>Mark Slater wrote:
>
>> Mr. Jensen, As a longtime harpsichordist, I certainly appreciate the Italian
>> instruments. The literature written for them exploits their sound in the
>>same
>> way F. Couperin exploited the sound of the instruments at his disposal.
>>
>
>Yes indeed. I was thinking, when I wrote that paragraph, of the relative
>lack of
>recordings on appropriate instruments. In record stores one is more likely to
>encounter Scarlatti performed on a French double than an Italian
>harpsichord. For
>that matter, most recordings of Scarlatti one finds are done on piano. And one
>often sees, but scarcely hears, French doubles being employed as continuo
>instruments in ensemble performances.
>
>dpj

Speaking of Scarlatti, is there a record of what instruments the princess
had at his disposal?  Because of the political ties with Naples, one
usually assumes Italians, but France was closer.

I may have asked this a long time ago, but I'm still curious.  When Fiora
Contino was teaching at Indiana, she had a John Shortridge Italian that we
tried to use in our Pro Arte concerts.  Very long, light as 6 feathers, and
a gorgeous singing tone.  But it would not hold tuning through a complete
concert.  Would that be a problem with Italians in general, with the
particular exemplar that was copied, or with her specific instrument?  I
assume that the instrument copied would have been in the Smithsonian
collection.

John

John & Susie Howell
Virginia Tech Department of Music
Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.A. 24061-0240
Vox (540) 231-8411   Fax (540) 231-5034
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http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/howell/howell.html