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Harpsichords and Related Topics

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From:
Dietrich Hein <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Harpsichords and Related Topics <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Fri, 8 Jan 2016 10:03:26 +0100
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>
> Yes, for a start. A number of years ago (1987, was it?) a very  
> famous European harpsichordist (no Googling required on this list)  
> played a concert on one of my instruments. During his practice  
> sessions a (Delrin) plectrum broke. I began my pre-surgery routine  
> of choosing the voicing block, choosing a replacement plectrum,  
> assembling my Exacto knife, searching for the best light, when he  
> took the knife from me and said, "No need to be so fussy--just take  
> a bit off." With a quick flick of the wrist he carved a nick in the  
> bottom of the Delrin, placed the jack in the instrument, and  
> proudly displayed how the volume matched its neighbors, and Bob was  
> his uncle. I noticed, however, that the sound quality didn't match  
> the others. Annoyingly, that plectrum broke the day after the concert.
>
Good thing it did, because it wasn't voiced properly!
I could add a number of stories to this (off-topic) thread, and I am  
not the only one who had to re"quill" complete stops as a result of  
that honor.


> A serious organ builder would simply never be satisfied with the  
> controlling only the volume of his pipes. His voicing will address  
> issues such as overtone profile, speech characteristic, as well as  
> volume.
>
No harpsichord maker could be called serious, if he didn't do exactly  
the same thing, but the difference is, this starts with the very  
first plank he chooses. The organ pipe is (well not quite) almost  
worthless before it is voiced, -a well made harpsichord doesn't  
really give You much opportunity to take many decisions, once You are  
at the point when You put in the plectra. Voicing delrin plectra  
means dealing with the shortcomings of this material and not adding  
something to the instrument.



> From my good friend Paul Irvin I have learned a wealth of  
> information about how to voice Delrin for the best musical effect  
> (a more fundamental and vocal sound, a de-emphasizing of the pluck,  
> a coming to pitch right away). Given that a natural substance like  
> proper quilling (proper feather, proper oil) must obviate the need  
> for some of the fussing with voicing required by plastic, there are  
> still things that a skilled voicer should be able to influence. For  
> example, I notice a clicking noise upon the return of the note in  
> many quilled instruments, especially in the bass (you can hear this  
> quite clearly in Blandine Verlet's recent and beautifully played  
> Couperin recording on an original Hemsch).
>
Here I agree, -getting rid of clicking noise is part of voicing.  
Clicking can be really obnoxious, but I am not sure there is a recipe  
to get rid of it by cutting, filing sanding scraping the quill. I  
have sometimes had to change the whole jack, before I was happy with  
the result. I did observe though, that the more round quill (like  
crow) has a stronger tendency to click, because with this curvature  
it builds up its own "resonance system".

I am impressed with Davitts conservatory situation and it encourages  
me to work harder to get enough of the proper material to give  
students the opportunity to work with quilled harpsichords.

Dietrich

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