My harpsichord is now 30 years old (!) and, like many things of a certain age, was in need of a tune-up.  I could have done some of the updates myself but I wanted to put the instrument in really good shape, so I decided it was time to give the job to a professional.  I contracted with historical keyboard specialist Anne Acker (see her website here).  She did a wonderful job and I want to thank her for all the effort she put into my harpsichord.  She also discovered two issues that I was not aware of and that would have caused problems down the road if not addressed.  As a result of her work, the instrument should be in good shape for as long as I use it and then be ready to move on to someone else.

Note: you can right-click on any of the pictures below and choose View Image to get a larger/more detailed photo; use your browser's Back button to return to the main blog.

There were a few things I never got to do before I had to vacate the basement (a friend’s, not my own) where I built the instrument.  Chief among these was putting on the gold bands that are traditional decoration for a French-style harpsichord, along with gilding the case moldings.  (Yes, we use real gold leaf.)  There were a few other cosmetic issues that needed taking care of also.

The photo above shows the instrument after it came back home on December 6, with the gold bands.  (Please ignore the mess in the parlor — woodwork refinishing in progress.)

Below is a view of the keywell, with newly gilded moldings visible.  You can also see the new music desk.

The original music desk is a folding design that fits inside the closed instrument; a clever use of space, but it is too small and insecure to hold a large book and the top section tends to slip down without warning:

Plectra (the little horizontal things that pluck the strings) harden with age, so it was time for re-quilling.  (We use the term ‘quilling’ even if the plectra are made of plastic rather than bird quill as was done in the Baroque era — although some people today do use actual quills.)  Strings don’t last forever either; I could have put off re-stringing for a while, but now we have access to better wire than was available 30 years ago, so I decided to have it re-strung along with the revoicing.   Here is some of the historical music wire that Anne installed (‘Nuremberg’ refers to a system of wire measurement used in the 18th century):

I decided to replace the jacks (the vertical pieces that rise up when a key is pressed and cause the plectra to pluck the strings).  The jacks that came with the kit were made of plastic; these eventually deform (although mine had not yet done so), and replacements in the original style will probably not be available in the future. This was not part of my original plan, and it added considerable complexity and cost to the project, but I think it was worth doing.  Here is one of the original plastic jacks next to one of the new pearwood ones.  The new jacks, made by a gentleman on the west coast who specializes in this work, are works of art and made to very exacting specifications.

This harpsichord has three sets of strings and four sets of jacks, as you can see in the next photo.  The fourth (rightmost) set of jacks plucks the same set of strings as the third set, but has plectra of soft leather instead of plastic.

The jacks live in a gap between the soundboard and the pinblock.  To keep the gap from closing up under the tension of the strings, there are three spacers.  The original spacers were made of wood and had begun to deform under pressure; Anne replaced them with iron ones.

Here is a closeup of the plectra, two in plastic and one in leather:

The instrument now sounds and feels wonderful to play! The historical wire produces a tone with more fundamental than modern wire.  (The sound of any harpsichord has more overtones in comparison with that of a piano, and poor-quality wire or poor voicing can result in an overly bright effect.  So more fundamental is good.)  The result is definitely worth the wait — almost a year until Anne had an opening in her schedule — as well as the cost!  I don't have equipment to make a decent recording of it, but its sound has a definite family resemblance to a wonderful harpsichord made in Paris by Henri Hemsch in 1756.  Here is a link to Mireille Lagacé playing the harpsichord suites of Joseph Bodin de Boismortier on the Hemsch; listen on some decent speakers or headphones, not earbuds.  I suggest the second suite, which begins at 25:07.