Italian stringed keyboard instruments and simple geometry:  Some new developments at the Russell Collection of Early Keyboard Instruments

Grant O’Brien

Introduction

          For the past few years much of my research activity has been devoted to the study of the use of the local unit of measurement as it was applied to the design and construction of Italian stringed keyboard instruments.  In a paper in the 1999 issue of The Galpin Society Journal[1] I have attempted to show that is possible to determine the local unit of measurement used in the construction of a stringed keyboard instrument beginning with the geometry of the front corner angles of a polygonal virginal or with the tail angle of a harpsichord.  By making an initial estimate of the unit of measurement from the geometry of the corner angles it is possible to refine the accuracy of the determination by applying it to other measurements of the baseboard, case height, keyplank, string scalings and the other basic measurements used in the design and construction of the instrument.  In some situations, using a statistical analyses of the register slot spacing, for example, it is possible to determine the unit of measurement to a very high degree of accuracy.

          The Russell Collection of Early Keyboard Instruments at the University of Edinburgh has five different Italian stringed keyboard instruments, and an analysis of the unit of measurement used in their construction has thrown up some very interesting results which I intend to reveal in this paper.  The instruments which I will analyse here are:

1.   The polygonal virginal by Alexander Bertolotti, dated 1586, thought to have been made in Venice.

2.   An enharmonic virginal attributed to Francesco Poggio, undated, but clearly from the period around the end of the sixteenth century or the beginning of the seventeenth century, and thought to have been made in Florence.

3.  An octave spinet by Petrus Orlandus, dated 1710, where neither the place of construction nor the origin of the maker is known.

4.  An anonymous single-manual harpsichord, undated but thought originally to have been made in Florence because of the fact that it was re-worked there by Bartolomeo Cristofori or one of his pupils.

5.   A three-manual harpsichord signed by Stefano Bolcioni, dated 1627, thought to have been made in Florence or in Prato near to Florence.  This instrument was clearly originally a single-manual harpsichord, but was fraudulently modified during the period when it was put up for sale in Florence by Franciolini in about 1908.  Thus the signature, date and place of origin of this instrument are all thrown into doubt as a result of having passed through the hands of this disreputable dealer.

          When applied to these instruments the methods that I have developed has enabled the determination of a number of important facts about the author and place of origin of each of these instruments.

Footnote:

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