Pierre Verbeek is an engineer and physicist from the Louvain Polytechnic (UCL). He has held several positions of responsibility in Belgium and France in an international company in the energy sector. In parallel with his scientific and technical career he has had a musical education, harpsichord, thorough bass and early ensemble music. He is since 2004 a full-time clavichord and harpsichord maker in Belgium. Self-taught, he has benefited from the encouragement and advice of personalities from the world of the clavichord, in particular Bernard Brauchli, and master instrument makers, notably Laurent Soumagnac and Jean Tournay.
The instrument making activity of Pierre Verbeek covers two currents. Starting with his 2011 work on the reconstruction of the clavichord in the Palazzo Ducale of Urbino (c.1470), he explores the origins of the clavichord. Pierre Verbeek devotes himself also to the construction of 17-18th-centuries German and Swedish fretted clavichords, e.g., the clavichord by Johann Jacob Donat (Leipzig 1700), an instrument that appeals to many performers. His international experience has led him to build clavichords for professional and amateur musicians in Europe and in the United States.
The workshop is in an early 19th century family-owned dairy farm in the village of Daverdisse, located in the Ardennes, in the southern part of Belgium. The instruments are totally handcrafted. Each instrument is made to order from wood grown, cut, and air-dried in the Ardennes. This area is blessed with a splendid diversity of trees to include oak, beech, wild cherry, spruce, walnut, maple, elm, ash tree, lime, poplar, pine, pear wood, and more. This allows to select the best wood for the intended purpose. For example, natural pear wood casework is exceptionally solid while maintaining a tasteful appearance and a very fine tone. For soundboards, quarter-sawn spruce is selected from the French Jura Mountains. The workshop specializes in early instruments from the Italian and Northern European traditions.
The instrument making activity of Pierre Verbeek covers two currents. Starting with his 2011 work on the reconstruction of the clavichord in the Palazzo Ducale of Urbino (c.1470), he explores the origins of the clavichord. Pierre Verbeek devotes himself also to the construction of 17-18th-centuries German and Swedish fretted clavichords, e.g., the clavichord by Johann Jacob Donat (Leipzig 1700), an instrument that appeals to many performers. His international experience has led him to build clavichords for professional and amateur musicians in Europe and in the United States.
The workshop is in an early 19th century family-owned dairy farm in the village of Daverdisse, located in the Ardennes, in the southern part of Belgium. The instruments are totally handcrafted. Each instrument is made to order from wood grown, cut, and air-dried in the Ardennes. This area is blessed with a splendid diversity of trees to include oak, beech, wild cherry, spruce, walnut, maple, elm, ash tree, lime, poplar, pine, pear wood, and more. This allows to select the best wood for the intended purpose. For example, natural pear wood casework is exceptionally solid while maintaining a tasteful appearance and a very fine tone. For soundboards, quarter-sawn spruce is selected from the French Jura Mountains. The workshop specializes in early instruments from the Italian and Northern European traditions.
