I'll never forget tuning some 30 or 35 years ago for Malcolm Hamilton in a recital away from USC with his personal Sabathil. (those of you who worked more closely with him might remember his instrument as a Wittmeyer, I don't remember for sure now.). I remained suspicious of the potential for the instrument to go out of tune when moved, so I made sure they told me where they wanted the instrument placed on the stage. I proceeded to perform a double tuning, as the instrument was considerably far from its desired pitch, which I believe at the time was A-440.
About 20 minutes before the concert and after I was done with the tuning he decided he didn't like the position of the harpsichord and relocated it. I begged him not to but his partner said, the instrument has a metal plate, and it won't go out of tune! But it dropped about 20 cents after the move, and I could do only some quick touch up tuning of unisons.
I'll just add, in response to Kathy Smith's comments, that the robust harpsichords of the 20th century which we might attribute partly to Wanda Landowska's influence, the most extreme examples being the piano-like Pleyel harpsichords, are now regarded as having their own legitimate period of historical performance. We describe the era of these harpsichords as the "revival" era.
Today's performances usually seek an appropriate historic replica, except for the schools like Paul's (plenty in California), where they frequently still have the instrument they bought back in the 60s or 70s and only use the instrument once or twice a year at most; it doesn't wear out. Or, more precisely, it slowly and gradually becomes more and more of a nuisance to service. But as Ed Sutton said, as long as it plucks the string. These revival era instruments all have their own particular unique service needs which are community benefits from discussing, for example, what to do with the anodized plating wears off of the aluminum Neupert jack.
I agree with Kathy that the newer historically influenced harpsichords, may be less pitch stable, but are delightful to service and predictably responsive. More importantly, the quality of their workmanship is high, so the musical outcome is extraordinary. Piano technicians might want to jump at the opportunity to learn to service harpsichords when it arises, because once the skill is there, you become very useful when the need is there.
Regards,
Bill
Bill Shull, RPT, M.Mus.
www.shullpiano.com
www.periodpiano.org
909 796-4226
Sent from my iPhone
Original Message:
Sent: 11/2/2023 2:42:00 PM
From: Kathy Smith
Subject: RE: Sabothil? harpsichord
Hi, all,
There are certainly people on this list who know a lot more about harpsichords than I do, so I don't mind being corrected.
It was my impression that interest in the harpsichord had waned a great deal in pre-War years, and Wanda Landowska brought it back to popularity in the 40's and 50's. She was a harpsichordist and pianist, and there weren't too many harpsichords around for her to perform on. Several makers like Sabathil and and Wittmayer started making them, almost a combination of pianos (with plates) and harpsichord actions with plectra. I personally had long experience with a big heavy Wittmayer from the 50's, but CSU Long Beach also had a couple of more recent, more accurate reproduction harpsichords as well. The lighter harpsichords without plates certainly went out of tune more easily, almost "breathed" with the daily and seasonal climate changes, but tuned quickly and easily.
The general consensus seemed to be (in my memory) that those from the 50's were big, heavy, more stable than the smaller and more accurate versions, but not particularly good or satisfying as "real" harpsichords.
Original Message:
Sent: 11/2/2023 11:04:00 AM
From: Ed Sutton
Subject: RE: Sabothil? harpsichord
Well, if last played six years ago, your school has tremendous interest in harpsichords.
Hopefully every note still goes "plink plink" just like a real harpsichord should.
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Ed Sutton
ed440@me.com
(980) 254-7413
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Original Message:
Sent: 11-01-2023 12:57
From: Paul Williams
Subject: Sabothil? harpsichord
Hi all,
Who cares a Sabothil harpsichord at your school? We have one that must have been blessed by the Pope himself! It stays in tune all the time! We last used it for an opera 6 years ago. This year we have The Marriage of Figaro. It's still in tune! A-440 was spot on with only the top octave just a tad flat.
Who is blessed? MEEEEE!
Paul