Home
Instruments

The Paris Workshop Kits

Harpsichord expert

What's up

Mugs & more

Contact Us!

Friends & Links

CLAVIERS BAROQUES Friends and Links -- updated/verified March 4, 2010

Shortcut to what's -est

  • Friendly Rich presents Pictures at an Exhibition. Composed by Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881), arranged by Richard Marsella (1977 - ), performed by Friendly Rich and the Lollipop People (you can buy it from this site, too) and rreleased in August of 2009. It's just amazing, from the opening Gnomus to the closing Great Gate of Kiev. I think our Althea, played by Lollipop People regular keyboard wonk Gregory Oh, shines particularly in Gnomus and The Old Castle. The first track leads off with Jeff Burke on bassoon, for the second track Jeff switches to pennywhistle, both are fabulous pairings with h'chord. No, I am not making this up, and you have to check it out. This CD makes a fabulous gift, too. Old people will be bemused, people your age will be confused, and your children will wonder how you suddenly got plugged in to weird but cool. This one's been playing constantly in my computer for three weeks. Yeah, I really like it!
  • Rameau: Castor et Pollux (Opera in 5 Acts, 1754 version) recorded in 2003 by Aradia Ensemble under the direction of Kevin Mallon -- the Opera in Concert series of Opera Classics for Naxos 8.660118-19 featuring our Muguette. They gave her a nice credit and even used our rose on the back cover. These people have such good taste! You can buy it direct from Naxos or through either Canadian or US Amazon.
  • Our French Double Martine's first recording was for a project called Gathered Evidence, a compilation of some of composer Peter Hatch's most recent works -- the oldest is 1989, the newest, a string quartet, was finished in December 2002. Harpsichordist Cynthia Hiebert plays In a Vernacular Way (1990), a suite for solo harpsichord. Here is a sound sample from movement 6, "With a hey and a ho, it's Jimi's Joe." Like what you hear? The CD is available, more info at Artifact Music
  • The King Hotel in Palmerston, Ontario -- I think this may be the most hospitable place we've ever stayed. Even if you don't have any reason to go to Palmerston, it's worth a special trip just to stay at the King Hotel. The first time we stayed there we arrived tired and hungry at 10:30 at night after a trade show and concert. Owner Joe Sekhon took us into the restaurant kitchen and made us sandwiches with his own hands. The next morning we were off early to give a presentation for the Summer Sizzle Workshop, there was Joe again, topping up the muffin basket for the continental breakfast and ironing sheets (ironing sheets!). This time (November) when we called ahead, Joe said, "Yes, of course I have a room, tell me when you'll be arriving and I'll turn on the heat." And the restaurant! I'll tell you more about that later, Den and I both had the Shepherd's Pie, one of the three specials. It was *wonderful* like Grandma would have made if she was cooking for thrashers and knew about basil and oregano (don't think she even knew what they were...). This place has everything: lovely freshly-painted rooms with new air-conditioning and Joe's now renovating the bathrooms -- new bath/showers and tile -- there's a pool and hot tub, fabulous restaurant, a lovely rural setting, 24-hour coffee/tea/hot chocolate (and it's pretty good, too), hi-speed wireless for guests. This would be a fabulous place for a working retreat for writers, painters, how about a choir workshop? What a minute, how about a harpsichord workshop? Joe has a website at www.king-hotel.ca but confesses he is 'not a computer guy' so best to phone him at (519) 343-3906. Prices are very reasonable, for instance Joe has a special package -- one night room with dinner and breakfast for two, $99 -- absolutely unbeatable.
  • Lee's Thai Spring Roll on Queen St -- That's here in Toronto, right around the corner from us. We eat here and bring clients all the time. Lee and his staff are life support for us and a necessary part of harpsichord building. Really! It's not easy to get good help to build harpsichords, because it's really skilled and fussy work and generally hugely boring, but by outsourcing cooking (and dishes) we have more hours in the day to build fine harpsichords. And Lee's food is *the best*. We heartily recommend the coconut chicken soup (best soup in the world ©and different every time) and the cashew chicken. Or the peanut chicken. Or the gado-gado. Actually, everything is good here. And for dessert, fried bananas and ice cream. Mmmmmm.
  • Toronto Marathon Hotels. OK, we've never stayed at any of them b/c we live in Toronto, after all, but we know they're good. Why? B/c if you are in TO for a marathon (Toronto Marathon or the Toronto Lakeshore Marathon) and have a hankering to play an early keyboard between stretching and carb-stuffing, we will rent you a harpsichord to have in your room! How cool is that? Delivery and pick up is included, at a very special Marathoner rate -- just 10% of our regular monthly rental. We'll even provide music, in case you didn't think to bring any -- how about My Layde Rogers Virginal Book? It has a nice "Victory" piece in it -- just sayin'. Or you are welcome to come and visit us when you have some free time, see the mysterious process by which harpsichords are built and play h'chords, virginals, clavichords and early pianos to your heart's content. See, you can run and you don't need to hide.
  • Tired of playing standing up in the dark? Concert Design makes seating and lighting for just about every instrument you can think of and their piano and harp chairs are nifty for harpsichord. Sal and Lois are musicians themselves so they know what it means to have a nice comfy seat that provides both the support *and* the range of movement you need, whatever instrument you play. They have cordless lights with that clip on your music stand that'll last for 4 hours, enough for a Mahler symphony or a Rameau opera -- tell 'em we sent you.
  • Ready for a career change? Want to be your own boss? Meet interesting people? Just stake out a busy street corner with a Do-It-yourself John Smith Busker Organ and watch the looks on their faces (some assembly required, monkey not included)!
  • You gotta see -- and hear -- Henry Lim's LEGO harpsichord.
  • Got a tight budget? Dennis Havlena provides instructions for building instruments for a few dollars and tells how to play them, too. A $20 hurdy-gurdy, anyone?
  • Canadian artist, musician, and social activist Mendelson Joe.
  • Parchment Roses from Italy (wonderful!)
  • Find out what's going on in Toronto at The Wholenote, Toronto's Music, classical and new.
  • Tired of pop-ups when you surf? Get Pop-up Stopper from PanicWare.
  • Irfanview! At last, a CIVILIZED way to listen to .mp3 files. Freeware, works for nearly every known graphic, sound and movie file type. Under "Options, Properties, Extensions" click relevant audio file extensions. No ads or spy-ware, just does the job.
  • For all you Fledermaus fans, Bat Conservation International. Yes, it's a batsite, with a bat-cam and live bats to look at.
  • Instructions for tuning a harpsichord "wohltemperirt"
  • Read and Release at BookCrossing.com... BookCrossing, an on-line registry of books that people have 'released into the wild' along with notes from people who have picked them up, read them and passed them along. A wonderful thing to do with books that need to get out more!
  • Claviers Baroques' Animals Home Page. Meet some of the animals we share our home/shop with.
  • and our profoundest gratitude to Lee Valley Tools for so many wonderful things

~~~~~~

and now for something completely different...
UNSOUND "low budget performance art" My son Michael's web page - he builds instruments too (with a soldering iron and patchcords - electro/acoustic)

C+L+A+V+I+E+R+S B+A+R+O+Q+U+E+S

Harpsichords

Clavichords

Spinets

Virginals

Forte-Pianos

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

© 2004-2010 Claviers Baroques
last updated March 4, 2010