EarlyMusicNews.Org

“The 68-stop four manual and pedal organ in the Church of St Ignatius Loyola, New York is the largest mechanical action ever to have been built by a British builder. It stands some 44 feet tall on the west gallery of this fine Manhattan church and took almost two years to build and install. This instrument embodies all the principles of excellence which are the hallmark of a Mander Organ. Based on the French Romantic organ of the mid nineteenth century, it has proved to have exceptional versatility. The case is an original design and is built of French oak from trees planted about the time of the Revolution. The sensitive suspended key action which employs purely mechanical couplers has delighted many organists.”

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Added on: Sep 09, 2011 | Hits: 185

“The firm of Robert Goble and Son, based in Oxford, have for 60 years produced individually built harpsichords, clavichords and spinets for players and institutions all over the world. Our wide range of models is the result of study of the 17th and 18th century harpsichords in the museums and collections where they are preserved.

Great care is taken in the choice of traditional timbers and stringing materials in order to approach as closely as possible the tone quality of the original instrument. The decoration and colour of the examples illustrated can be altered to suit individual requirements, and further options can be provided, such as painted soundboards, alternative key coverings, marquetry and inlaid decoration.

Visitors are welcome to the workshop where these details can be discussed; also a wide range of harpsichords may be played in our showroom. We are pleased to undertake further individual commissions on request.“

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Added on: Sep 09, 2011 | Hits: 222

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Added on: Apr 29, 2011 | Hits: 238

“Florentine by birth, a lover of early music and baroque always, with scientific and technical training, Franco Barucchieri dedicated long years to research on the harpsichord, despite the commitments of a professional activity.

In his research, beginning in 1968, he attended museums and private collections of musical instruments from all over Europe. …”

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Added on: Apr 29, 2011 | Hits: 244

“With an extensive background in repairing and tuning the "modern piano", Edwin Beunk started his own workshop in 1981. Johan Wennink joined forces with him in 1985. Their ardent interest in the fortepiano resulted in a specialization in this particular field. In 1992 Ben Kamphuis and Carolien Dopheide joined the team. Today they have a lot of experience in the restoration of all predecessors of the modern piano: from the Viennese 'Hammerklavier' from Mozart’s time up to the later pianos of the Brahms era. But also many an instrument from London and Paris - the other piano-building centres of former days - went through their workshop before starting a new life in the hands of musicians all over the world.

Restoration is either commissioned by clients of their own instruments or carried out for buyers of pianos held in stock.

Edwin Beunk built up a collection of antique pianos from the period 1780 up to 1870, all instruments that relate to the pianos of the important composers. Therefore there are no giraffe pianos, down striking instruments or square pianos.

Instruments in the collection have been used in more than 170 recordings. They are also available for concerts.”

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Added on: May 09, 2011 | Hits: 248

“The Organ Clearing House was founded in 1959 for the preservation of pipe organs which need new homes. Our extensive list of distinguished vintage instruments provides our clients with an attractive choice less expensive than the purchase of a new pipe organ. We are typically able to provide complete instruments at approximately half the cost of a comparable new pipe organ.

In addition, we are equipped to provide a full range of services including assessment and consultation, dismantling, packing, and shipping, erecting and installing organs.

The contemporary world of church music offers many artificial substitutes for pipe organs to be used for the musical leadership of public worship. We at the Organ Clearing House suggest that there is no real substitute for a pipe organ, and we maintain that pipe organs are frequently available through our resources for half the cost of an equivalent new instrument. Often, a church can purchase, renovate, and relocate a pipe organ for the cost of an upscale electronic substitute. And always, a professionally installed pipe organ will outlast those substitutes.

Even modern pipe organs are built using ancient principles. Centuries old instruments are in regular use throughout the Christian world, proving that obsolescence is evas ive. Well maintained, thoughtfully used pipe organs do not become doorstops! ..“

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Added on: Apr 14, 2010 | Hits: 272

“Kenneth Tickell & Company are a small firm of craftsman Pipe Organ Builders. We build new organs to individual contract, ranging in size from portable continuo organs to large church and recital instruments. From time to time we also undertake historic restoration work.

Kenneth Tickell established his first workshop in 1982, moving to larger premises in 1986. Ten years later the business moved again, to large modern premises at Rothersthorpe Crescent which have excellent facilities for building and restoring organs of all sizes. We currently have a full time staff of nine craftsmen organbuilders, and a number of part time associates. …”

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Added on: Sep 09, 2011 | Hits: 277

“After graduating in history-studies balanced with the practice of music in my city, Burgos, I moved to London where I trained in various workshops and in the City of London Polytechnic. In 1992 I returned to Spain and have since been working in construction and restoration of historic keyboards.”

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Added on: Feb 16, 2012 | Hits: 280

“For twenty years I have been collecting and restoring antique keyboard instruments. I also build copies of harpsichord and spinet built only on historical models. …”

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Added on: Apr 29, 2011 | Hits: 283

“ Renée Geoffrion, born in Montreal, began playing the piano at the age of four. After studies at the Conservatoire de Montréal, she went to France where, in the years 1985-1987, she pursued lessons in interpretation, as well as training in piano tuning.

      Following her return to Canada, she obtained a Bachelor's degree in piano interpretation with high distinction from McGill University in 1991 and a master's degree from the University of Montreal in 1993. Returning to France, she studied fortepiano and clavichord with Patrick Cohen at the Conservatoire Supérieur de Paris (CNR) until 1998.

      Since 1992, when she completed a study on the traces of temperaments in Mozart's music for fortepiano, Renée Geoffrion has developed a passion for early keyboard instruments. Her enterprise « Una Corda », based in the Limousin region since 1998 at the invitation of « L'Ensemble Baroque de Limoges », restores and builds pianos, fortepianos and clavichords.

    Renée Geoffrion devotes herself to the promotion of the clavichord. She is active as a builder, restorer and as a performer, as a soloist on clavichord, forms the duo « Alliance Contre Nature » with Louis-Philippe Rivet at the electric bass and plays four-hands with Guy Campion. In April 2002, she registered her invention, the electro-acoustic clavichord and was granted a patent in July 2004. “

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Added on: May 25, 2011 | Hits: 285

"Early music artists tend to be passionate about their music. Similarly, professional instrument makers can have intense feelings about their work. As a harpsichord maker, I am committed to producing instruments that are inspiring to the eye, the ear, and the hand. I have developed my harpsichords and clavichords to meet the desires of professional musicians and other serious players who look for the ultimate in musical expression and fulfillment. My instruments are as timeless as the antiques on which they are modeled, and I am devoted to the continuing satisfaction of their owners.

My harpsichords and clavichords are the product of an individual hand. I research, analyze, and build these instruments in a way that is faithful to period construction techniques. This fidelity is not an antiquarian exercise: Quite simply, it produces the best instruments, assuring excellent sound, stability, and longevity. As with many fine things, a good instrument gains in character with age. With proper care, the instruments I make will last as long as their seventeenth- and eighteenth-century ancestors; they will also continue to maintain their value. Only instruments made the way I make them can offer you a sense of expanding musical expression, enjoyment, and value for generations.

My instruments embody more than 28 years of research, in both archival study and hands-on work examining, measuring, and restoring antique harpsichords and clavichords. While my instruments are not line-for-line copies of individual antiques, each model type is based on a particular instrument which represents the essence of the work of a maker like F. E. Blanchet II or Pierre Donzelague, or of an entire regional group like the Parisian or the Hamburg schools. This foundation of research offers modern players a genuine link to the origins of the music they study and perform. " See website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 24, 2008 | Hits: 297

“Martin Goetze and Dominic Gwynn set up the firm in 1980 to help revive the interest in the classical tradition in British organ-building, to revive interest in pre-Victorian British organ and choral music, assist congregational singing and provide a suitable instrument for modern liturgies.

• we make new organs in the classical British styles, using traditional materials and manufacturing techniques.

• we make chest and chamber organs in classical British and other styles for use by musicians in the Early Music world, and to encourage the use of appropriate organs in recording and concert performances.

• we restore historic organs, trying to preserve as much of the original organ as possible. ..“

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Added on: Jul 14, 2009 | Hits: 298

“… In recent years, I have been increasingly busy as a harpsichord technician, tuning and maintaining instruments for institutions and private clients alike.  My expertise in instrument care led me to construct my own Italian-style harpsichord based on a museum drawing, an ambitious project that I successfully concluded in November 2009. …”

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Added on: Oct 18, 2011 | Hits: 298

Harpsichord Photo: "This is a site for sharing photographs and specifications of instruments that belong to members of HPSCHD-L. " See site for more info. and photo submission details. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 03, 2008 | Hits: 306

"PETER BAVINGTON was born in 1941 and educated in London and Exeter. After working for many years as a Civil Servant, he decided in 1982 on a complete change of career and enrolled at the London College of Furniture (now London Metropolitan University), where he studied early keyboard instruments under Lewis Jones. In 1985 he obtained his Higher National Diploma in Musical Instrument Technology with distinction in every unit.

He then spent two years working with John Rawson before founding his own London workshop, making and restoring harpsichords, clavichords and fortepianos. In addition to individual musicians, his customers have included the Royal Academy of Music, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and the Hochschule der Künste Berlin. As well as making instruments, Peter undertakes historical and acoustic research, and is a regular participant in international organological conferences. He is a founder member and past Chairman of the British Clavichord Society.

Recently, Peter has focussed mainly on the clavichord; he believes that to produce a really responsive clavichord is the supreme challenge for a keyboard instrument maker. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jun 22, 2005 | Hits: 311

Patrick Lesurtel, Harpsichord Maker. See website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Mar 10, 2008 | Hits: 311

"Carl and Marilee Dudash design, build, and decorate harpsichords and clavichords in the styles of the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries in their workshop in the northwest hills of Connecticut. Their instruments have been sent to customers across the United States, Canada, and Europe. Carl's designs are firmly based on historic principles, but they incorporate changes to improve structural integrity and modifications to customize the instrument to suit the client's wishes. Marilee is an accomplished artist who has studied the decoration of antique instruments in the finest museum collections in Europe and the United States. Her work includes traditional soundboard paintings, landscape paintings for lids and cases, faux marbre, chinoiserie, and gold leaf or bronze powder case designs. " See website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 24, 2008 | Hits: 313

“The building of keyboard instruments began over 300 years ago. The development started with the organ and the Harpsichord, continued through the pianoforte, and reached its high point with what today is known as the modern grand piano - which remains until now virtually unchanged. (The Golden Years of grand piano construction were between 1825 and 1925).

Grand pianos belong as much to the appreciation of art as the works of Leonardo da Vinci, Rubens, or an authentically restored historical building, all of which have both high artistic and material value. Recognizing this has given me the exciting idea to create a renaissance of antique instruments for the pleasure of both art and music lovers.
An antique grand piano, more or less 100 years old, presents a unique form of aesthetics, both in music and appearance as well as an instrument and as the focal point of a home. When one considers how many famous pianists or passionate piano players have already played on one or another of these grands (and how many are yet to play upon them), it is imperative to save these magnificent instruments from decay and to give pianists and their entire surroundings the joyous gift these pianos can offer.

With this conviction in mind, Palace Pianos has for the sale exclusively of grands that have been found mostly in their original magical conditions, maintaining their original tone quality. Every year more than 50 pianos are sold world wide and we feel it is our duty to follow the 19th-Century motto: Build good instruments and you will never have to worry about selling them. ..“

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Added on: Dec 06, 2009 | Hits: 317

Supply house in Belgium.

Added on: May 25, 2007 | Hits: 332

"The Period Piano Company was established in 1976 by David Winston, who is widely recognised as one of the world's leading makers and restorers of keyboard instruments. Among our clients are some of the world's great musicians, museums and private collections. We have been entrusted with the restoration of antique pianos of great historical importance, including the piano which was made for Beethoven in 1817 and instruments associated with Chopin, Mendelssohn and Liszt." ...

Added on: Aug 03, 2007 | Hits: 333

"What are the advantages our workshop can offer to you? They are a combination of skills that result in beautiful and practical keyboard instruments. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 24, 2008 | Hits: 335

"Following an initial training in modern piano technology Lucy Coad completed a three year apprenticeship with conservator Tim Hamilton specialising in the conservation and restoration of historical pianofortes. In response to the growing need to conserve and repair surviving instruments in private and public ownership, Lucy later chose to further specialise in square pianos. This led to the establishment of Lucy Coad Square Piano Conservation and Repair in London in 1985, later moving to our current location between Bristol and Bath. Our work ranges from the making of a single string through to the complete rebuilding of structurally failed instruments. " Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Feb 24, 2008 | Hits: 343

“Martine ARGELLIES has been a harpsichord maker since 1981. An enthralling, wide-ranging trade encompassing woodwork, acoustics, history and decoration, it is to teach the wood and iron how to sing and to do so, we must learn from the past how these sounds were born. Adding to the pure electrolytic iron of our century all the impurities spewed out by the blast furnaces we obtain the soft iron of the harpsichord strings. We train the ear and the scalpel towards the plectra ready to pluck the strings.

Many musicians, from the beginner to the professional, have already chosen these instruments. Three of them equip the Bastille opera in Paris. (200 harpsichords completed). ..”

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Added on: Feb 08, 2010 | Hits: 347

"From muskies to marlin now anyone can make their own single strand haywire twist leaders stronger than the pros. Our E/Z Twist is available in three sizes and comes complete with easy to follow instructions. For 3-8 gauge wire (.012 - .020 dia. wire) or 32- 86 pound test. " Can also be used to make the helix loops on harpsichords (at the hitch pin). There is a video that accompanies the item on the site's catalog. Visit website for more information. (ed.)

Added on: Jul 01, 2008 | Hits: 349

"I build and repair historic keyboard instruments as well as tune and service modern pianos in San Diegos North County. My current offerings include Harpsichords, Clavichords and Fortepianos."

"My philosophy is simple. I endeavor to make the best instruments both tonally and constructionally as I know how for the most reasonable price to the customer. I am well aware that there are many people who would love to own a handcrafted instrument but the price is just out of their reach. It is my belief that a well-made clavichord, harpsichord, or fortepiano should be affordable to almost anyone who truly wants one."

Added on: Apr 09, 2007 | Hits: 350