Canadian
Single Harpsichord "Althea" Gallery -- We are very
proud of this design. We wanted to make an instrument that was practical
for students, serious amateurs and working musicians, i.e., affordable,
of manageable size, transportable in a standard van, stable in its tuning
and mechanically trouble free, that was also a performance-quality instrument
for solo and ensemble work at the highest professional level. We modestly
think we have succeeded with this instrument.
 Black Pearl, double strung, scheduled for delivery fall 2005/spring 2006 (Windsor, Ontario), photos of work in progress to come - Ivan, double-strung -- delivered June 2005 (Toronto), photos and sound samples to come.
- Bragi for the Clarkstown South High School -- delivered January 2005 (West Nyack, NY )
- Alzira -- single strung, will be available for long or short term rental sometime Fall 2006
- Morphine, double-strung -- scheduled for Summer 2004 (Maine)
- as yet unnamed for the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra -- scheduled late 2005 (Baghdad)
- Marie Antoinette,
double strung, scheduled for delivery fall 2005 (Paris, Ontario)
- Guy, double strung --
delivered May 2004 (Toronto), photos and sound samples
- Stella, single strung -- delivered to Scarborough (Ontario) in June 2003, photos and sound samples
- Black Jack, double strung -- delivered to Singapore in April 2003, photos and sound samples
- Flemish style, double-strung -- delivered to Milwaukee in August 2001.
- Italian style, double-strung -- delivered to Montreal in December 2001, photos and sound samples
- Lirit, double-strung -- delivered to Indiana in May 2000
- Althea "original", double strung, our flagship rental single, photos and sound samples
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Den and Althea on the set of Kimberly Seldon's Design for Living, HGTV
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Specifications: Our Canadian single is
available in either a double-strung version, which we call Althea
Major, or single-strung, that's Althea
Minor. Both versions have a buff stop for added versatility. Compass
is BB to d''' , 52 notes -- enough for most anything you can play. May be tuned to GG/BB short octave.
A = 440 or 415 or can be made with a transposing keyboard without loss
of any note. We discourage transposing unless you really, really need
it, though, it makes for very fussy voicing and compromises key return. What we recommend instead is scaling your instrument so that
it can be tuned up or down as required (takes about a week to stabilize)
rather than shiftting the keyboard, which requires some compromises in
the voicing and action. But if you absolutely need to transpose quickly,
we will make you a transposing keyboard.
The basic instrument can be varied to look or sound however you like.
We can make it sound more Italian, more French, more Flemish, brighter
treble, stronger bass, whatever you prefer -- by the choice of materials,
the way we shape and bar the soundboard, the position of the nut and bridge
which, in turn, determines the sounding length of the string and the pluck-point,
by the direction of pluck, the choice of string material and size and
by how we voice the plectra. The overall "look" of the instrument
is largely determined by the case finish, the keyboard woods, and style
of the cheek.
The basic price includes your choice of most domestic hardwoods -- cherry,
maple, oak, walnut, butternut, etc -- with a linseed oil finish, or poplar
painted two colours, one inside, one out. We also have access to other
woods which would be suitable for the case but more expensive, such as
figured maples, English oak, wenge, mahogany and other African and Asian
woods -- our supplier has a shipment of the most marvelous crotch mahogany
from Africa and some huge Mediterranean olivewood boards that would make
a beautiful harpsichord. The olive has a motley greenish-yellow figurethat looks like marble and a fine texture which takes a high polish.
In theory, there is no reason not to have an ebony harpsichord, but we
would have to charge lots more as it is hard to work (contains oils which
make it difficult to glue) and also it is $80 Cdn/lb. We can use South
American rainforest woods but prefer to avoid them for ecological and health reasons -- the dust of these wood is often irritating and even toxic..
A matching music desk and a pegged cedar stand, as shown, are included.
We now include a matching lid as well, although the original Althea doesn't
have one.
Although only 6' long and 31" wide, this instrument has volume enough
for a medium-sized concert hall such as The
George Weston Recital Hall, (1,036 seats), where Althea has appeared
frequently. If your instrument will be used in smaller spaces or for home/studio
use we could voice a double-strung more quietly, or you might prefer the
single-strung version -- less tuning! Weighs about 80 pounds, can be easily
handled by two people, by one strong person or one smart one (with a dolly!). |
| We have a supply
of wood that has been salvaged from the bottom of Georgian Bay (part of
Lake Huron). This wood was cut 200 or more years ago when all the areas
accessible from the Great Lakes were being logged out. The logs were corralled
and floated en masse to sawmills and loading ports. These particular logs
sank to the bottom (more dense than the usual log?) and have been under
water for approx. two centuries. Some of the logs are marked "For the
King"! Because they were so deep in the water, 40+ feet, the light
did not penetrate and they did not rot. However, aging progressed (slowly)
and in some logs petrifaction (replacement of cell walls by minerals) has
started. This salvaged wood is amazingly beautiful. For instance, when oak
ages it turns a beautiful silver grey. In these logs the colour is all the
way through. This means that anything made of this wood has the same aged
silver look everywhere regardless of how it has been cut, carved or turned.
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| Althea,
original -- Our basic Canadian Single case style is natural
wood with a simple linseed oil finish. The original Althea [right]
is in a "regular" cherry that is now (six years later) turning
quite dark red. Althea's keyboard is chechen naturals and beech sharps
with cherry arcades, her case is cherry outside with basswood interior
construction and bottom. The music desk is cherry and slides completely
out of the way for tuning and register access. The sliding feature is
also handy for those of us who wear bifocals. Her cheek is a plain diagonal
cut as might have been used on German or Austrian instruments of the late
18th century (compare to the fortepiano
after Stein), yours can be any pattern you like. We can use just about
any hardwood for the case, or if you prefer it to be painted we would
make the case of poplar, which is hard, smooth, and takes paint well.
Althea is designed in the Italian style as the ideal ensemble and continuo
harpsichord -- small, sturdy, stable and strung in brass for a clear,
bright sound that can be heard through an ensemble, choir or chorus, even
a large one. The overall shape is modeled on a slightly smaller anonymous
Italian instrument in the University of Michigan's Stearns
Collection. Her sturdy case construction is similar to that of the
instruments of the English Restoration makers such as Keene, Haworth and
Player, as are her diagonal soundboard flitches. She is a fine solo instrument
and particularly suited to any of the Italian, English, German and earlier
French repertoire.She is a trooper in the continuo section but can sparkle
in the spotlight, too, as a soloist or featured instrument -- she does
quite a nice Brandenberg V. Excellent with singers, she is a regular with
the Canadian Opera Company for continuo
and recitative.
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| Althea
at work
Althea is a very professional harpsichord and one of our busiest rental
instruments. She has performed many times with the Canadian Opera Company
and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, to name but a few, and has been recorded
and broadcast many times for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
[right] Harpsichord on life support? No, it's our Althea,
in the pit of the Hummingbird Centre for the Canadian Opera Company's
April 2003 production of Handel's Julius Caesar. She's been there many
times for performances and recordings, but her 'tall stand' and extra-large
music desk with attached pencil tray were so new when this photo was taken
that they hadn't even been oiled. We made them especially for Maestro
Ken Montgomery, who conducts
while standing at the harpsichord (a fine old tradition, we'd like to
see more of that!). For more information about her and her busy career,
see her Rental page.
Here are some sound samples -- we think the our Canadian Single is spectacular
with Louis Couperin and CPE Bach (CPE
Bach.mp3) , but she is equally at home with modern works (Miyagi
.mp3). The harpsichordist is the amazing Professor Tatiana Zenaishvili
of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory with flutist Susan Kutertan, recorded
at a concert she gave here in Toronto for Claviers Baroques in June 2000.
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| Althea,
Italian style -- Completed in December 2001, this Italianate
instrument is made from a batch of very light-coloured cherry that our
wood supplier had gotten in. It turned a lovely pale red-gold when oiled
that made us think of pink champagne. The owner, a recorder player, wanted
a harpsichord for musical gatherings at his home in Montreal. Since his
recorders and flute are at baroque pitch we altered the scaling to string
his instrument at A=415. He chose a cheek scroll patterned after this
1553 Italian instrument by Pisaurensis: 
Together with the boxwood naturals, cherry sharps and pale case, it gives
this Canadian single a very Italian look. We delivered the instrument
playing, but the owner did much of the final sanding and oiling of the
outer case himself. With the money he saved he had us make an matching
lid, but hadn't installed it when this photo was taken. There is also
a matching music desk, of course, and our regulation pegged cedar stand.
The owner is happy to talk about his instrument, you can e-mail
him. |
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| Althea,
Flemish style -- this painted Canadian single was delivered
to Milwaukee in August 2001. The cheeks are traditional Flemish square
ends. We painted it in the style of the famous Flemish builders, the Ruckers
family, in red faux marbre with traditional patterned papers inside the
case and lid and in the keywell. The owner chose a reverse keyboard (below),
ebony naturals with bone-capped blackwood sharps. The nameboard is cherry.
The music desk (not shown) is in traditional oak, the stand is our regulation
pegged cedar.
This one's so pretty that it made The
Milk Paint Company's site! |
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| Lirit, turn-of-the-century
American style
delivered in May of 2002 -- This is Lirit, an Althea-type in cherry. We
spent quite a while finding the right design for the cheek. The owner
chose this graceful scroll from a host of examples and drawings. Although
not a copy of anything, it is reminiscent of the flowing curves and organic
shapes that characterize American furniture design of the early Industrial
Age. The owner originally wanted us to stain the cherry to match her furniture,
which is dark red mahogany and rosewood from the late 19th century, but
this cherry was so dark and so pretty that we talked her out of it --
cherry tends to blotch unpleasantly when stained.
[below] Here is Lirit in her new home in Indiana. The keytops
are bird's-eye maple for the naturals and cherry for the sharps. The cheeks
are layered for strength, we layered up cherry/maple/cherry for contrast.
We used another 'sandwiched' piece at the back of the nameboard and also
for the propstick.
More about Lirit |
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Lirit's keywell shows her pretty bird's-eye maple naturals and her cherry
sharps, and the graceful cheek scroll |
Another little detail -- this is the register shift lever, hand-carved by
Dawn in a pattern complimentary to the cheek scrolls. |
| Black
Jack -- an Althea-type for The
Chinese High School in Singapore, delivered April 2003. They asked
for a cherry case and ebony keyboard with cherry sharps. We found the
most beautiful cherry (we keep saying that!), this had a wild ripple grain
like marble. We used another piece of 30 year old cherry for the sharps,
it had been given to us by a retiring cabinetmaker who asked us to use
it for something special. They liked the 'turn of the century' style cheek
scrolls on Lirit so we designed a cheek scroll for them that had the same
flavour but a little more masculine. The big challenge was to make a harpsichord
that will be stable in Singapore's 80%+ humidity -- but we had a headstart,
ebony jacks!
[below] The orchestra director sent us this photo of Black Jack
on stage with the string orchestra and this report::
>Btw, our school orchestra obtained a gold award in the competition
last
>month and I think, Black Jack was part of the factor. In fact we
were the
>only group "daring" enough to try baroque works. All the
others depended on
>"lush and rich" sound, which gets really boring after
sometime. Ok, so I'm a
>little biased towards early music.:)
Here are some exerpts from their recent performance of J S Bach's Sixth
Brandenberg Concerto with Black Jack, a largish bit from
the second movement (2.2 MB)
and a small bit from beginning of the third
movement (about 400 KB).
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.jpg)
Black Jack was about ready to be packed up in this photo. We'd taken the
jack rail off to show off the ebony jacks.
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The register shift levers are unique, too. They are carved from African
blackwood and look like dragon bones. |
| "Stella"
-- We made this instrument in cherry for a lady who had rented various
instruments from us on a long-term basis for the past three years. She
eventually decided that she wanted her own Canadian single. Since it
will be a home instrument and doesn't need concert-hall volume she has
decided that she only needs a single manual -- besides, she hates tuning.
She wasn't sure what sort of keyboard she wanted so we made two, one in
spalted maple with blackwood sharps (to die for!), the other in ebony
with cherry sharps. She chose the spalted maple -- isn't it stunning?
Morrison Audio recently
used Stella for some recordings they made to demonstrate their speakers
and pre-amps, which are famous for their flat response. Here is a track
from those sessions, Den playing Giles Farnaby's "A
Toy" from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book -- recorded direct to
CD and totally unedited. Even on my computer's not-so-hot speakers Stella's
voice comes through clear and musical. The tone is full and warm throughout
the compass and the effortless resonance of the bass is remarkable for
a harpsichord that's just over 6 feet long -- or for any harpsichord. |
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"Marie
Antoinette" -- We are working on another Canadian single
which the owner will use for a gigging baroque ensemble which sometimes
performs in period costume. He has opted for a French-style painted case
and fancy stand, blue with traditional gold bands, the inside in cream
and yellow with more gold, carving in the keywell and the inside of the
lid, reverse keyboard in ebony and bone and a fancy French-style soundboard
painting -- "elegant excess" is what it says on his order --
and a rich French sound. We can do that, watch this space!
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Guy
-- Delivered April 2004.
A gentleman in Toronto asked us to build him an Althea-type in
cherry with an ebony and bone keyboard. He prefers the baroque pitch so
we will be scaling this one the same as the Althea Italian-style that went to Montreal. This
gentleman is a harpsichord builder from 'way back and we are honoured
that he has asked us to make an instrument for him.
Named Guy, this Canadian Single is a false inner-outer, an Italian fashion in which a sturdy harpsichord has trim pieces inside to mimic a light-weight instrument sitting in a sturdy outer case. Guy has a cherry outer case with thin pieces of bird's-eye maple running around the soundboard. Delicate mouldings, cheek pieces in a Pisaurensis style and matching bird'e-eye around the keywell complete the inner-outer illusion.
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Sound samples recorded by the owner in the fall of 2004 and posted here with his permission:
- Wm Byrd (1543-1623) Rowland
- Thomas Morley (1557-1602) Go from My Window
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Ivan
-- Another gentleman, also from Toronto, has asked us for a harpsichord.
We have known him for some time, we helped him sell his Chickering piano
last year. He says he is not in a rush, so we are making up parts of his
harpsichord as we go along, this will make building his harpsichord very
fast when we turn our full attention to it. It will be in cherry, and
will share a room with his lovely cherry Sheraton tables which we had
the privilege of restoring last summer. Instead of the usual Althea pegged
cedar stand we will make an apron stand to agree with the tables. He's
decided to name the harpsichord Ivan, after his cat.
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| Morphine
-- our newest commission is from a lady in Maine. She has specified Flemish
style decoration, like the one
that went to Milwaukee, but in a royal purple faux marble. Our paint
supplier, the Old Fashioned
Milk Company doesn't make a purple, so we will be mixing our own milk
paint the very old-fashioned way, with lime, milk and ground purple cobalt.
Scheduled for delivery late winter/early spring 2004. We aren't working
on her full time yet, but whenever we have a time-consuming setup we make
the part for her, too. Here is Morphine's bentside being laminated, we did
it at the same time we laminated Guy's,
Ivan's and the one for Iraq. |
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Harpsichord For Iraq -- We are pleased to be building a new Canadian
Single harpsichord for the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra
and the School of Music and Ballet in Baghdad, Iraq to
replace the one that was destroyed in April 2003. We are communicating with
the director, Dr. Hashim Sharaf,
to find out what they want and if there is a name they would like. We don't
know whether it will be a natural finish wood or painted. Den thinks all
harpsichords should be cherry, Dawn is thinking she'd like to paint it in
traditional dark green and red like Muguette,
only a single-manual, of course. We are posting the progress
report for this one publicly so that the people of Iraq, the donors
and anyone interested can see the what's going on. |
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| Alzira |
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| Bragi |
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| Black Pearl |
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