Anonymous 'Mirrey' South Netherlandish clavichord ca. 1620
Fretted clavichord after an anonymous clavichord ca. 1620, in the collection of Dr. Roger Mirrey, now in Edinburgh.
Fretted clavichord, original unsigned, possibly Antwerp, ca. 1620, Russell Collection of Early Keyboard Instruments, Edinburgh, collection number 4486 (see Darryl Martin, 'A South Netherlandish Quint-Pitch Clavichord', The Galpin Society Journal LXIX (2016), p 23-38).
This is a compact clavichord, with a particularly powerful and long sound for such small dimensions. It is a double- and triple-fretted instrument. With its meantone temperament it is ideal for the performance of music by composers such as J.-P. Sweelinck, W. Bird, H. Scheidemann, Th. Tallis, G. Farnaby, P. Cornet and many others up to the period of J.J. Froberger and M. Weckmann. The external appearance and details of its construction seem close to the engraving of Michael Praetorius' Syntagma Musicum of 1620 for the "gemein" clavichord.
- C/E-c3
- bass short octave
- 45 notes
- 24 pairs of strings
- pitch A=415 or 440 Hz
- projecting keyboard
- second 'soundboard' under the keys
- outer dimensions approx. 107.0 x 34.5 x 12.0 cm
- case in pear wood or wild cherry, wrestplank in oak, bridge in pear wood or wild cherry, keyboard in lime with boxwood covered naturals and sharps of pear wood
- rose and key fronts in parchment made by Elena dal Cortivo (Milan)
