iple keyboards and different keys to give the illusion. It is not uncommon to have a hand on the first manual and the other on the second at a crisscross. In this way the harpsichord is more personal instrument. One literally needs to understand the personality of this instrument in order to link music and soul.The piano is a newer instrument, approximately 200 years old, thus it has a “newer” way of producing sound. Using a very complex system of weights and counterweights forces the hammer to strike a stiff, taunt string. In essence a pianist depresses a key which causes springs and levers to propel the hammer against the corresponding string and this action results in the unique sound and feel of the piano. If one listens to the piano, tones seem richer and deeper than that of the sharper and more abrupt harpsichord—thought different always doesn’t translate to better.Under the auspices of composers like Bach and Scarlatti, and other Baroque masters, the harpsichord and its cousins were the first chairs of the music world from 1550-1750. Scarlatti alone wrote 500 sonatas (music shorts) most of which included the harpsichord. J.S. Bach wrote numerous pieces for it such as his Goldberg Variations and English Suites, and this was just the tip of the musical iceberg. Unfortunately as history confirms, every musician only has so many performances before the symphony closes.For the harpsichord this happened after the death of Bach and Scarlatti in the mid eighteenth century. Up until this time there had been quiet dissention by a growing number of musicians who wanted an instrument more musically versatile but that still retained the unique feel and sound of the harpsichord. For a while this was filled by a cousin of the harpsichord called the clavichord; but due to the quietness of the instrument it didn’t have much use other than for the parlor. Research was in full swing from 1700 to 1740 when t...
