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LUTE-
HARPSICHO
RD:
A Forgotten
Instrument
Over a period of some three centuries there are plenty of references to gut-
stringed instruments that resemble the harpsichord and imitate the delicate soft
timbre of the lute (including its lower-sounding variants, the theorbo and
chitarrone or archlute) or the harp, but little concrete information. Not a single
such instrument has survived, nor is any contemporary depiction known apart
from a rough engraving of the early 16th century. Fewer than ten lute-
harpsichord makers are known, and there are reasonably detailed descriptions
of instruments made by only two or three of them. Nonetheless, the instrument
is mentioned fairly frequently in music books of the early 17th to the mid-18th
century.
Fleishcer built two types of instrument. The smaller had two 8-foot gut-
stringed stops with a compass of about three octaves; in the lower two octaves
these could be coupled with a 4-foot stop, by analogy with the pairs of octave-
tuned bass strings (courses) on the lute. Below the soundboard of the
instrument an oval resonator in the shape of a shell, resembling the body of a
lute was attached.
J.S. Bach's connection with and interest in the Lautenwerk was considerable.
He clearly liked the combination of softness with strength which these
instruments are capable of producing, and he is known to have drawn up his
own specifications for such an instrument to be built for him by Hildebrandt.
In an annotation to Adlung's Musica mechanica organoedi, Johann Friedrich
Agricola described a Lautenwerk that belonged to Bach:
Gergely Sárközy's lutes were built for him by Hungarian instrument maker
Tihamer Romanek whose father, Andras, was the very first to make lutes in
Hungary. The craftmanship of lutherie enchanted Tihamer, who following his
graduation as an instrument maker, decided to explore the construction of a
lute-harpsichord. Among other instruments, he now offers two models of lute-
harpsihcord from his own workshops.
Generally, a gut string requires a longer scale (or length at a given pitch) than
a metal string, which in turn infers a larger instrument. Pitch for a given string
length however, is a function, not only of length, but also of string material
and tension. The lower pitched strings of the lute-harpsichord are thicker and
under less tension - a technique known as "foreshortening". Thus
lautenwercke are often smaller than their metal-strung relatives. Extreme
foreshortening of the scale in comparison to the harpsichord, reduces the
tension a lautenwerck must bear. Lighter construction is made possible,
enabling a lautenwerck to better respond to the less energetic gut string. This
is especially true of the soundboard, which can be half the thickness normally
found in harpsichords.
Gut stringing has other implications for lautenwerck design. As gut strings
have more internal friction than their metal counterparts, they generally have
less sustain. This allows one to dispense with dampers to a large degree.
Individual instruments will dictate where dampers are needed (and how
effective they need be), but one rarely finds lautenwercke fitted with dampers
on every string. Any resulting "over-ring" is likely to enhance the lute-like
effect.
Anden Houben
Anden Houben Harpsichords
501 Main Avenue
Northport, Alabama, 35476
Telephone (205) 758 8471
Email AndenH@aol.com
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