_Italian Harpsichord-Building in the 16th and 17th Centuries_ by John D. Shortridge (REPRINTED WITH CHANGES--1970) CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 225 · Paper 15, Pages 93-107 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION PRESS · WASHINGTON, D. C. · 1970 [Illustration: Figure 1. --OUTER CASE OF ALBANA HARPSICHORD. ] Italian Harpsichord-Building in the 16th and 17th Centuries By John D. Shortridge _The making of harpsichords flourished in Italy throughout the 16th and17th centuries. The Italian instruments were of simpler constructionthan those built by the North Europeans, and they lacked the familiarsecond manual and array of stops. _ _In this paper, typical examples of Italian harpsichords from the HugoWorch Collection in the United States National Museum are described indetail and illustrated. Also, the author offers an explanation forcertain puzzling variations in keyboard ranges and vibrating lengths ofstrings of the Italian harpsichords. _ THE AUTHOR: _John D. Shortridge is associate curator of cultural historyin the United States National Museum, Smithsonian Institution. _ Perhaps the modern tendency to idealize progress has been responsiblefor the neglect of Italian harpsichords and virginals during the presentday revival of interest in old musical instruments. Whatever laudabletraits the Italian builders may have had, they cannot be considered tohave been progressive. Their instruments of the mid-16th century hardlycan be distinguished from those made around 1700. During this 150 yearsthe pioneering Flemish makers added the four-foot register, a secondkeyboard, and lute and buff stops to their instruments. However, thevery fact that the Italian builders were unwilling to change theirmodels suggests that their instruments were good enough to demand nofurther improvements. Anyone who has heard a properly restored Italianharpsichord or an accurately made reproduction will agree that the toneof such instruments is of exceptional beauty. This paper consists of a description of the structural features of twotypical Italian instruments and a general discussion of the stringingand tuning of Italian harpsichords and virginals that is based oncertain measurements of 33 instruments housed in various museums in theUnited States. To the curators and other staff members of theseinstitutions I express my sincere gratitude for making it possible forme to measure valuable instruments entrusted to their care or forsupplying similar information by mail. The first type of instrument described below usually has been designatedin modern books about musical instruments and in catalogs of instrumentcollections as a spinet, the term virginal being applied to therectangular instruments having the keyboard along the long side. Sinceboth of these types have basically the same arrangement of keyboard, wrest plank, hitch pins, strings and jacks, and since both types wereknown as virginals in 17th-century England, it is logical to reserve theterm spinet for another kind of instrument, namely the one with thewrest plank and tuning pins in front over the keyboard, and with thestrings stretched diagonally. Such instruments were popular in Englandin the late 17th and early 18th centuries and were known in English asspinets during the period of their popularity. By using the termpolygonal virginal we can distinguish, when necessary, the five-sidedItalian model from the rectangular instruments usually produced innorthern Europe. Some rectangular virginals were made in Italy; oneFlemish polygonal virginal, made by the elder Hans Ruckers in 1591, survives. Long instruments, resembling the grand piano in shape, arecalled harpsichords. Of course it is understood that both types ofvirginals as well as the spinet and the harpsichord were keyedchordophones employing the plucking action of jacks and plectra. [Illustration: Figure 2. --POLYGONAL VIRGINAL IN OUTER CASE. ] Throughout this paper the different octaves are indicated according tothe following system: [Illustration: Music] [Illustration: Figure 3. --POLYGONAL VIRGINAL REMOVED FROM OUTER CASE. ] The Typical Italian Polygonal Virginal To give a clear idea of the construction of the Italian polygonalvirginal, a detailed description of one particular example is presentedhere. This virginal is included in the Hugo Worch collection at the U. S. National Museum. The maker's name is not known, but the instrument isbelieved to have been built around 1600. As is true of the great majority of Italian virginals and harpsichordsof the 16th and 17th centuries, the instrument proper is removable fromits outer case. The outer case (fig. 2), of sturdier construction thanthe virginal which it was designed to protect, is made of wood about1/2" thick and is decorated with paintings of female figures andgarlands. The original legs are missing. Our main interest is in the virginal proper (fig. 3), the constructionof which is comparable in some ways to that of the violin. The very thinsides of the virginal are held together at the corners by blocks, andthe soundboard is supported by a lining. The cross section drawing (fig. 4) shows the 9/16" thick bottom and thesides which are 1/8" thick. The lining, 1/2" by 1-1/3", runs around foursides of the instrument, the wrest plank replacing it on the fifth side. The soundboard thickness, measured inside the holes through which thejacks pass, varies from 1/16" in the bass to 1/8" in the treble. Themanner in which variations in thickness are distributed over the entiresoundboard has not been determined. The cross section drawing also showsthe beautifully executed mouldings that make the sides appear to bethicker than they really are. The positions of the knee braces, the shape of which can be seen infigure 4, are shown along either side of the keyboard in figure 5. Thesebraces are 3/4" thick. The positions of the blocks, small pieces withthe grain running perpendicular to the bottom, and the wrest plank, which is 1-1/4" thick, are also shown. The two ribs are attached to theunderside of the soundboard in the positions indicated. The jack guide, built up of separate pieces held together by long strips down eitherside, is glued to the underside of the soundboard and extends as far asthe lining in the treble but stops a little short of it in the bass(fig. 5). The jack guide is 15/16" thick. The layout of the soundboard in figure 6 gives the relative positions ofthe bridges, tuning pins, hitch pins, strings, jacks, and jack rail. There is, of course, one jack and one string per key. The jackspresently in this virginal, not being original, will not be described. Typical Italian jacks will be described later. The bridges are 5/16"wide and vary in height from 7/16" in the bass to 3/8" in the treble. Across section of one of the bridges appears in figure 4. The jack rail, also shown in figure 4, extends over the jacks 1-1/8" above thesoundboard. It serves not only to prevent the jacks from flying outduring play but also to terminate the downward fall of the fronts of thekeys. The keys do not drop far enough to touch the key frame, butinstead are stopped by the jacks striking the jack rail. [Illustration: Figure 4. --CROSS SECTION OF POLYGONAL VIRGINAL. A, side;B, bottom; C, knee; D, liner; E, soundboard; F, rib; G, bridge; Hstring; I, jack rail. Scale, 1:2. ] The keyboard has an apparent compass of four octaves and one note from_E_ to _f´´´_. Short octave tuning would have extended the compass downa major third to _C_ in the bass, with the _E_ key sounding _C_, the_F#_ key sounding _D_, the _G#_ key sounding _E_, and the remaining keyssounding their proper pitches. These three keys will hereafter bereferred to as _C/E_, _D/F#_ and _E/G#_. The lowest eight keys have small wire eyes attached to their undersidesnear the front. A corresponding slot is cut through the inner and outercases, allowing the eyes to be connected to a short pedal keyboard whichhas not survived. The keys themselves vary in length from 10" in the bass to 18-1/2" inthe treble; they are mounted on a trapezoidal key frame which isremovable from the instrument. The balance rail and balance rail pinsare on a diagonal, resulting in a gradual but noticeable change in thetouch from one end of the keyboard to the other. The rack, 1/2" thickand 1-3/4" high, is fastened along the back of the key frame and has onevertical saw cut for each key. Projecting from the back of each key is asmall sliver of wood which rides in its proper saw cut and serves toguide the key. The natural keys are veneered with boxwood and havearcaded boxwood fronts. The sharps are small blocks of hardwood stainedblack. The sides, soundboard, ribs, jacks, guide, jackrail, and mouldings aremade of cypress, the wrest plank and bridges are of walnut, and theframework, bottom, keys, and key frame are of pine. The photographs (figs. 2, 3) show the decorative use of ivory studs. Onthe soundboard appears the Latin inscription _Vita brevis, ars longa_. Alaminated parchment rose, 3-3/16" in diameter, is placed in thesoundboard in the position indicated in figure 6. A typical example ofthis decorative device is shown in figure 12. The above-described virginal is typical of Italian practice. Otherexamples studied generally have differed from it only in small details, except in the case of compass and vibrating lengths of strings. Thesefactors will be discussed in detail in a following section. [Illustration: Figure 5. --INTERIOR OF POLYGONAL VIRGINAL. A, lining; B, wrest plank; C, rib; D, jack guide; E, knee; F, rack. Broken linesindicate positions of corner blocks and brace under wrest plank. Scale, 1:8. ] [Illustration: Figure 6. --SOUNDBOARD LAYOUT OF POLYGONAL VIRGINAL. Scale, 1:8. ] [Illustration: Figure 7. --RIDOLFI HARPSICHORD REMOVED FROM CASE. ] [Illustration: Figure 8. --CROSS SECTION OF RIDOLFI HARPSICHORD. A, bottom; B, knee; C, lining; D, soundboard. Scale, 1:2. ] The Typical Italian Harpsichord The instrument chosen to illustrate the stylistic features of theItalian harpsichord is also in the collection of the U. S. NationalMuseum. This harpsichord, purchased for the Museum in 1892 by Dr. G. Brown Goode, was made in 1665 by Giacomo Ridolfi, who claimed GirolamoZenti as his teacher. The inscription on the nameboard reads "JacobusRodolphus Hieronymi de Zentis Discipulus MDCLXV Facieba. " Like the virginal described above, this harpsichord is separable fromits outer case. The outer case rests on a separate stand consisting ofthree gilt cupids and a floral garland. Since the painted decoration ofthis case is not original, another outer case, belonging to aharpsichord made by Horatius Albana in 1633, was selected for theillustration (fig. 1). Two unison strings per key and two registers of jacks are provided. Theapparent compass of the keyboard is from _C/E_ to _c´´´_. The remains ofpedal connections can be seen on the lowest eight keys. The sides of the harpsichord are 5/32" thick; the bottom is 9/16" thick. The sides and lining are supported by knees that do not extend clearacross the bottom of the instrument as they do in the virginal. The knees are small triangular pieces, as shown in figure 8. Since theadded tension of the second set of strings demands a somewhat moresubstantial framework than that employed in the virginal, a series ofbraces are attached to the floor. These are connected to the lining byseveral diagonal braces (fig. 9). This produces a remarkably strong butvery light structure. The keys (not shown) are of more constant lengththan those of the virginal; therefore, the touch is much more uniform. [Illustration: Figure 9. --FRAMEWORK OF HARPSICHORD. A, wrest plank; B, belly rail; C, rib; D, bottom brace; E, diagonal brace; F, knee; G, lining. Scale, 1:8. ] [Illustration: Figure 10. --LAYOUT OF HARPSICHORD SOUNDBOARD. Scale, 1:8. ] The wrest plank is supported by two end blocks, against which thepartition behind the action (called the belly rail) is also placed. Thesoundboard is glued to the top of the belly rail. The wrest plank isveneered with cypress, giving the appearance that the soundboard extendsover it. The jack guides also rest on the end blocks in the spacebetween the wrest plank and the belly rail. Figures 8 and 11 clarify thearrangement of these structural features. Figure 10 shows the layout of ribs, bridges, and strings on thesoundboard. The soundboard is about 1/8" thick. The bridge on the wrestplank tapers in height from 3/8" in the treble to 7/16" in the bass andin width from 5/16" to 7/16". The soundboard bridge measures about 3/8"by 1/4" and has virtually no taper. The soundboard does not have a rose, although that decorative device is fairly common on Italianharpsichords. The jack guides are built up of spacer blocks held together by thinstrips along the sides. There is now no provision for moving the guides, although plugged-up holes visible in the right end of each guide suggestthat they originally could be disengaged. In Italian harpsichordsgenerally, the jack guides were controlled by knobs projecting throughthe sides of the case. Sometimes these harpsichords had levers pivotedon the wrest plank and attached to the guides. The Ridolfi case has notbeen patched and there are no holes in the wrest plank where leverscould have been attached; so, the guides probably were not intended tobe movable. The jacks are simple slips of walnut measuring about 3/16" by 7/16" by3-1/8". The arrangement of the tongue, spring, plectrum, and damper areshown in figure 11. The dampers are small pieces of buckskin held inslots at the tops of the jacks. The plectra, perhaps not original, areof leather. Of course, there are no adjusting screws or capstans of anyvariety. The direction in which the plectra of each row of jacks should bepointing is not known. Two clavicytheria having two registers of stringsand a single row of double tongue jacks have been examined by theauthor. Each of these jacks has two plectra, one pointing to the rightand one to the left. Turning these jacks around does not alter the orderof direction. The plectra nearest the keyboard points the same waywhether the jack is upside down or not. In the clavicytherium at theSmithsonian Institution the plectra nearest the keyboard points to theplayer's left. In a clavicytherium at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts theopposite is true. Probably both arrangements were used in harpsichordsalso. String Lengths and Pitch Standards The vibrating lengths of the strings of the polygonal virginal and ofthe Ridolfi harpsichord can be roughly determined from the drawings. Forpurposes of comparison, a tabulation of the vibrating lengths (ininches) of the _C_ strings on both instruments follows: _Polygonal _Harpsichord_ virginal_ c´´´ 6-5/8 5-1/16 c´´ (pitch C) 12-15/16 10 c´ (middle C) 25-9/16 20-1/2 c 43-5/16 42-1/16 C/E 50-5/6 61-1/4 The lengths shown for the harpsichord represent the shorter of the twostrings with which each key is provided. In order to produce a uniform tone color throughout the compass of astringed instrument, it is necessary, among other things, to have thetension of all the strings reasonably uniform. In the treble this isaccomplished by varying the string lengths. Since the length of avibrating string is inversely proportional to its frequency, each stringis made about half as long as the string an octave below, two thirds aslong as the string a fifth below, etc. This principle cannot be carriedall the way into the bass since the lowest strings would beinconveniently long, so somewhere below middle _C_ the strings aregradually shortened and the diameters of the wires are increased incompensation. As the above comparison shows, the string lengths are approximatelydoubled at each descending octave down to _c´_ on the virginal and _c_on the harpsichord. The shape of the case allows the harpsichord to havelonger bass strings than the virginal; between _c´_ and _c_ the stringlength is doubled in the harpsichord. However, in the virginal the _c_string is considerably less than twice as long as the string an octaveabove. In fact, the bass strings of the virginal are shortened to suchan extent that the lowest string of the harpsichord is much longer thanthe lowest string of the virginal, although in the treble the virginalhas longer strings than the harpsichord. If the length of one treble string of an instrument of this sort isknown, the lengths of all but the bass strings can be readily inferred;we can approximately describe the lengths of two-thirds to three-fourthsof the strings of either of the above instruments by giving the lengthof one string. It has become customary to use _c´´_ for this purpose, and to refer to it in such cases as pitch _C_. In examining a number of Italian harpsichords and virginals dating from1540 to 1694, lengths for pitch _C_ ranging from 8" to 13-3/4" have beenfound. This seems to be a great discrepancy for instruments that areotherwise so standardized. Since a uniform standard of pitch did not yetexist in the 16th and 17th centuries, we would expect the string lengthsemployed to be varied somewhat in order to accommodate the instrumentsto higher or lower tunings. Also, a preference for the sound of thinner, longer wires or shorter, thicker ones may have caused some builders toincrease or decrease the string lengths on their instruments inproportion to the string diameters chosen. We have no precise evidenceconcerning the original wire gauges of the strings of Italianharpsichords and virginals. Although the variety of pitch _C_ lengthsencountered on the instruments studied can partially be accounted for bythese two factors, a third and more important cause existed. Among the 33 instruments about which information has been secured, acorrelation is discernible between the apparent manual compass and thepitch _C_ string lengths. Sixteen of the instruments ascend to _f´´´_. For these, the length of the pitch _C_ string varies from 10-1/4" to13-3/4". The remaining instruments, with either _a´´_ or _c´´´_ as thehighest notes, have pitch _C_ strings ranging from 8" to 11-3/8" inlength. If the average tension and wire diameter of the two groups areassumed to have been about equal, the difference in string lengths wouldsuggest a corresponding difference in pitch, the instruments having thecompass extended to _f´´´_ sounding somewhat lower than the others. [Illustration: Figure 11. --ACTION OF HARPSICHORD. A, bottom; B, bellyrail; C, soundboard; D, wrest plank; E, key frame; F, rack; G, key; H, jack; I, jack rail. Scale, 1:2. ] There is some historical evidence that this actually was the case. Inhis _Theatrum Instrumentorum_ Michael Praetorius[1] pictures a polygonalvirginal, which appears to be very much like the many Italian examplesthat survive today, and a rectangular virginal that seems to be Flemish. He specifies that both are _so recht Chor-Thon_ (at regular choirpitch). Praetorius also shows a harpsichord[2] that looks like atypical Italian instrument except for the presence of a set of stringstuned an octave above unison pitch, a rare feature on Italianharpsichords. This harpsichord is described as _so eine Quart tiefferalss Chor-Thon_ (a fourth lower than choir pitch), clearly indicatingthat single manual keyboard instruments a fourth apart in pitch were inexistence. Since no reason is given for the harpsichord being tuned afourth lower than the two virginals, we may assume that the authorconsidered the matter commonplace enough as to demand no furtherelaboration and that instruments a fourth apart in pitch were not rare. Praetorius does not state that the harpsichord in his illustration wastuned to a low pitch standard, which was actually used for certainpurposes or in particular localities. He discussed the numerous pitchesin use before and during his time, but the only one that he mentioned asbeing a fourth below choir pitch he considered obsolete and suitableonly for plainsong. If the harpsichord was not intended to be tuned tothis standard and used for this purpose, it must have been tuned tochoir pitch and treated as a transposing instrument. Querinus van Blankenburg, [3] writing in 1739, states: At that time [the beginning of the 17th century], men had so little experience in transposition that in order to be able to transpose a piece a fourth downwards they made a special second keyboard in the harpsichord for this purpose. This seems incredible, but the very remarkable proof is the fact that the famous Ruckers from the beginning of the last century for a period of more than thirty years made harpsichords only in this way. [4] That the second manual of the two-manual harpsichord originated as adevice for transposition is well known. In an article titled"Transposing Keyboards on Extant Flemish Harpsichords, " Sibyl Marcuse[5]discusses surviving examples that show how the second keyboard wasarranged. The upper keyboard was the principal one, with the lowerkeyboard sounding a fourth below. The strings acted upon by a _c_ key onthe upper manual were sounded by an _f_ key on the lower; so, inchanging from the upper manual to the lower, the player would have tomove his hands to the left the distance of a perfect fourth in order tostrike the same keys, thus producing the downward transposition. Thecompass of the upper manual was _E/C_ to _c´´´_. Since the lowerkeyboard was shifted to the left, space was provided for five additionalkeys at its treble end. The apparent treble range of the lower keyboardwas therefore extended to _f´´´_, although the lower _f´´´_ and upper_c´´´_ keys worked on the same strings and produced the same pitch. Roomwas also made for five extra bass keys at the lower end of the uppermanual. However, since short octave tuning was employed and it wasdesirable to be able to use the same fingering in the bass on bothmanuals, the tails of the _C/E_, _D/F#_ and _E/G#_ keys of the uppermanual had to be bent to the left in order to work on the strings playedby the _F_, _G_, and _A_ keys respectively of the lower manual. Thevacant space to the left of the upper manual _C/E_ was filled by a blockof wood. Hence the five extra bass strings not used by the upper manualwere those played by the _C/E_, _D/F#_, _E/G#_, _B_, and _c#_ keys ofthe lower keyboard. Of the 16 Italian harpsichords and virginals studied that ascend in thetreble to _f´´´_, 13 range to _C/E_ in the bass, thus having exactly thesame compass as the lower (transposing) keyboard of the Flemishtwo-manual instruments. Twelve of the 14 Italian examples having _c´´´_as the highest key stop on _C/E_ in the bass and are identical inapparent compass to the Ruckers upper manual. The correlation of compass and string length of the Italian instruments, the statements of Praetorius, and the similarity of the Italian keyboardranges to those of the Ruckers transposing harpsichords have beenconsidered. A plausible conclusion is that the Italian instrumentsextending to _f´´´_ were transposing instruments sounding a perfectfourth lower than the prevailing pitch standard. Adopting theterminology used for orchestral wind instruments, these could bereferred to as harpsichords in _G_. The evidence of the correlation between string length and compassbecomes much more convincing if we assume that the Italian buildersabandoned the practice of making transposing harpsichords about the sametime that the Ruckers family stopped employing the transposing lowermanual. In the quotation previously given, Querinus van Blankenburgtells us that the Ruckers did not make transposing instruments laterthan the 1630's. Of the 10 dated Italian instruments with the keyboardextended to _f´´´_, only three were made after the third decade of the17th century. Each of these has a shorter pitch _C_ string than any ofthe seven earlier instruments. These three harpsichords, dated 1654, 1658, and 1666, are accordingly considered nontransposing instruments, with the extra treble keys representing an actual extension of theupward range. The six undated instruments with _f´´´_ in the treble areclassified as transposing instruments because of their pitch _C_ lengthsand are accordingly believed to have been made before about 1635. [Illustration: Figure 12. --TYPICAL DECORATIVE DEVICE, known as rose, that appeared in soundboards of virginals and harpsichords. ] The 33 instruments on which this study is based are classified in thelist on page 107. They are grouped according to whether the highest keyis _f´´´_ or _c´´´_, with the exceptions of the three harpsichordsmentioned in the preceding paragraph and three instruments that go onlyto _a´´_. That the three instruments ending on _a´´_ belong with thenontransposing group is indicated by their string lengths. The listing gives additional information about each example. Stringlengths of instruments having two registers are for the shorter of thetwo pitch _C_ strings. Information has been secured on two Italian virginals which were notincluded in the tabulation. Their measurements are completely atvariance with the pattern consistently set by the other 33 examplesstudied. One, made by Giovanni Domenico in 1556, is in the Skinnercollection; it has a pitch _C_ string 14-1/16" in length and an apparentcompass of _C/E_ to _c´´´_. The other, with the same apparent compassand a 7-1/2" pitch _C_ string, is at Yale University. Whether theseinstruments are exceptional in terms of the pitch to which they weretuned, the tension which was applied to the strings, or the thicknessand weight of the strings themselves, has not been determined. The average of the pitch _C_ lengths of the transposing instruments inthe list is 12. 78"; that of the nontransposing group is 10. 45". Thissuggests a separation between the two groups of about a major thirdsince the first average is roughly 5/4 of the second. However, the factthat the separation of the two averages is not great enough topositively indicate a perfect fourth--the first average would have tobe 4/3 of the second to do so--does not disprove the theory oftransposition by a fourth. In the first place, a considerable variety ofpitches is no doubt represented in both groups since a universal pitchstandard did not exist in the 16th and 17th centuries. Also, a margin oferror of only a semitone is as good as could be expected considering thesmall number of examples on which the averages are based. A further possible justification for the relationship of the twoaverages is found in Praetorius' discussion of the pitch standards withwhich he was familiar. [6] He states that choir pitch was a major secondlower than chamber pitch and that _tertiam minorem_ was a minor thirdlower than chamber pitch. Praetorius says of _tertiam minorem_:[7] But in Italy and in various Catholic choirs in Germany, the said lower pitch is much in use. For some Italians, not unjustly, take no pleasure in high singing, and maintain it is not beautiful, and the words cannot be properly understood, and it sounds like crowing, yelling, singing at the top of one's voice.... Possibly some of the nontransposing instruments were tuned to choirpitch and others to _tertiam minorem_, while the transposing instrumentswere set a fourth lower than choir pitch. Three of the instruments listed are ottavinas, small instruments tunedan octave higher than usual. Ottavinas correspond to a four-footregister. Mersenne[8] mentions that they existed in two sizes, one afifth above the usual pitch and the other an octave above. The threeottavinas included in the table are considered to be of the sizesounding an octave above the usual pitch because they have _C/E_ to_c´´´_ ranges and pitch _C_ string lengths about half the average lengthof the other instruments in the nontransposing group. Although noexamples were found for inclusion in this study, it is probable thatsome ottavinas a fifth above the usual pitch--and therefore an octavehigher than the transposing instruments in our listing--survive. Suchinstruments would be expected to have apparent ranges of _C/E_ to _f´´´_and pitch _C_ strings between 5-3/4" and 6-3/4" in length. DATA ON THE 33 INSTRUMENTS STUDIED KEY: A. : _Date_B. : _Pitch C length_ (_in inches_)C. : _Apparent compass_D. : _Type_E. : _Registers_F. : _Maker_G. : _Present location_ A. B. C. D. E. F. G. TRANSPOSING INSTRUMENTS 1540 11-11/16 C/E-f´´´ Polygonal 8´ Vi ... Ies Metropolitan virginal Museum of Art1569 13-1/4 C/E-f´´´ Polygonal 8´ Annibale Juilliard virginal Rossi School of Music1602 13-1/4 C/E-f´´´ Rectangular 8´ Ioannes Smithsonian virginal Baptista Institution Bononien1610 13-1/2 C/E-f´´´´ Polygonal 8´ Pasquino Harding virginal Querci Museum, Chicago1613 11-1/2 C/E-f´´´ Harpsichord 8´8´ Pasquino Smithsonian Querci Institution1617 13-3/4 C/E-f´´´ Polygonal 8´ Giovanni Yale virginal Battista University, Boni New Haven, Conn. 1620 13-9/16 C/E-f´´´ Polygonal 8´ Francesco Rhode Island virginal Poggio School of Design, Providence 11-15/16 C/E-f´´´ Polygonal 8´ Anonymous Skinner virginal Collection, Holyoke, Mass. 12-15/16 C/E-f´´´ Polygonal 8´ Anonymous Smithsonian virginal Institution 13" C/E-f´´´ Polygonal 8´ Anonymous Boston Museum virginal of Fine Arts 11-1/2 C-f´´´ Polygonal 8´ Anonymous Folger virginal Library, Washington, D. C. 12-3/4 C/E-f´´´ Polygonal 8´ Anonymous Cincinnati virginal Art Museum 13-5/8 C/E-f´´´ Polygonal 8´ Anonymous Smithsonian virginal Institution NONTRANSPOSING INSTRUMENTS 1548 11 C/E-c´´´ Polygonal 8´ Domenicus Metropolitan virginal Pesaurensis Museum of Art1554 [a]10-1/2 C/E-c´´´ Harpsichord 8´8´ Padre Vassar Stoppacio College, Poughkeepsie, New York1585 [b]11-1/2 C/E-a´´ Ottavina 4´ Franciscus Metropolitan Bonafinis Museum of Art1602 10-1/2 C/E-c´´´ Harpsichord Christoforus Stearns Rigunini Collection, Ann Arbor, Mich. 1615 [b]9-3/4 C/E-a´´ Ottavina 4´ Pasquino Metropolitan Querci Museum of Art1625 10-1/8 C/E-c´´´ Harpsichord 8´ Valerius Skinner Peres Collection, Holyoke, Mass. 1633 11-3/8 C/E-c´´´ Harpsichord 8´8´ Horatius Smithsonian Albana Institution1645 11 C/E-c´´´ Harpsichord 8´8´ Horatius Vizcaya, Albana Miami, Fla. 1654 10-1/4 C/E-f´´´ Harpsichord 8´8´ Anonymous Smithsonian Institution1658 11-1/8 C-f´´´ Harpsichord 8´8´ Hieronymus Metropolitan de Zentis Museum of Art1665 10 C/E-c´´´ Harpsichord 8´8´ Giacomo Smithsonian Ridolfi Institution1666 10-15/16 A_{1}-f´´´ Harpsichord 8´8´ Hieronymus Metropolitan de Zentis Museum of Art1682 10-7/8 C/E-c´´´ Harpsichord 8´8´ Giacomo Rhode Island Ridolfi School of Design, Providence1683 8 C/E-c´´´ Polygonal 8´ B. Obici Harding virginal Museum, Chicago1690 10-13/16 C/E-c´´´ Harpsichord 8´ Giovanni Smithsonian Andrea Institution Menegoni1693 10-5/16 G_{1}-c´´´ Harpsichord 8´8´ Anonymous Smithsonian Institution1694 9-7/8 C-c´´´ Harpsichord 8´8´4´ Nicolaus Smithsonian (minus C#) de Quoco Institution 9-3/4 C/E-a´´ Clavicytherium 8´8´ Anonymous Smithsonian Institution [b]10-3/8 C/E-c´´´ Clavicytherium 4´ Anonymous Boston Museum (Ottavina) of Fine Arts 11 C/E-c´´´ Polygonal 8´ Anonymous Smithsonian virginal Institution [a] This length is approximate. It is double the length of the shorteststring on the instrument. [b] In order to arrive at a meaningful average value for the stringlengths of the nontransposing group, it was necessary to double themeasured lengths of the pitch _C_ strings of the three instruments tunedan octave higher. -------+----------+--------- Figure | Negative | Catalog | Number | Number -------+----------+--------- 1 | 56322 | 326, 905 2 | 46792 | 303, 544 3 | 49355A | 303, 544 4 | 49355B | 303, 544 5 | 49356A | 303, 544 6 | 49356 | 303, 544 7 | 49356D | 332, 173 8 | 49356D | 332, 173 9 | 49357A | 332, 173 10 | 49357 | 332, 173 11 | 49355C | 332, 173 12 | 46795 | 303, 545 -------+----------+--------- GPO: 1970 O--380-228 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U. S. Government PrintingOffice, Washington 25, D. C. Price 25 cents. FOOTNOTES: [1] Michael Praetorius, _Theatrum Instrumentorum_, Wolfenbüttel, 1620, pl. 14. [2] _Ibid. _, pl. 6. [3] Querinus van Blankenburg, _Elementa Musica_, The Hague, 1739. [4] Translation by Arthur Mendel in "Devices for Transposition in theOrgan before 1600, " _Acta Musicologica_, 1949, p. 33. [5] Sibyl Marcuse, "Transposing Keyboards on Extant FlemishHarpsichords, " _Musical Quarterly_, July 1952. [6] Michael Praetorius, _Syntagma Musicum_, Wolfenbüttel, 1614-1620, vol. 2 (Organographia), chapter 2. [7] Translation by Arthur Mendel in "Pitch in the 16th and early 17thCenturies, Part II, " _Musical Quarterly_, April 1948. [8] Marin Mersenne, _Harmonie Universelle_, Paris, 1636, p. 101.