WHAT ARE HISTORICAL KEYBOARD INSTRUMENTS?
by David C. Kelzenberg

Keyboard instruments, as the name suggests, are musical instruments which are played by means of a keyboard--that is, the pitches to be sounded are selected by means of a set of levers (the keyboard), which is manipulated by the fingers, hands, or feet of the player. Under the fingers and/or feet of a sensitive performer, the keyboard may also be used to control dynamics, phrasing, shading, and other elements of expression, depending on the design and inherent capabilities of the instrument.
Keyboard instruments fall principally into two distinct categories: stringed instruments (pianos, harpsichords, clavichords, etc.) and wind instruments (organs, harmonia, regals, accordions, etc.). Other types of keyboard instruments include celestas (struck metal bars), carillons (tower chimes), and non-acoustic instruments, such as the various electronic organs, synthesizers, and keyboards which were designed to imitate the sound of acoustic keyboard instruments.

The most familiar keyboard instrument of our time (disregarding the various electronic instruments of relatively recent invention) is the piano, with which virtually everyone is familiar. However, many are surprised to learn that the modern piano is actually only the current end product of a long period of evolution, dating back to the first years of the 18th century. In its current form it is a product of the 20th century, and is far removed in both sound and appearance from the "pianos" of Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven. In fact, the modern piano is significantly different from even the 19th-century pianos of Liszt, Chopin, and Brahms. While it is fine to play music of these composers on our modern piano or organ, it must be remembered that the resulting sound, as well as the technique used to produce it, will be different from what would have been experienced in the composer's own time.

It is that difference which defines the concept of "historical" keyboard instruments. A growing movement to re-create music of earlier times (i.e. music of antiquity through that composed in the early years of the 20th century), in as authentic a manner as is possible, has flourished in the 20th century. When we wish to create such an authentic performance today, we must employ an instrument similar to that which would have been utilized by the composer. Historical keyboard instruments, then, are instruments of types which composers of earlier times might have employed in performances of their own music. In a practical sense, these might be genuine antique instruments, or modern instruments built in the style of the antiques.

IMPORTANT TYPES OF HISTORICAL KEYBOARD INSTRUMENTS

CLAVICHORD. The clavichord is the oldest and most primitive keyboard instrument. It is typically a rectangular box with a keyboard set in one long side. The keys are simple levers with a fulcrum near the center. Depressing the end of a key raises the opposite end, where a small metal wedge (called a tangent) strikes a metal string. Because the tangent remains in contact with the string as it speaks, it is possible to add small variations in the pitch of the notes; a unique addition to the expressive palette. The clavichord is both the quietest and the most expressive of keyboard instruments.

HARPSICHORD. The harpsichord family includes a tremendous variety of instrument styles, types, and subtypes. Yet, all use an identical means of tone production, and all produce a characteristic kind of sound. Again, the key is a simple lever; when depressed, it lifts a shim (called a jack) at its far end. Each jack contains a small plectrum, which literally plucks a string. Thus, harpsichords produce a "plucked" sound, distinct from both the clavichord's and the piano's more percussive "struck" quality.
The harpsichord family includes large, wing-shaped instruments with one keyboard (occasionally two, and very rarely three) at the short end, as well as smaller wing-shaped harpsichords (known as spinets) and rectangular or pentagonal-shaped instruments (muselars or virginals). Particularly striking are the so-called "Mother and Child" virginals (a spectacular specimin is pictured on our main page)--actually two instruments, the smaller "child" (pitched an octave higher than the "mother") fitting inside the mother like a drawer!  Considerably rarer are the lautenwerk, or lute-harpsichord (a harpsichord strung with gut strings rather than metal ones); and the clavicytherium--a tall, vertical wing-shaped harpsichord designed to stand against a wall.

FORTEPIANO. Fortepiano and Pianoforte (forte = loud, piano = soft) are two terms which were used in earlier times to describe earlier relatives of our modern piano. These terms are now used to describe historical pianos as distinguished from the modern concert grand. When the fortepiano was invented in the earliest years of the 18th century, it bore a much greater resemblance, both in sound and appearance, to the harpsichord, rather than to the modern piano. However, the pianoforte employed a new and entirely different kind of action, in which leather and felt hammers struck the strings rather than plucking them. This action allowed the performer to change the dynamics of the music at will, merely by changing the amount of force used at the keyboard. This advantage, along with a significant change in musical taste which was occurring at the same time, effectively sounded the death-knell for the harpsichord.
From its earliest years, the fortepiano was built (as was the harpsichord) in different sizes and shapes, from small rectangular ("square") pianos to larger, wing-shaped horizontal and vertical pianos.  Over two centuries, these fortepianos gradually evolved into our modern spinet and grand pianos. While the modern piano can be used to effectively communicate all of the music which has been written for the fortepiano (as well as much of what has been written for all other keyboard instruments!), many scholars, performers, and students of piano history now recognize that different kinds of pianos are more appropriate and effective for interpreting the music of different composers, countries, and eras. For example, the 5-octave, wood-framed Viennese piano might be just right for music of Mozart and Haydn, while a much larger, metal-framed Erard might be perfect for that of Chopin. By the same token, a square Chickering of the same vintage would produce just the right sound and feel for music of Louis Moreau Gottschalk, or to accompany songs of Stephen Foster.

ORGAN. The organ, the most complex and complicated keyboard instrument of all, produces musical tones by admitting pressurized air into pipes of various sizes and shapes. The pipes, made of metal or wood, are arranged in sets or ranks which produce specific kinds of musical tones. Devices called stops are used to determine which ranks will speak at a given time, while the keyboard--of course--determines which pitches will sound.
Like the piano (and unlike the harpsichord and clavichord), the organ has had no hiatus in its construction or popularity. And like the piano, it has continuously evolved throughout its history. That evolution has produced a modern concert instrument which is significantly different from earlier organs. As with our other historical keyboard instruments, the "historical" organ encompasses both antique instruments and modern instruments built in the style of the old ones. The differences between this type of organ and its "modern" counterpart are comprehensive, and affect everything from the smallest details of pipe construction and voicing, to major considerations such as stop specifications, divisional placement, and key action. In general, they represent a return to the use of only that technology possible before electricity was readily available. These organs would likely exhibit features such as low wind pressure, suspended mechanical ("tracker") action linking keyboards and stop mechanisms with the pipes, and flexible winding, often provided by hand-pumped bellows.
Smaller (and less complex) wind keyboard instruments include the portativ (a portable organ of antiquity, pumped with one hand and played with the other); positiv (chamber organ); regal (a loud portable organ with reed pipes), and harmonium (a popular 19th-century reed organ with free reeds).

OTHER INSTRUMENTS. Other kinds of historical keyboard instruments are rarely encountered today, but each played its own small role in the historical development of keyboard instruments. Interesting examples of these extremely rare instruments--still awaiting their re-discovery! are the tangent piano, an early rival of the hammered fortepiano; and the geigenwerk, which attempted to imitate the sound of the violin in a keyboard instrument using spinning, rosin-coated wheels.

Return to home

This page c. 2000, Midwestern Historical Keyboard Society