Keyboard instruments are very complex in terms of classification. A person can determine the classification of a violin, clarinet, or timpani by following the system set up by Sachs and VonHonbostel without a lot of confusion. Although the function of many instruments may differ slightly, there is still a very definite method of producing sound. Although the piano and harpsichord are both zithers in the chordophone family with keys, the method of producing sound from the strings and the construction of each instrument is vastly different. In a harpsichord, the strings are plucked. In a piano, the strings are struck. The frame of the harpsichord is more delicate than the piano, the strings are thinner and made of a different material, and there is no damper pedal. The control of dynamics and sensitivity of tone color is controlled on the piano by the speed of attack caused by the action of the player’s finger striking the key. In a harpsichord, speed of attack on the key is inconsequential. Instead, a variety of stops that enable the player to choose various timbres and add decrease or increase dynamics. Emphasis is placed on articulation and the use of rhythm and space to create certain moods and timbres.

Because of the diversity and complexity of keyboard instruments, I hope to isolate my paper to a discussion of the history and classification of the early eighteenth-century French harpsichord. Restoration of harpsichords from the previous century was so popular in France during the eighteenth century that it will be necessary to discuss some of the greatest influences to builders of that time.

The history of harpsichord making can be traced to the history of two main schools. One school consisted of independent but similar methods of harpsichord making in Italy and the Spanish Peninsula. The second school was inspired by the makers in Italy and was founded in Antwerp. Most of the instrument makers of France, England, and Germany patterned their instruments from the Antwerp school. Scholarly studies of harpsichords built in Italy were the dominant instruments before 1590 although many of the earliest documents that refer to plucked keyboard instruments are French or Burgundian in origin. The craftsmen of Antwerp were supervised in the standard of their work by Guilds. Instrument makers had no guild of their own until 1558. To decorate the cases of their instruments, makers were obliged to seek admission to the Guild of St. Luke’s that controlled the activities of painters. In 1557, ten makers petitioned the Deacon of the Guild of St. Luke’s to be admitted as harpsichord makers and not as artists. After the craftsman’s position was established and the standard was secured, apprentices began to study in the masters’ shops. The new establishment of the Guild led to prosperity and the birth of a national school. Since Antwerp was a great trading center in the sixteenth century, instruments were exported to all countries of Northern Europe. The healthy trade in Antwerp exposed harpsichord makers to Italian instruments that were very popular during the early sixteenth century. Flemish harpsichords are in fact very similar to Italian instruments with some important differences that will be mentioned later. One very influential family of Flemish harpsichord makers who were members of the Guild was the Ruckers family, founded during the mid-sixteenth century by Hans Ruckers. The family business flourished throughout the late sixteenth and seventeenth century and became renowned throughout Western Europe. The harpsichords of eighteenth century France were mainly based on the model set by the Ruckers family from the previous century with some important differences and improvements. Restoration, or ravalement, of these Ruckers harpsichords was also quite popular. Many were lengthened and widened with some changes made to registers, quills, etc. To understand harpsichord design and craft of eighteenth—century France, it is necessary to discuss the harpsichords created by the Ruckers family.

During eighteenth-century France, one family of harpsichord makers, namely the Blanchet family, was renowned for their restoration to and refinements of the Ruckers design. Many of the harpsichords built in France were destroyed during the time of the French Revolution, but there are a few that remain today and have been well documented. Two bear the insignias of Nicolas Blanchet. One instrument is undated and is located in Paris, France. The second instrument, dated from 1730, bears the inscription N. et Francois Blanchet. This harpsichord is privately owned by Charles Fischer in Framington, Mass. Another harpsichord bears the initials and insignia of Pascal Taskin, a renowned builder within the Blanchet dynasty. One of Pascal’s harpsichords that is dated 1769 and located at the University of Edinburgh is still in beautiful playing condition. After a brief background and basic description of the mechanics of the harpsichord, comparisons will be made between the Ruckers design and the design of certain harpsichords of the Blanchet family, especially the well-studied and preserved Taskin harpsichord of 1769, to notice the similarities and differences respectively.

The harpsichord was the largest and most important domestic keyboard musical instrument from the sixteenth through the mid-eighteenth centuries. During the latter part of the eighteenth century, the harpsichord began to lose favor, due mainly to the introduction of the piano. Details of harpsichords before the sixteenth century can only be found in manuscripts and from illustrations. A drawing from c. 1440 that is located in the Grand Ducal Library of Weimar indicates the establishment of a general layout.

The earliest forms resulted from attempts to mechanize the psaltery. There are no primitive examples, but there is a fairly detailed account in a fifteenth-century manuscript that is located in the Bibliotéque Nationale. Henri Arnault in Paris compiled the document. Arnault, a physician for the Duke of Burgundy, discusses four ways of attacking the string of the harpsichord, suggesting that action was not standardized by that time.

In its general appearance, the harpsichord is similar to the pianoforte. The keys are placed on one end with the strings stretching away from the player through most of the length of the body of the instrument, underneath the lid. Beneath the music desk is a wrestplank in which the tuning pins are set. The proximal ends of the strings are wound around the tuning pins. Also on the wrestplank are the proximal bridges or nuts that the strings pass over and at the point that the vibrating length begins. The strings pass under the jack rail and continue to the far end of the instrument where they are attached to the hitch pin rail. A hitch pin rail is a narrow strip of hard wood the runs along the inner face of the bent side and of the end section of the case. The soundboard is beneath the strings with bridges that the strings pass over. These bridges send vibrations from the strings to the soundboard, which amplifies them. At the point of contact with the bridges the vibrating length of the string ends.

Harpsichords of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were often built with two manuals. In France, it is almost impossible to find a harpsichord with only one manual. A study of artwork on 17^th and 18^th-century fans shows harpsichords portrayed with two manuals, irrespective of nationality. The author of the study, Beryl Kenyon dePascual, suggests that the harpsichord with two manuals may have been considered a symbol of elegant living. The fans were made of high-quality materials, indicating that they belonged to nobility. Presumably, only top-of-the-range models would be considered suitable to feature on fashion accessories designed for people of quality.

The harpsichord built before the mid-sixteenth century had one manual with a compass of only four octaves and one string for each key. Instruments with two keyboards and three strings for each key became common during the seventeenth century. By the eighteenth century, harpsichords with five octaves were common.

On the distal end of each key stands a thin strip of wood called a jack. The jack contains the plucking mechanism and is the main unit of the harpsichord action. The height is usually about 5 — 8 inches, the width is about one half inch, and the thickness is about three sixteenths of an inch. Where the top of the jack projects above the strings, just below the jack rail, a small piece of felt is fixed to the side of each jack, and, projecting against the neighboring string, acts as a damper. A small, upright strip of wood that is about one inch in height, called a tongue, is inserted into a slot cut into the upper part of each jack. Projecting from the tongue at right angles is the plectrum, about one eighth of an inch in length. The plectrum is a small wedge of hard leather of bird quill. The plectra, now made of hard leather were originally made from the quills (flight feathers) of crow or raven. Quill produces a greater brilliance and clarity of tone than the leather plectrum. The tongue pivots on a pin that is inserted laterally through it so that the upper part can be pressed back and away from the string. It is normally kept upright by a small spring at the back. It is usually made of hog’s bristle.

When a key is depressed, the jack rises and the plectrum plucks the string as it passes. When the key is released, the jack falls back with it, but, when the plectrum reaches the string on its descent, the pivoted tongue is forced back, causing an escapement. The escapement allows the plectrum to repress the string without plucking it again. The hog’s bristle spring returns the tongue to its upright position, and the damper touches the string and silences it.

There is one jack for each key. They are held in an upright position by passing through slots in two strips of wood or metal. The lower of the two strips is approximately one inch above the keys and is usually fixed in position by a jack guide. The slide is an upper strip that is level with and placed between the soundboard and the wrestplank. It is capable of being slid to the right or the left, controlling the exact position of the jacks in relation to the strings. The slide determines whether the plectrum will engage the string of miss it when the key is depressed. The jacks are prevented from jumping out of place while the instrument is being played by use of the jack rail. The jack rail also controls the depth of touch in many harpsichords.

In manuals that have a second set of strings, the strings are placed level and parallel with the first set. This set has its own row of jacks with the plectra facing the opposite way to those of the first set. A lever attached to the end of each slide and controlled by a hand stop puts that row of jacks into the "on" or "off" position. Some modern harpsichords use pedals to control the movements. A third set of strings that form the four-foot stop has its own bridge on both the wrestplate and the soundboard. The strings and plectra are placed one half inch lower than the unison or eight-foot stops.

On a two-manual harpsichord there are two sets of strings. The upper manual controls the unison top and the lower manual controls the four-foot, sixteen-foot, and the other unison. The upper manual can be coupled to the lower one.

Two other stops should be mentioned. The lute stop is attached to the eight-foot and creates a second row of jacks that pluck the strings at a point close to the nut. A thin, brittle tone is created. The harp, or buff, stop is a series of small pads of felt or of buff leather that can be slid against the various sets of strings at a point close to the nut. The strings become muted and create a pizzicato effect. This effect is almost exclusively connected with the eight-and sixteen-foot strings.

In some harpsichords a fourth stop is added, often used as a sixteen-foot stop. The register is tuned an octave below the eight-foot pitch. This stop has its own row of jacks with the plectra and strings placed about one-half inch above those of the unisons. Often, a super structure is used on the eight-foot bridges.

The touch and weight of the keys in harpsichords built before the late 1800’s were different from those built today. The touch of the modern harpsichord is heavier than older ones because distal ends of the keys are weighted with lead so that they stay horizontal independent of the jacks. More weight must be applied by increasing the pressure of the finger on the keys. The harpsichords of eighteenth-century France were never leaded. Instead, the instruments were lightly quilled and the touch was never heavy.

The present-day standard of pitch is a’= 440 vibrations per second. It replaced the standard of a’= 435 which was the standard fixed by the Paris Academy in 1859. Before these agreements, there were a confusing variety of pitches. During the 1500’s, for instance, notes which appeared on the stave in written music bore no relationship to any permanent level. It was possible and quite common to move pitches up or down at one’s convenience. Bach often had to transpose his orchestral and chamber parts owing to different tunings of organs in various churches. It was not uncommon to score woodwind parts in C while the parts for organ, voices, and strings were scored in A. These discrepancies resulted from the use throughout the Baroque period of different pitch levels for different instruments. As instruments became more standardized, it became easier to fix certain pitches. Compositions of the Baroque period tended to sound at least a semitone lower than the standard pitch of today. The keyboard pitch compass varies between harpsichords. Before the eighteenth century, it was common to find a compass of keynote E, (sounding at a pitch equivalent to today’s C) to d³ or c³. The chromatic bass notes of C#, D#, F#, and G# were seldom required before the latter part of the seventeenth century and were sometimes completely left out. Around 1700, the full complement of accidental keys in the bass appeared, though FF# was often omitted from the bass until the end of the eighteenth century. Occasionally, some harpsichords had large compasses of five-and-a-half octaves.

The complex relationship between the gauge and weight of the wire, the tension at which it is stretched, and its actual length is called scaling. Scalings varied widely before the eighteenth century. In the mid-eighteenth century, scalings became more settled as the wire used became more standardized. The tensile strength was less than the wire used today. Wire was usually made of iron, steel, copper, or brass during the eighteenth century. The gauge of wire is subtly graded from bass to treble, becoming progressively more fine. Brass wire is not as strong as iron and not as stiff. Stiffer strings produce a sharper tone with each higher partial. Brass strings tended to produce a mellower tone and therefore were preferable for shorter strings. The use of wire of different alloys on the same instrument gave the maker an effective means to adjust tone quality by decreasing or increasing the inharmonicity. Inharmonicity is defined as the departure from harmonic frequencies of the partial frequencies actually produced. Scaling is very important because the frequency of the note varies inversely by the length of the string. An eight-foot vibrating length for c³ could be vibrated at anywhere from 10 to 15 inches by the theory of stretched strings. The average for c³ was about thirteen inches. In a five-octave instrument, eight and four-foot stops were strung with copper and brass in the bass and steel or iron from the tenor upwards. Sizes ranged from 0.028 to 0.009 in diameter. It is not possible to identify the gauge number stamped or written on the nut with the actual diameter measurements. There was no way of producing fine wire of exact and unvarying diameter. Old French and German gauge numbers run from approximately seven to twelve inches in the treble to 00 or 000 in the bass, involving up to approximately fifteen changes.

The point at which the strings are attacked is fundamentally important in determining the sound of a stop where fundamental tone color is concerned. The reason for this is the fact that the presence and comparative strengths of individual harmonics and their rate of growth and decay are principal factors involved in varying the quality of the tone. In the treble range, for instance, the danger lies in the plucking of the string centrally, thereby eliminating the second and fourth harmonics and their accompanying clarity.

The design of the case varies between countries and builders, but certain general aspects can be listed. The longside of the case is traditionally made of hardwood. The bentside is also made of hardwood. The underside of older harpsichords is solid with hardwood bracings running the width and occasionally the length of the instrument, below the soundboard. The soundboard is usually made of pine. The soundboard is strengthened underneath by sound bars that support it against the down pressure of the bridges and assist in the transmission of the vibrations. The whole case and bracing is constructed as lightly as possible to obtain the most resonance.

Flemish harpsichord making achieved European fame under the leadership of the Ruckers family during the seventeenth century. Hans Rucker (c1553-c1598) was the founder of the family business. He was inducted into the Guild of St. Luke, a guild that set the standards for harpsichord making in Flanders, in 1579. Of his many children, two sons are notable for their contributions to the business: Jan (1578 — 1643) and Andries (1579 —? c1645). Jan, or Johannes, Ruckers was inducted into the Guild in 1611. Andries, or Andreas, was inducted into the Guild in 1610. Both sons served as apprentices under their father and were subsequently admitted into the Guild. Jan’s nephew, Jan Couchet (c1612 — 1655), was later trained by his uncle and continued the family tradition. Andries son, Andries II (1601 — 1667) was also a builder in the family business, and certain harpsichords are preserved today that bear his name. Ruckers harpsichords were in constant use throughout Europe for over a hundred and fifty years.

Flemish Harpsichords were similar to Italian harpsichords with a few important differences. Flemish harpsichords were heavier and more bulky. The strings were usually about three to four inches longer than Italian instruments. The bentsides are also different, indicating a difference in overall scaling of the octaves. The importance of the Ruckers instrument lies in its remarkable sound. The sound is rich and resonant without any part of the register dominating another. The lengths, gauges, and materials of the strings were chosen with great care. The area of the radiating soundboard was contrived to give an even balance between the bass, tenor, and treble parts of the pitch compass. The harpsichords built in the Ruckers workshop in Antwerp between about 1580 and 1650 were of two almost standard models. The single manual harpsichord had a compass of four octaves from C and a short bass octave. The instrument had one eight-foot and one four-foot stop and a total length of about six feet. The double harpsichord also had one eight and one four-foot stop, but the total length was about seven feet and four inches. The two manual instruments had four rows of jacks; two rows for each set of strings. This arrangement enabled either set to be played from the upper or lower keyboard without needing a coupling mechanism. The upper keyboard had a compass of four and a half octaves that appear to be from C to f³ with the bass short octave. Because the lower keyboard controlled the same set of strings as the upper keyboard, the same pitch level was created between both keyboards. The lower manual sounded a fourth below the upper manual and had six additional keys. The corresponding space at the bass end of the upper octave was filled in with a large key block. The extra strings in the lower manual were GG, AA, BB, F#, and G#. These were played from the keys that look like E, F#, G#, B, and C# on the keyboard if the short octave tuning is ignored. The three lowest notes were very useful for the keys of C, D, and E because they provided a strong bass. F# and G# pitches were denied to the upper keyboard where those keys sounded at D and E, thus accommodating the normal short octave. Remember that pitch was not regulated during this time, so harpsichords were designed to adjust to different tunings. The lower manual was provided as a subsidiary manual to help players make routine transpositions down a fourth or fifth. Transposition during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was a common practice for accompanists. The lowest, third, fifth, eighth, and tenth jacks were not provided for the two jackslides of the top keyboard because the slots were filled in. The lowest key of the upper manual, sounding at C, was bent to the left. The third and fifth keys, sounding as D and E, had to cross over keys F and G respectively to the left to be in alignment with the F, G, and A keys of the lower keyboard and their appropriate strings. Later in the seventeenth century, the arrangement of keys was altered by aligning the two keyboards, usually with a pitch compass of four and a half octaves from GG to c³, and a bass short octave. A second set of eight-foot strings was also added to the to the top keyboard.

Slides were originally controlled by extensions that projected from the right side of the case. Later, instruments were rebuilt using knee levers that ended in stop knobs piercing the front of the instrument over the keys. A harp stop of buff leather was often an original feature of the Ruckers instruments.

The interval between a^b and e^b often produced a "wolf" tone. To correct the problem, the Ruckers workshops provided each e^b with two strings on both the eight and the four-foot stops. These two strings ran over the nut, were plucked together by one jack, and were hitched together on the hitchpin rail. The Ruckers always arranged the pins in two straight lines, one for the eight-foot and one for the four foot. At the e^bs, a second pin standing forward from the first will often show where this system was in use.

The construction of a Ruckers harpsichord is simple and apparently standard. The wrestplank was made of oak. The casework and braces were made of softwood, usually poplar or lime. The braces run more or less parallel with the slides, and there are none placed lengthways from the header or counter wrestplank. Four braces are placed in the lowest part of the casework and their ends are let into it. They are secured at the bottom with wooden dowels. Between the two braces near the keyboard there is a small compartment for tools, spare wire, etc., and this opens on the longside. Three other braces are placed just below the soundboard and are nailed to the case. There are four battens or sound bars. Two are on each side of the rose hole at right angles with the longside. The cut-off bar runs parallel with the four-foot hitch pin rail midway between it and the rose hole. Although the construction was rather crude, the tone was good and was favored over newer instruments.

Above is a picture of the inside of a Ruckers harpsichord.

In the eighteenth century, Ruckers instuments were commonly enlarged and altered. In eighteenth-century France, the compass was extended to five octaves from FF. The case was widened by adding a new bentside or by adding to the old one. The header and wrestplank were usually replaced, and a new lid was provided. Old bridges were either extended or replaced. New keyboards, often with the addition of the second unison were also installed. The original quality of tone was often preserved. This extensive alteration and enlargement of older instruments was known in France as ravalement.

Some of the most specific information on harpsichords of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries can be found in two French documents, namely the Harmonie Universelle by Mersenne and the Encyclopedie ou Dictionaire raisonné des sciences, des arts, et des métiers. Documents preserved in the Minutier Central of the Archives Nationales provide details about specific instruments from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, giving names and numbers of harpsichord makers working in Paris at a particular time.

Few instruments of seventeenth and eighteenth century France have survived. A few factors are most likely the cause of the scarcity of instruments. One reason is the fact that the main focus of interest was on the rebuilding of the Flemish instruments from the previous century. The second factor involves the violent history of the French Revolution. Harpsichords were considered to be property of the royal house and royal court life. The violence of the French Revolution and its effect on the demise of the harpsichords built before the late eighteenth century is illustrated in a letter written in 1890 by Jean Baptiste Wecherlin, librarian of the Paris Conservatoire;

"Even if all these instruments…were intended for the Conservatoire, I do not know if they all arrived there. I recall very well that some old employees of that establishment told me that these harpsichords served to heat the classrooms, a purpose for which some were taken from time to time from the garret…."

Another cause of the demise of the harpsichord involves the fact that the pianoforte was a new invention that was gaining increasing popularity.

The tone of a French harpsichord was full and robust and more resonant than the English harpsichord. The action was usually extremely light. The decoration of the French harpsichord is similar to the Flemish with subtle differences. The case was usually made of oak with the outside rather plain. The bentside usually had a double curve. Some bentsides had a single curve and angled tail.

French harpsichords during this time were almost always built with two manuals. There was a tendency to use three rows of jacks only. Some instruments with four jacks duplicated the set employed for lower eight-foot but attacked strings with leather plectra instead of the usual quill. In rebuilt Flemish harpsichords, the fourth row was used to enable the four-foot or upper eight-foot to be used on either keyboard.

During the first two decades of the eighteenth century, the short octave keyboard became obsolete. A chromatic compass involving FF to GG was added. Francois Couperin owned a harpsichord with a fully chromatic bass when he composed his four books of harpsichord pieces and L’Art de Toucher le Clavecin. The five-octave compass had increased in popularity and was in full use by the time of Couperin’s fourth book.

Nicholas Blanchet (1660 — 1731), from Reims, was a well-known harpsichord maker in Paris during the late seventeenth century. His son, Francois Etienne (1695 — 1761), later joined the workshop and became full partner in 1722. The family business flourished under his leadership. In 1739, he became "jure de la communaute"(guild examiner). Francois Etienne II (c1750’s — 1766) also became a member of the family firm. Paskal Taskin (1723 — 1793) was the next important figure in the Blanchet family business after Francois Etienne. He was 38 years older than Francois II was. In 1766, he married the widowed Madame Blanchet and eventually took over the family business. This firm was most likely the most prosperous and influential firm in France during the eighteenth century.

William Dowd, a well-known historian lists ten harpsichords that bear the initials and/or insignia of various members of the Blanchet family, indicating that they are originals and not ravalement. Two Blanchet harpsichords that have been well documented are a double harpsichord from c1715 that bears the NB rose insignia, and a double that is dated, 1730 and bears the insignia of Francois Etienne Blanchet. The c1715 has been extensively rebuilt but some parts are original. It is located in the home of Hugette Dreyfus. The pitch compass was most likely GG to e³ (58 keys) but now has a range of 61 notes, FF to f³. The wrestplank is original because of the painting and the fact that the diatonically staggered wrestpins have never been redrilled. The 1730, mentioned earlier, is a magnificent double harpsichord and the best known of any of the Blanchets instruments. Unfortunately, this harpsichord has also been altered. The case, of poplar, is the longest and deepest of all the Blanchets. It was deepened from 38mm to 40mm after the case was made. The original case would only have been 25.6cm deep. The eight-foot and four-foot scales are the longest of any of the Blanchets. Although the jacks are modern copies, the slides, guides, and stops are original. The slides and guides are of traditional French construction with punched leather glued to the lime slides and guides. There are two guides: one for the upper manual nailed to the underside of the wrestplank, and one for the lower, edge-glued to the bellyrail. There are two nicely forged iron handstop levers projecting through the nameboard on each side. They are pinned to black knobs turned from some unidentified material that are shaped like chess pawns. The four-foot is to the left and the eight-foot is to the right. There is no buff stop. The coupler pulls are round black balls pinned to the upper key blocks.

Pictured above is the inside of the Blanchet harpsichord built in 1730.

Pascal Taskin was an innovative harpsichord maker and master of the ravalement.

There are two harpsichords dated from 1769 that survive today and are one of the best known. These harpsichords are considered to be superior in workmanship. One 1769 is a double harpsichord with a range of FF to f3. It is painted at the soundboard between the rose and the spine. The spine of the instrument tapers from 23 mm to 17mm and the cheek from 21mm to 18.5mm. The case height tapers by 7mm from front to tail. The sides are of pine, and the bentside is of lime. The "straight " section of the bentside continues to curve slightly. The corners are joined with dovetails. The fronts of the cheek are finished with breadboard ends. The breadboard ends to the cheek and spine are merely hardwood pieces inlaid 8mm into the outside surfaces. The 60mm wrestplank is a laminate of beech over pine, veneered on top with sycamore running the long direction. The handstops project through the nameboard. The left hand controls the lower eight-foot and the right hand controls the four-foot. One handstop through the center goes through a mortise under the eight-foot nut and controls the buff stop. The decoration is fairly simple but elegant.

Because ravalement was so common in French harpsichord making, especially of Ruckers instruments, a comparison will be made between one of Taskin’s 1769 harpsichords and the 1615 harpsichord of the Ruckers family.

The pitch compass of the 1615 Ruckers harpsichord ran from BB to c³ and was designed to fit the upper manual, not the lower. The upper manual apparently ends on E, but 5 more keys exist in the lower manual, carrying the range to BB if it tuned diatonically. The most significant change in the pitch compass is Taskin’s extension of the range in the extreme treble. This change is achieved by shortening the string lengths and changing the plucking point of the front eight-foot jack because the f3 string must span the gap and space occupied by the four-foot nut, bridge, and wrestpins, Taskin had to elongate his treble scale slightly. At the pitch, c, Taskin’s length of string is much shorter than in the Ruckers. There are two main factors that produce this result. First, the change is present in the straight section of the bridge and bentside. Ruckers pulled his bridge back more in the tenor in continuing the sweep of its curve, producing a longer c. The second factor is the increased range. Taskin crowds more strings into a case only three inches longer than that of the Ruckers. Taskin’s string sounding c is farther up along the curve of the bridge and is shorter. The Ruckers instrument has the longer scale, and the Taskin instrument has the more distant plucking point because the four-foot nut of the Taskin is farther from the gap and its four-foot bridge is closer to the gap. Although the frames of each instrument are similar in concept, the detail of the Taskin is better worked out. The Ruckers had three upper-level braces while the Taskin used four, fixing them almost perpendicular to the bentside, thereby increasing the effectiveness. Another Taskin improvement is the placing of the first two braces in a position to conduct the load on the bentside to the belly rail and to the junction of the belly rail and spine respectively. A member affixed to the rear of the upper section of the belly rail to give the belly rail a T-section and increase its stiffness. The rounded section of Taskin’s frames is characteristic of his work. The materials employed are identical between the two instruments, but Taskin tended to increase the thickness of each part slightly. Aside from these differences, both instruments are very similar in structure. The main differences are musical.

The light actions of the Blanchet family harpsichords were produced by meticulous quilling and clean and accurate workmanship. Taskin retained the principle of the Flemish metal pin rack, but he improved its execution. Taskin refined the upper manual by cutting mortises through the rear of the key levers for the rear guide pins instead of placing guide pins between the keys. Taskin’s key levers are balanced just in front of the midpoint while Ruckers balanced the levers much more forward. Taskin’s balance point increases the key dip. Taskin reduces the key dip effect by cutting his jacks to exactly the right length and eliminating as much lost motion as possible. His key levers are not usually weighted, but they are cut away under the key heads to reduce the weight forward of the balance rail. A crisp, positive touch is the end result for the player.

Taskin deviated from the Ruckers type of registers. In the Ruckers instruments, a simple wooden batten was appropriately mortised for the jacks. Taskin’s covered the batten made of softwood with leather and punched the mortises with great accuracy through the leather. This was a common practice among French harpsichord makers. The batten was mortised oversize so that the jacks bore only on the leather. The lower guide is similar in principle except that the leather was applied to the lower side instead of the upper.

Shown here Is a picture of Pascal Taskin’s harpsichord of 1769.

During the last half of the eighteenth century, French harpsichord makers tried to free the instrument from its inherent limitations in design. One limitation existed in the fourth register of a double harpsichord. In the Ruckers instrument, there was not much practical value to the fourth register. It didn’t work well as an extra eight-foot stop because there wasn’t much color contrast. The jacks must be adjacent to one of the other eight-foot registers. The dampers had to be cut very short so that the cloth wouldn’t be in contact with the strings when the jacks were in the off position. Problems arose when the register was moved because all 61 dampers would buckle between the jacks and the strings. This situation tended to push the register off. One had to be careful to take off the upper manual register, thereby muting one manual when using the extra eight-foot on the lower manual. Taskin’s solution was to use the fourth register as a solo eight-foot stop with peculiar characteristics. Plucking the choir of the lower-manual eight-foot jacks eliminated interference. Changing the plectra to that of a "peau de buffle" added a different characteristic and more sensitivity to the sound.

Taskin’s jacks are tapered so that they fit tightly into the sides only when the jack is in its lowest position. This technique was probably adopted to allow for ease in fitting rather than for any specific effect. A typical French jack included a simple section of the tongue, single damper, and bristle spring, which was usually made of hog’s bristle. The jacks were made with pear wood and holly was used for the tongue. Taskin normally dated the first jack of each register.

Certain inventions and additions are attributed to Taskin. One such invention is the use of buff leather, or "peau de buffle" stop. "Peau de buffle" is a plectrum of woolly leather, like a chamois, made from the skins of the Old World Buffalo. The effect of this stop is a tranquil pianissimo. To achieve this effect, a fourth register arranged so that the choir of the lower manual eight-foot jacks was plucked with this plectrum.

Another invention commonly attributed to him is the use of knee levers to operate the registers. In the upper manual, there is only one stop and therefore no need to move its register. One knee lever was provided for each of the other stops in the instrument so that the player could easily vary the registration while playing. Knee levers, in the form of pommels of a square section, were mounted vertically in the bottom of the instrument under the front edge of the keyboard. They were raised one at a time with the knees. The levers were provided with hitches to retain them in the raised position. The order of the knee levers was as follows: a machine stop, a four-foot stop, lower quill, manual coupler, peau de buffle, and raises de peau de buffle jack. The machine stop facilitated employment of the "peau de buffle." It took off the four-foot and both of the quilled eight-foot stops in one motion, leaving the "peau de buffle" as solo. This was accomplished by means of a piece of wood hinged to the bottom of the harpsichord. When the machine stop pommel was raised, this piece of metal rose with it and operated the cranks of the four and eight-foot trapwork by means of blocks glued to its upper surface, which in turn communicated with the trapwork through holes in the bottom. The effect was of undampened strings sounding sympathetically. The last knee lever has a mysterious purpose. A short dogleg is sawed into the rear edge of each "peau de buffle" jack. A batten is hinged to the top of the lower manual rack, which engages the doglegs. When the knee lever is operated, the batten rises, lifting all the "peau de buffle" jacks. Although the idea of knee levers is generally attributed to Taskin, evidence of this device can be found in an earlier harpsichord made by Balabaster, another well-known harpsichord maker of the time.

The harpsichord is a complex chordophone with a very long history that extended throughout all of Western Europe. Because of its long history and evolution, it was necessary for the purposes of this paper to focus on the specific characteristics of only a few harpsichords from a specific school of harpsichord making. The goal of this paper was to give basic information about the harpsichord and then to focus on the harpsichords of eighteenth-century France. The builders in France during this time were greatly influenced by the harpsichords made in Flanders during the previous century. Because of this influence it was necessary to look briefly at the characteristics of harpsichords built by the Ruckers family, the most prosperous and influential family of harpsichord makers of seventeenth-century France. Comparisons were made between the Ruckers harpsichord of 1615 and the Taskin harpsichord of 1769 to show similarities and differences.