Piano History

The wife and I were in Florence Italy recently and I took some photos in a museum there which contained several Cristofori instruments; a couple of harpsichords and a 'spinet' made by him, but not a piano exactly.  

Tuning head of a lute (not made by Cristofori)
The lute has key operated string pluckers.  Unusual

A restored harpsichord made by Cristofori
A giraffe instrument (I think it is a harpsichord rather than a piano)

A modern made action model illustrating Cristofori's design


An early Tuning Hammer


This iauthentic Cristofori nstrument was called a 'spinet'.  It was discovered recently and has only been cleaned.  It is unrestored.  It appears to be a type of clavichord.

The spinet has a few unusual double keys, possibly to differentiate between F# and Gb in the days before equal temperament.

------------------------------
Walter Bagnall
Chillicothe OH
------------------------------

Original Message------



The wife and I were in Florence Italy recently and I took some photos in a museum there which contained several Cristofori instruments; a couple of harpsichords and a 'spinet' made by him, but not a piano exactly.  

Tuning head of a lute (not made by Cristofori)
The lute has key operated string pluckers.  Unusual

A restored harpsichord made by Cristofori
A giraffe instrument (I think it is a harpsichord rather than a piano)

A modern made action model illustrating Cristofori's design


An early Tuning Hammer


This iauthentic Cristofori nstrument was called a 'spinet'.  It was discovered recently and has only been cleaned.  It is unrestored.  It appears to be a type of clavichord.

The spinet has a few unusual double keys, possibly to differentiate between F# and Gb in the days before equal temperament.

------------------------------
Walter Bagnall
Chillicothe OH
------------------------------

That "spinet" is an experimental harpsichord. The strings alternate chromatically from one side to the other, i.e. symmetrical to the center line, so the keys and jacks must also alternate from near the keyboard to the opposite side.
This took a virtuoso understanding of action geometry to make a playable instrument. A modern replica has been made.
As I recall it was made to fit in an orchestra pit, and probably also to avoid the twisting common in rectangular instruments.

------------------------------
Ed Sutton
ed440@me.com
(980) 254-7413
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 07-02-2018 21:23
From: Fred Sturm
Subject: Cristofori Instruments

Thanks for sharing that! The split keys seem to be in the low bass, and would probably be tuned as "short octave" notes, providing the D and C (or possibly other notes if needed) below the lowest note E.

Regards,

Fred Sturm

fssturm@unm.edu

www.artoftuning.com

http://fredsturm.net

"A mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled." Plutarch

Original Message------



The wife and I were in Florence Italy recently and I took some photos in a museum there which contained several Cristofori instruments; a couple of harpsichords and a 'spinet' made by him, but not a piano exactly.

Tuning head of a lute (not made by Cristofori)
The lute has key operated string pluckers.  Unusual

A restored harpsichord made by Cristofori
A giraffe instrument (I think it is a harpsichord rather than a piano)

A modern made action model illustrating Cristofori's design


An early Tuning Hammer


This iauthentic Cristofori nstrument was called a 'spinet'.  It was discovered recently and has only been cleaned.  It is unrestored.  It appears to be a type of clavichord.

The spinet has a few unusual double keys, possibly to differentiate between F# and Gb in the days before equal temperament.

------------------------------
Walter Bagnall
Chillicothe OH
------------------------------

Spinet is a specific terms for a harpsichord with strings running at an oblique angle to the keyboard. (Harpsichords with strings running parallel to the keyboard are known as virginals)

------------------------------
Jurgen Goering
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 07-02-2018 22:03
From: Ed Sutton
Subject: Cristofori Instruments

That "spinet" is an experimental harpsichord. The strings alternate chromatically from one side to the other, i.e. symmetrical to the center line, so the keys and jacks must also alternate from near the keyboard to the opposite side.
This took a virtuoso understanding of action geometry to make a playable instrument. A modern replica has been made.
As I recall it was made to fit in an orchestra pit, and probably also to avoid the twisting common in rectangular instruments.

------------------------------
Ed Sutton
ed440@me.com
(980) 254-7413

Original Message:
Sent: 07-02-2018 21:23
From: Fred Sturm
Subject: Cristofori Instruments

Thanks for sharing that! The split keys seem to be in the low bass, and would probably be tuned as "short octave" notes, providing the D and C (or possibly other notes if needed) below the lowest note E.

Regards,

Fred Sturm

fssturm@unm.edu

www.artoftuning.com

http://fredsturm.net

"A mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled." Plutarch

Original Message------



The wife and I were in Florence Italy recently and I took some photos in a museum there which contained several Cristofori instruments; a couple of harpsichords and a 'spinet' made by him, but not a piano exactly.

Tuning head of a lute (not made by Cristofori)
The lute has key operated string pluckers.  Unusual

A restored harpsichord made by Cristofori
A giraffe instrument (I think it is a harpsichord rather than a piano)

A modern made action model illustrating Cristofori's design


An early Tuning Hammer


This iauthentic Cristofori nstrument was called a 'spinet'.  It was discovered recently and has only been cleaned.  It is unrestored.  It appears to be a type of clavichord.

The spinet has a few unusual double keys, possibly to differentiate between F# and Gb in the days before equal temperament.

------------------------------
Walter Bagnall
Chillicothe OH
------------------------------

This unusual instrument, of which two survive. is called an oval spinet.
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oval_spinet

------------------------------
Ed Sutton
ed440@me.com
(980) 254-7413
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 07-03-2018 14:48
From: Jurgen Goering
Subject: Cristofori Instruments

Spinet is a specific terms for a harpsichord with strings running at an oblique angle to the keyboard. (Harpsichords with strings running parallel to the keyboard are known as virginals)

------------------------------
Jurgen Goering

Original Message:
Sent: 07-02-2018 22:03
From: Ed Sutton
Subject: Cristofori Instruments

That "spinet" is an experimental harpsichord. The strings alternate chromatically from one side to the other, i.e. symmetrical to the center line, so the keys and jacks must also alternate from near the keyboard to the opposite side.
This took a virtuoso understanding of action geometry to make a playable instrument. A modern replica has been made.
As I recall it was made to fit in an orchestra pit, and probably also to avoid the twisting common in rectangular instruments.

------------------------------
Ed Sutton
ed440@me.com
(980) 254-7413

Original Message:
Sent: 07-02-2018 21:23
From: Fred Sturm
Subject: Cristofori Instruments

Thanks for sharing that! The split keys seem to be in the low bass, and would probably be tuned as "short octave" notes, providing the D and C (or possibly other notes if needed) below the lowest note E.

Regards,

Fred Sturm

fssturm@unm.edu

www.artoftuning.com

http://fredsturm.net

"A mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled." Plutarch

Original Message------



The wife and I were in Florence Italy recently and I took some photos in a museum there which contained several Cristofori instruments; a couple of harpsichords and a 'spinet' made by him, but not a piano exactly.

Tuning head of a lute (not made by Cristofori)
The lute has key operated string pluckers.  Unusual

A restored harpsichord made by Cristofori
A giraffe instrument (I think it is a harpsichord rather than a piano)

A modern made action model illustrating Cristofori's design


An early Tuning Hammer


This iauthentic Cristofori nstrument was called a 'spinet'.  It was discovered recently and has only been cleaned.  It is unrestored.  It appears to be a type of clavichord.

The spinet has a few unusual double keys, possibly to differentiate between F# and Gb in the days before equal temperament.

------------------------------
Walter Bagnall
Chillicothe OH
------------------------------

Jurgen Goering is correct in pointing out that technically this instrument is a virginal.  The description of the instrument as an oval spinet is used by the Galleria del Academia and in my article because that is how the instrument was described by Cristofori in the bills he submitted to Ferdinando de Medici.  The instrument and its companion are also described as oval spinets in the inventory of the Medici instruments conducted in 1700,  There is a benefit in continuing to describe the instrument this way because a casual google search using "oval spinet" gets you immediately to articles about this instrument. But yes, it is a virginal.

------------------------------
Philip Allard
Apex NC
984-229-7200
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 07-03-2018 14:48
From: Jurgen Goering
Subject: Cristofori Instruments

Spinet is a specific terms for a harpsichord with strings running at an oblique angle to the keyboard. (Harpsichords with strings running parallel to the keyboard are known as virginals)

------------------------------
Jurgen Goering

Original Message:
Sent: 07-02-2018 22:03
From: Ed Sutton
Subject: Cristofori Instruments

That "spinet" is an experimental harpsichord. The strings alternate chromatically from one side to the other, i.e. symmetrical to the center line, so the keys and jacks must also alternate from near the keyboard to the opposite side.
This took a virtuoso understanding of action geometry to make a playable instrument. A modern replica has been made.
As I recall it was made to fit in an orchestra pit, and probably also to avoid the twisting common in rectangular instruments.

------------------------------
Ed Sutton
ed440@me.com
(980) 254-7413

Original Message:
Sent: 07-02-2018 21:23
From: Fred Sturm
Subject: Cristofori Instruments

Thanks for sharing that! The split keys seem to be in the low bass, and would probably be tuned as "short octave" notes, providing the D and C (or possibly other notes if needed) below the lowest note E.

Regards,

Fred Sturm

fssturm@unm.edu

www.artoftuning.com

http://fredsturm.net

"A mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled." Plutarch

Original Message------



The wife and I were in Florence Italy recently and I took some photos in a museum there which contained several Cristofori instruments; a couple of harpsichords and a 'spinet' made by him, but not a piano exactly.

Tuning head of a lute (not made by Cristofori)
The lute has key operated string pluckers.  Unusual

A restored harpsichord made by Cristofori
A giraffe instrument (I think it is a harpsichord rather than a piano)

A modern made action model illustrating Cristofori's design


An early Tuning Hammer


This iauthentic Cristofori nstrument was called a 'spinet'.  It was discovered recently and has only been cleaned.  It is unrestored.  It appears to be a type of clavichord.

The spinet has a few unusual double keys, possibly to differentiate between F# and Gb in the days before equal temperament.

------------------------------
Walter Bagnall
Chillicothe OH
------------------------------

Awesome!  here are some photos of the wall sign (the English one) with a drawing of the entire spinet and some history.

------------------------------
Walter Bagnall
Chillicothe OH
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 07-02-2018 20:59
From: Walter Bagnall
Subject: Cristofori Instruments



The wife and I were in Florence Italy recently and I took some photos in a museum there which contained several Cristofori instruments; a couple of harpsichords and a 'spinet' made by him, but not a piano exactly.

Tuning head of a lute (not made by Cristofori)
The lute has key operated string pluckers.  Unusual

A restored harpsichord made by Cristofori
A giraffe instrument (I think it is a harpsichord rather than a piano)

A modern made action model illustrating Cristofori's design


An early Tuning Hammer


This iauthentic Cristofori nstrument was called a 'spinet'.  It was discovered recently and has only been cleaned.  It is unrestored.  It appears to be a type of clavichord.

The spinet has a few unusual double keys, possibly to differentiate between F# and Gb in the days before equal temperament.

------------------------------
Walter Bagnall
Chillicothe OH
------------------------------

I am just now reading the May, 2019 Journal and I am delighted to see an article about Cristofori's oval spinet on pp 18-20.  Very nice article by Philip Allard of the Washington D.C chapter.

------------------------------
Walter Bagnall
[Better Music Piano Tuning]
Chillicothe OH
[www.bettermusicpianotuning.com]
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 07-03-2018 17:03
From: Walter Bagnall
Subject: Cristofori Instruments




Awesome!  here are some photos of the wall sign (the English one) with a drawing of the entire spinet and some history.

------------------------------
Walter Bagnall
Chillicothe OH

Original Message:
Sent: 07-02-2018 20:59
From: Walter Bagnall
Subject: Cristofori Instruments



The wife and I were in Florence Italy recently and I took some photos in a museum there which contained several Cristofori instruments; a couple of harpsichords and a 'spinet' made by him, but not a piano exactly.

Tuning head of a lute (not made by Cristofori)
The lute has key operated string pluckers.  Unusual

A restored harpsichord made by Cristofori
A giraffe instrument (I think it is a harpsichord rather than a piano)

A modern made action model illustrating Cristofori's design


An early Tuning Hammer


This iauthentic Cristofori nstrument was called a 'spinet'.  It was discovered recently and has only been cleaned.  It is unrestored.  It appears to be a type of clavichord.

The spinet has a few unusual double keys, possibly to differentiate between F# and Gb in the days before equal temperament.

------------------------------
Walter Bagnall
Chillicothe OH
------------------------------

Original Message------

I am just now reading the May, 2019 Journal and I am delighted to see an article about Cristofori's oval spinet on pp 18-20.  Very nice article by Philip Allard of the Washington D.C chapter.

------------------------------
Walter Bagnall
[Better Music Piano Tuning]
Chillicothe OH
[www.bettermusicpianotuning.com]
------------------------------

This issue was Hannah Beckett's debut as producing editor for the full magazine!

------------------------------
Ed Sutton
ed440@me.com
(980) 254-7413
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 05-24-2019 08:57
From: Ruth Zeiner
Subject: Cristofori Instruments

Agreed on the Cristofori piece, and the entire issue. 

Nicely done!  Congratulations to the staff and writers.

Ruth

 

 

Ruth Zeiner

 

Original Message------

I am just now reading the May, 2019 Journal and I am delighted to see an article about Cristofori's oval spinet on pp 18-20.  Very nice article by Philip Allard of the Washington D.C chapter.

------------------------------
Walter Bagnall
[Better Music Piano Tuning]
Chillicothe OH
[www.bettermusicpianotuning.com]
------------------------------