5 of the same string produces a major third, H; three quarters - a quart, C; two thirds - a fifth, D; three-fifths major sixth, E; half is the octave G.

But the primitive single-string had a very significant drawback. His string showed the ratio of the lengths of the sounding parts for all tones of the rock, but did not allow the simultaneous sound of the compared sections, and already in a very early era the idea arose to provide "monochord" several strings for greater clarity of consonant intervals. Aristides Quintilian and Claudius Ptolemy, theorists of the 2nd century, describe an instrument equipped with four strings and called a helicon.

In the Middle Ages, a "monochord", which would be more correctly called "polychord", began to be used not only for theoretical research, but also for accompanying singing. In order to facilitate the extremely complex procedure of playing this instrument, the soundboard of the monochord began to be equipped with stands with sharp edges, installing them at the locations of the most important divisions of the string. When, approximately in the middle of the 12th century, the oldest instruments with keys, small portable organs, regals, used for educational purposes and home worship, began to spread, the first attempts were made to adapt the keyboard to a monochord, in the form of a system of stands, each of which, when pressed, the corresponding key, raised enough to firmly press the string in a certain place. However, it was not enough to separate part of the string using a stand; it was necessary to set it into vibration, and so, over time, the primitive stands of the monochord were transformed into metal pins (tangents). These tangents, attached to the keyboard levers, not only divided the string into two parts, but simultaneously made it sound.

A tool built on the principle monochord, but which had a larger number of strings set into oscillation using keys and metal tangents connected to them, received the name clavichord.

About a thousand years passed until, through hard work to improve the mechanism, the ancient single-string was turned into a clavichord. The history of musical art persistently tried, contrary to the evidence, to retain the name monochord behind the clavichord, which caused considerable difficulties to medieval theorists, who tried in vain to find an explanation for such a discrepancy. No less persistently, over the centuries, clavichord builders tried to preserve intact the most monochord principle when applied to a new instrument. While the monochord served exclusively theoretical purposes, it was quite clear that in order to compare individual tones with each other in ancient times, strings of the same length were taken, which made it possible to clearly show the direct connection between the length of the sounding part and the pitch of the sound. But due to a strange historical tradition, the clavichord, which had a completely different application in the art of music, had the same length of strings, so the difference in tones on the clavichord was due only to the difference in the location of the supports that set its strings in vibration. Moreover, the number of the latter did not at all correspond to the number of keys. According to the old principle of the monochord, each individual string had a series of bridges that divided it at different points, and thus, with the help of one string, several tones of different pitches could be produced. All strings were tuned to the lowest tone of the clavichord, G, connected to the first key, which vibrated the entire length of the string. The next key, with its wide metal pin, shortened the same first string by one ninth and thus gave the sound A. The third key shortened the same string by one fifth, giving the tone N. Only the fourth key struck the second string, separating one fourth of it with a pin part, so that with the help of three quarters of the string the tone C was obtained.

We have seen that the tones G, A and H are produced by vibrating the same string. As a result, they could not be played together on the old keyboard. G and C formed the first consonance available to the keys of this instrument. However, with the development of harmonic thinking and the expansion of the concept of consonance, the discrepancy between the number of strings and keys began to disappear. This improvement of the instrument progressed very quickly. At the end of the 15th century, only 7 strings were used for 22 keys. In the 16th century, the number of strings immediately quadrupled; I had to see, in the museum of the Berlin Higher School of Musical Art, a clavichord of the second half of the 16th century with 30 strings, with 45 keys, located in the same way as on a modern piano. However, in this example, some strings had 3 keys. The “free” clavichord, in which each string was served by only one key, was invented much later, in 1723, and at one time was considered the greatest rarity.

How the keys were coordinated with the strings of the clavichord has not yet been clarified. A quick glance at the internal structure of the clavichord, with its bizarre lines of key levers, is enough to see what tricks had to be resorted to to bring the keys and strings into line. Typically, stands with pins ("frets", as they are called by analogy with a lute) were arranged in such a way that each string passed through three stands mounted on the resonant soundboard of the instrument. When playing the clavichord, the musician had to cover the non-sounding part of the string with one hand. From the end of the 15th century, this inconvenience was eliminated by using a narrow strip of cloth placed at the point where the string was divided. In the 18th century, attempts were made to attach a foot keyboard to the clavichord, modeled on an organ. I saw one of the extremely rare specimens of this type in the Bach Museum in the homeland of the great master.

Ancient clavichords had a very characteristic quadrangular flat shape, resulting from the same length of all the strings of the instrument. In general, their appearance resembled rectangular English pianos, which were very common in the twenties of the last century among poor amateurs and here.

The first instruments of the clavichord type were oblong boxes that served not only for music, but also for all kinds of other home entertainment: for playing dice, chess (hence the old French name for the clavichord "eschi quier" - chessboard), ladies' handicrafts (an example of a similar kind, with a cushion for pins, is available in the Stieglitz Bar Museum in Petrograd), etc. Initially, the volume of the instrument was so modest that the keyboard was placed on the table to play. Subsequently, when his keyboard grew to four and a half octaves, the “grandfather of the modern piano” had to be put on its own feet. But even in this more cumbersome form, the clavichord was still so light and portable that the virtuosos who delighted the ears of our ancestors could travel everywhere with their clavichord, which fit in a road carriage.

The sounds of the clavichord, quiet and fragile, were absorbed to a large extent by the cloth used in the construction of the instruments. Therefore, in terms of sonority, the clavichord was completely dwarfed not only by the organ, but even by the lute. Its languidly trembling sounds are full of some kind of eerie charm. The fact is that the clavichord was characterized by a special soft vibration of the strings, which made individual tones unclear and blurry. This feature was rooted in the very mechanism of the instrument, for the harder the player pressed the key, the higher the metal pin raised the string itself, and the sound produced by it increased, although to a slight extent. Clavichordists were excellent at using this vibration of sound (Bebung) for various melismatic decorations. A modern piano, more advanced in its structure, is of course alien to such vague sound formations; with the progress of technology, this source of musical pleasure disappeared without a trace; Meanwhile, only the aroma of the sonority of an ancient clavichord can give us a true idea of ​​the captivating charms of the refined music of the 17th and 18th centuries.

However, the logic of history, which placed the clavier at the head of the musical development of Europe, already in the middle of the 15th century demanded the replacement of the intimate, self-contained clavichord with another instrument with an even, clear, strong sound. Along with the clavichord, a new keyboard instrument, known in the annals of music under the name clavicimbala, appears for the first time in Italy, and then in the northern countries. This name, unpleasant for our ears, shows that its prototype is the vulgar dulcimer, which has a booming, sharp sound produced by striking a hammer on steel strings of various lengths and tunings.

Cymbals to this day they are part of the Romanian and Hungarian folk orchestras and here, in the south of Russia, they have their own centuries-old, interesting history. Instruments of this type were familiar to the Egyptians in ancient times and were passed on to the Greeks from them. In Europe they became widespread in the middle of the 7th century. Not a single folk festival was complete without dancing to the sounds of cymbals.

Initially, the dulcimer was a small triangular box with 10 metal strings stretched over the soundboard. Later, the number of the latter grew to four octaves. Thanks to the large volume of the instrument, it became possible to improve its sonority by using two and three-chorus sets of strings made of different materials. These strings passed through two systems of stands and were strengthened with the help of metal and wooden pegs. The deck was equipped with two round holes. A significant drawback of the cymbals was the lack of a device for muffling the sound, and the most skillful playing was powerless to overcome the original sin of the instrument - its vague, buzzing tone.

However, the history of music has preserved a number of names of virtuosos on this instrument, who tried to bring the technique of playing it to high perfection.

Of these, the most famous in his time was Pantaleone Gebenstreit(1669 - 1750), inventor of the "pantaleon", named after him, an extremely improved dulcimer, which played a major role in the invention of a new clavier mechanism, the piano with hammers. How great a sensation the virtuoso art of this cymbalist created in the musical world is shown by the fact that even such great masters as Telemann considered it possible to enter into public competition with Gebenstreit. One of his students, a Bavarian with the very characteristic surname of Gumpenguber, gained great fame at court Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. The dulcimer players played “For the Sovereign’s Joy” already at Mikhail Fedorovich during the Highest exits... to the bathhouse. The cymbals were to a certain extent reminiscent of the “yarovchaty gusli”, which explains their adaptability to the everyday life of ancient Russian life.

Main difference clavicymbala(i.e., a cymbal with keys) from the clavichord was that in the first, each key corresponded, as in a modern piano, to a special string tuned in a certain tone, as a result of which there was no longer a need for a system of stands separating them from the string sounding part. In addition, the clavicymbal naturally required a completely different blow. Instead of the tangents of the clavichord, which evoked the dreamy sounds of the strings with their gentle touch, wooden sticks were used here, on the upper ends of which small pointed pieces of a raven wing, hard leather or metal reeds were mounted, hooking the strings. To enhance sonority, clavicymbals, like clavichords, were built with two and three choirs, and each individual string was vibrated by a special stick with a tongue. From the further presentation we will see how important this design feature of the clavicimbal was for obtaining various shades of sound.

It is very difficult to say when the idea of ​​​​applying a keyboard to the cymbals first arose. The famous philologist Scaliger (1484 - 1556) says in his work “Poetices Libri VII” (Lyon, 1561) that in his childhood psalteries (an ancient type of percussion instruments similar to cymbals), equipped with keys, were found in almost all houses.

In common people they were called "monochords" or "manichords". In this way we can establish that in the middle of the 15th century, clavicymbals were already widespread.

Clavicimbals were the first to acquire citizenship rights in the musical life of England, and small instruments of this type became the subject of special musical hobby. Queen Elizabeth herself was an excellent harpsichordist, and for a long time historians believed that the English name for the instrument "virginelle" (Virginal), dating back 20 years before her birth, to preserve for our generations the memory of the Virgin Queen (virgo). We present a photograph of an instrument richly decorated with carmine, gold and coats of arms from the mid-16th century. The charming compositions of the Old English masters are brought back to life; long-silent strings rustle gently; Graceful variations on a folk theme, a majestic Panama hat, a joyful galliard enchant our ears... This clavicimbal, built of cedar wood, is Venetian workmanship. At Fedora Ioannovich Elizabeth's ambassador brought the Tsar of Muscovy a similar virginel with the corresponding players as a gift. An English writer of everyday life of Rus' says that Tsarina Irina Feodorovna, examining the gift, was especially struck by the appearance of the virginel, which was gilded and decorated with enamel, and “admired the harmony of these musical instruments, never before seen or heard of. Thousands of people crowded around the palace to listen to them.” .

However, the first virginels themselves left much to be desired in terms of sound beauty, and their most important drawback was the fragmentation, harshness and dryness of tone. Therefore, all the diligence of the craftsmen who worked to improve this type of instrument was reduced to introducing a certain variety into the shades of sound of clavicymbals. At the end of the 16th century. An extremely important improvement was made by the famous Amsterdam master, Hans Ruckers. keyboard mechanisms. He began to produce virginels with two keyboards for the first time. When playing on the upper keyboard, only one string was specified; when you press the bottom key, two strings are set into vibration, and the virginel sounds with double strength and brilliance. To give the sound a special fullness, Ruckers added a third, thinner one, tuned an octave higher, to the two “chorus” strings. Thus, two Rookers virginel keyboards made it possible to play three strings at once or only one of them. One of our illustrations shows a photographic image of a virginel by Ruckers. The lid depicts in color the competition between Apollo and Mars, a favorite motif for artistic decorations of claviers. From Hans Ruckers, the art of making virginels passed on to his four sons, who honorably kept their father's behests. Even at the beginning of the 18th century, Ruckers' clavicymbals enjoyed great popularity and were widely sold. The best Dutch artists of animals and dead nature - Frank, Jan van Heysum - decorated them with their skillful brushes, so that the price of the instruments reached 3000 livres. But - alas! - buyers often dismantled the clavicymbal itself into pieces in order to preserve the painting.

The reader sees one of the best tools of Ruckers' son's work in the accompanying illustration. This "harpsichord"(large virginel) by Handel, which once aroused the admiration of the composer’s contemporaries with its beauty and softness of sound. The three-choir instrument is equipped with two keyboards with very carefully adjusted keys and a superbly crafted soundboard. Small wooden handles placed in the left corner served to connect and disconnect the keyboards. However, despite its relatively large volume, this harpsichord was not yet equipped with either legs or pedals (invented in the 15th century by the Venetian organist Bernardino), which served for octave doubling of bass tones.

We see all these devices on the large London-made harpsichord, which represented the last word in clavier construction. This instrument came out in 1773 from the famous Bradwood workshop, which to this day has retained the reputation of the best piano factory in England. In appearance, it is almost no different from a modern grand piano (with the exception, of course, of two keyboards). Its wooden frame with transverse ribs, first used by Bradwood, is curious. Thanks to a number of registers for amplification and various modifications of sonority, this harpsichord gave a very even and strong tone.

While the British showed preference for instruments whose sonority was close to piano, in France, music lovers valued small clavicymbals with one keyboard above all else, "spinets", named after the Venetian master Giovanni Spinetti, who lived at the beginning of the 16th century (another etymology of this word from “spina” (needle) is now abandoned). According to Praetorius, the author of the most complete scientific description of musical instruments of the 16th century, a “spinet” is a small quadrangular instrument tuned a fifth higher or lower than its true pitch. It was usually placed above the keyboard. I have seen such instruments from the late 16th century, combining an ordinary clavier with a spinet (to enhance sonority), in old German and Italian collections. An extremely interesting variety of spinets was the “clavicytherium” instrument. Such "vertical spinet", was equipped with intestinal strings. The use of the latter can only be considered a bad experience, since the intestinal strings did not stay in tune, easily succumbing to atmospheric influences. The clavicytherium survived into the 17th century, apparently with impractical intestinal strings. But the very idea of ​​​​a vertical arrangement of strings has reached our time and is implemented in the piano, whose homeland is Italy. The instrument we photographed from the early 16th century belongs to the oldest specimens of clavicytherium and is extremely rare.

In the 17th century, the name “spinet” was extended to generally cover all single-chop clavicymbals.

The improvement of this type of keyboard instruments is a great merit of the Parisian masters, whose products in the middle of the 18th century were considered the best in Europe. The Parisian became especially famous for his harpsichords (as large spinets were called in France). Pascal Tasken, having built the instrument "en peau de buffle" in 1768. The essence of his invention was that, along with feathers and elastic reeds, he used buffalo skin reeds in his three-choir instruments, which, according to his own assurance, did not tug, but caressed the string with their touch. The so-called "jeu de buffle" could be used separately or simultaneously with feathers. Indeed, according to the experts of that time, these instruments surpassed everything that had so far been done in the field of harpsichord construction. Their sweet, soft, velvety sound gave, with the help of registers, various increases in strength, and the bass tones were distinguished by great density and content.

The invention of Tasquin, of course, quickly spread in France and abroad, and over time the “clavecin en peau de buffle” appeared; the musical chronicle was enriched almost every year with new discoveries in the field of keyboard mechanisms. For example, tongues made of buffalo skin were used by the Dresden master I. G. Wagner for what he invented in 1775 "clavecin royal", which had four pedals with which one could imitate playing the harp, lute and cymbals.

The name “clavecin royal” itself has some similarities with the Russian designation for claviers "piano". Improved harpsichords began to be built for the first time in Russia under Catherine II, and among her court ladies there were many skilled harpsichordists.

At the same time, the "cembalo angelico" with leather tangents covered with velvet to obtain the softest sounds was released for sale in Rome. Other inventors, on the contrary, tried to interest connoisseurs and amateurs with new sound effects that could be extracted from their instruments.

Great Johann Sebastian Bach invented the so-called lute clavicimbal. His invention was improved by a Hamburg master I. Fleisher, who built specially theorbic clavicymbals (theorbo - bass lute), which produced sounds an octave lower than an ordinary clavier. This contra-outbuilding was equipped with three registers that vibrated the metal strings of the latter. Fleischer's theorbic clavicymbals were very expensive - up to 2000 rubles in our money.

Very interesting were attempts to obtain the sonority of a string ensemble using a keyboard instrument. This discovery was made in 1600 by an organist Joseph Haydn from Nuremberg. These kinds of instruments were very common in the 18th century. The main features of their mechanism boiled down to the fact that with the help of keys a number of bows adjacent to the intestinal strings were set in motion. The pedals of the instrument made it possible to regulate the pressure.

This type of bow wing should include the “musical marvel” of the times of Catherine the Great - the Strasser orchestra, now kept in the Hermitage. About a similar harpsichord, built in 1729 by a certain Mr. de Virbes, says the famous historian I.H. Forkel. This clavicimbal had the ability to imitate 18 different instruments, and “the illusion was so complete that it was possible to play an entire symphony on it, sounding the same as when performed by an orchestra.”

But still, the reign of the harpsichord was coming to an end. In 1711 Bartolomeo Cristofori, erroneously also called Cristofali, a new keyboard instrument was invented, which over time replaced the existing old types. Cristofori replaced the system of tangents and wings in the harpsichord with hammers that struck the strings and thus made them sound. While on the most perfect clavicimbal it was possible to achieve only meager shades of sonority through a complex registration procedure, a simple touch of the fingers on the keys of the new instrument made it possible to enhance the sonority from the most delicate pianissimo to thunderous fortissimo. At the beginning of the 18th century, an Italian master finally designed a mechanism that contained all the essential features of our modern grand pianos. Thanks to the percussion mechanism, the strength of the sound now depended solely on the force of pressing the key, which immediately opened up a completely new area of ​​infinitely varied play with dynamic shades when performing a composition for the clavier. Cristofori called his instrument, which could be played softly or loudly at will, "Gravicembalo (distorted clavicembalo) col piano e forte."

Cristofori’s invention went unnoticed by his contemporaries, and the modest curator of the Prince of Medici Museum probably never dreamed that the piano he built (a photograph of which is included in this article) would be carefully preserved as a national treasure in the best Italian museum. His brainchild had to endure a fierce struggle with the remnants of musical antiquity, which ended only in the 20s of the 19th century.

Despite the fact that from the outside the history of the ancient clavier has been studied in all details, there are many questions that have not yet been sufficiently covered by scientific research. These questions concern the nature of sonority and the use of both instruments in the performance of ancient music.

Of both types of clavier, the clavicimbal played an incomparably more significant role in the history of musical art. Since the advent of solo singing, he has occupied a leading position as a general bass and accompanying instrument. In addition, solo keyboard music, which owes its development to the musical genius of the Romanesque peoples, grew exclusively on the basis of harpsichord sonority.

As we have already indicated, with a clavicimbalo (or “cembalo”, according to Italian nomenclature), the strength of sonority was independent of the player himself. In this respect it resembled an organ. The system of registers only to a certain extent eliminated this main drawback of the instrument, and cheap home harpsichords usually had only one register. Being, on the one hand, related to the organ, the clavicimbal, on the other, resembled a lute as a percussion instrument. It is quite remarkable that initially the lute and organ played the same role in the performance of the general bass as the clavicimbal did in a later era. The latter, thanks to his special merits, finally won a victory over his rivals. Compared to the lute, it was distinguished by greater ease of playing chords, but it was superior to the organ in its mobility, as well as its ability to merge with the timbres of other instruments, usually suppressed by the massive sonority of the organ. The delicate tone of the clavicimbal seems to have been created for the general bass part of an ancient orchestra, and this immediately becomes noticeable when the hard, sharp sound of the piano takes its place.

Theorists of the 18th century unanimously recognized that no ensemble music is conceivable without the participation of the cymbal. “The universal sonority of the clavicimbal,” writes Matheson, “creates the inevitable foundation for all church, theater and chamber music.” Until the middle of the 18th century, the clavicimbal also served as the only solo keyboard instrument, and this circumstance forces us to take into account its sound features when performing keyboard music of the pre-piano period. An extremely elegant description of clavicymbal sonority is given by Chr. Schubart, author of a treatise on musical aesthetics: “The tone of the clavicimbal has a simple linear character, but it is as clear as the drawings of Kneller or Chodowiecki, devoid of any shades. First of all, you need to learn how to play this instrument clearly, which is tantamount to studying musical notation.” . This comparison unusually aptly defines the essence of clavicymbal sonority. The rich polyphonic weave of the 18th century stands out extremely clearly on such an instrument, and this, to a certain extent, explains the exquisite polyphonic writing of the old clavier masters.

The inherent difficulty of playing several musically equal voices with equal clarity is unknown to the clavicimbalo. Since the keys are struck evenly, the strings give exactly the same effect. At the same time, in contrast to the piano, on which polyphony easily turns into an incomprehensible chaos of sounds, the sounds of the clavicimbal are perceived by the ear completely separately and clearly.

It is not difficult to establish which qualities were especially valuable in the eyes of musicians of past centuries. It must be taken into account that harpsichord literature developed during a period of musical history when playing the clavier served only as pleasant entertainment in free hours. Everything deep and sublime that harpsichord music contained was borrowed from the treasury of organ compositions.

French authors admired mainly its mobility and lightness of sound. German historians and poets glorified the silvery timbre of the instrument. But they all agreed that the soulless clavicymbal was not suitable for expressing the tender emotions, melancholy and sensitivity of the human heart, and therefore, in the era of sentimentalism, the unfairly forgotten clavichord, capable of conveying the subtlest shades of musical expression, again came to the fore.

Clavichord, as readers already know, has a very primitive impact mechanism. But it is precisely this simplicity in transferring the blow to the key that creates a special closeness between the performer and the instrument on which he plays. The sound of the clavichord is weak and in character is much closer to the silvery tone of a harpsichord than to a modern piano. But the musical individuality of the clavichord has still been so little studied that the most significant historical evidence is the descriptions of it that we find in the novels of the era of Werther and Charlotte.

“The clavichord,” writes Schubart, who has already been quoted by us, “a lonely melancholic clavichord, has a huge advantage over the piano. By pressing the keys we can cause on it not only full sound coloring, but also mezzotints, mainly trills, portamentos, or gentle vibrations, in a word all those basic features from which our feeling is created."

We know what the “necessary vibration” was, used very skillfully by clavichordists, from the description of Burney, the famous English critic, an ardent admirer of F. E. Bach, who in his time was considered the greatest virtuoso on the clavichord.

“When Bach needed to extract the desired tone from his clavier, he tried to give it a shade of sadness and deep suffering, which was only possible on the clavichord.”

In Bach's book we also find detailed instructions regarding playing with this necessary vibration. It was obtained by slightly vibrating the finger on the key (as violinists do in a similar case on their instrument).

The clavichord became a favorite instrument of the era of sentimentalism. But the “clavichord era” did not last long. Already at the end of the 18th century, the piano began to gain the right of citizenship in musical use. Mozart was the first virtuoso to play the "hammer clavier" in public, and his genius sanctified this new instrument. The rapid growth of technical improvements in the piano mechanism finally supplanted the more imperfect forms of the clavier, and already at the beginning of the 19th century the very memory of the captivating gentle sounds of the clavichord went into the realm of distant antiquity, into the realm of half-forgotten musical legends.