Figure 7. — Ridolfi harpsichord removed from case. (Stiuthsonuir) photo ,\I.\H JjS~A.) 



The Typical Italian Harpsichord 



The instrument chosen to illustrate the stylistic 

 features of the Italian harpsichord is also in the col- 

 lection of the U.S. National Museum. This harpsi- 



Figure 8. — Cross section of Ridolfi harpsichord. 

 A, bottom; B, knee; c, lining; d, soundboard. Scale, 1 : 



C 



chord, purchased for the Museum in 1892 by Dr. G. 

 Brown Goode, was made in 1665 by Giacomo Ridolh, 

 who claimed Girolamo Zenti as his teacher. The 

 inscription on the nameboard reads "Jacobus 

 Rodolphus Hieronymi de Zentis Discipulus 

 MDCLXV Facieba." 



Like the virginal described above, this harpsichord 

 is separable from its outer case. The outer case rests 

 on a separate stand consisting of three gilt cuplds and 

 a floral garland. Since the painted decoration of this 

 case is not original, another outer case, belonging to a 

 harpsichord made by Horatius Albana in 1633, was 

 selected for the illustration (fig. 1). 



Two unison strings per key and two registers of jacks 

 are provided. The apparent compass of the keyboard 

 is from C/E to c ' ' ' . The remains of pedal connec- 

 tions can be seen on the lowest eight keys. 



The sides of the harpsichord are %«" thick; the 

 bottom is %ti" thick. The sides and lining are sup- 

 ported by knees that do not extend clear across the 

 bottom of the instrument as they do in the virginal. 



The knees are small triangular pieces, as shown in 

 figure 8. Since the added tension of the second set ot 

 strings demands a somewhat more substantial frame- 

 work than that employed in the virginal, a series of 

 braces are attached to the floor. These are connected 

 to the lining by several diagonal braces (fig. 9). This 

 produces a remarkably strong but very light structure. 

 The keys (not shown) are of more constant length 

 than those of the virginal; therefore, the touch is much 

 more uniform. 



100 



BULLETIN 



15: CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 



