History of Piano Literature

Stringed Keyboard Instruments:

Their Origins & Development

Lecturer in charge: Wilson Chu

Clavichord / Echiquier
“Clavichord, harpsichord, piano—each is a stringed
keyboard instrument, yet each instrument as it appears in
various shapes and sizes possesses its own merit and
strength as well as its weaknesses

A flowing melodic line is most beautifully expressed by the

clavichord, whose strings are activated by gentle
pressure strokes from metal tangents; but at the same
time lack of tonal power limits its enjoyment to a small
circle of admirers.
 Echiquier

“Despite the fact that all types and sizes of early clavichords
and harpsichords have been preserved, as well as information
concerning their construction, the earliest stringed keyboard
instrument continues to be somewhat of an enigma.
In a manuscript titled Les Enseignemens Imbert Chandelier
reveals his favorite pastime:”
“Never do I suffer from melancholy,
Incessantly I play the echiquier. . . .

In the year 1360, King Edward III of England presented to his
prisoner King Jean le Bon of France an echequier made by a
certain Jehan Perrot.”
“The French term echiquier (chessboard) was not the only name
applied to this early instrument. In England it was called the
chekker. In 1393 a Bishop Braybroke of London paid 3s/4 “to
one playing on the chekkers at Stepney.”

The German poet Eberhardus Cersne von Minden in Der

Minnen Regelen mentions not only the clavicymbolum
(harpsichord) and clavichordium (clavichord) but also the
Schachtbret, probably the German equivalent of the French
word echiquier.”
 Clavichord
“The clavichord is the earliest type of stringed keyboard
instrument about which there is specific information available.
Its known ancestry goes back to the sixth century B.C. when
Pythagoras used a monochord for his experiments in musical
mathematics.

Another precursor of the clavichord was the dulcimer, an

instrument in which a series of strings were fitted over two
stationary bridges and tuned by movable pins. The dulcimer
was played by means of hammers striking the strings from
above. This instrument still exists as the Hungarian
cimbalom.”
Among the earliest clavichord performers are Pierre Beurse in the
late fifteenth century and Henry Bredemers (1472–1522), a
Flemish teacher. In Paris in 1485, the nobleman René de
Lorraine paid a service fee to a performer on the manichordion
(clavichord).

The clavichord is not conspicuous in sixteenth-century records,

although it was used. Scotland’s King James IV (reigned 1488–
1513) entertained his bride, Margaret of England, by playing the
lute and clavichord.
 Bebung (vibrato)
One technique peculiar to this instrument was the Bebung or
tremolo, which produced a slight vibrato or fluctuation in
pitch. The clavichord served throughout western Europe
during the 16th & 17th centuries but seemed to go out of
fashion during the 18th century, except in Germany where it
remained favorite until the close of that century.

Check the video

 Harpsichord
Italian harpsichord, made in 1643
Two – Manual Harpsichord
Made by Burkut Shudi, England in 1747
The harpsichord (the French clavecin, the Italian cembalo or
clavicembalo) played a primary role in the music of the eighteenth
century; it assumed a position similar to that of the concert grand piano
during the 19th & 20th centuries

The harpsichord has had a brilliant career. From the fifteenth century to
about 1750, it reigned, so to speak, as the king of keyboard
instruments; its renown was due in great part to Antwerp’s master
harpsichord builders, the Ruckers family, famous in the seventeenth
century for building fine instruments. Harpsichord history can be traced
at least as far back as the Middle Ages when the psaltery, a stringed
instrument similar to the modern zither, appeared in various shapes;
the strings were plucked by the fingers.
It influenced music composition and produced master musicians
like Chambonnières and Louis Couperin, two French composers
who wrote especially for the regal instrument. These were the
beginnings of the glorious French clavecin school that existed
during them 17th and 18th centuries—the school that fostered the
musical dynasty of the Couperin and the talent of Jean-Philippe
Rameau.

Inspired by the harpsichord’s refinement, members of the Bach

family created their rich musical legacy for Germany, and in
Spain the transplanted Neapolitan composer Domenico Scarlatti
wrote his scintillating pieces especially for this instrument.
Harpsichord's Jack
During its golden age, from 1650 to 1750, the harpsichord varied
from six to eight feet in length and ideally had two keyboards,
each with about five octaves. There were three or four sets of
strings sounded by means of small quills or leather plectra hinged
on wooden jacks. Each set of strings varied in pitch and tone
quality.

These strings were operated by means of stops placed above the

keyboard. Frequently there was a lute stop, a device that
dampened a given set of strings by means of small pieces of
cloth or felt in order to imitate the lute sound. Since crescendo
and diminuendo were impossible on this plucked instrument,
it was necessary to have different timbres or tone colors
produced by the sets of strings.
Pianoforte
The large harpsichord had sparkling clarity yet lacked expressive
power. As the keyboard manufacturers learned how to make
instruments capable of greater nuance, the harpsichord began to
lose favor. In 1709 the Florentine instrument maker Bartolomeo
Cristofori realized a significant objective — a harpsichord
with hammers. The Italian gave his instrument the shape of a
large harpsichord and called it a gravicembalo col piano e forte
(harpsichord with soft and loud).

So began the era of the piano. Cristofori’s invention of an

escapement mechanism for his new harpsichord with hammers
brought about a major transformation in keyboard instruments.
 Bartolomeo Cristofori
In 1720 Cristofori improved the striking action of his instrument and
also provided it with a sideslip. This device, activated by a hand stop,
shifted the mechanism so that only one string was struck. This is the
origin of our soft or una corda pedal.

The new harpsichord with hammers was baptized at the court of

Saxony, where two instruments made by Gottfried Silbermann in 1726
came to the attention of Johann Sebastian Bach. Aided by Bach’s
helpful advice, Silbermann, in 1745, built the first pianoforte with a
sonority perfectly equal along its range of keys. Silbermann was the first
builder to exploit the commercial possibilities of the new instrument.
The striking action that he used for his pianos became known as
“English” action.
It began with the Clementi sonatas published in 1770. Even then the
older instruments did not disappear. England’s Dr. Burney, traveling
throughout Europe in 1770 and 1772, observed that all three
instruments—harpsichord, clavichord, and piano—were still in use.

Muzio Clementi (1752–1832), a composer and virtuoso keyboard

performer, founded a piano factory in London and became one of the
first pianists. Joseph Haydn composed for the early piano, and in 1777
Wolfgang Mozart became a permanent convert to the instrument when
he played a piano made in Vienna by the German Johann Stein, an
apprentice of Silbermann. The Stein pianos built after 1789 used a foot
pedal to raise the dampers from the keys (sostenuto). Previous to this
period, the builder had employed knee stops.
 Sebastian Erard pianos - Paris
Paris had its own piano factory, the house of Erard (Ehrhard).
The first Erard piano dates from 1777. It was built by Sébastien
Erard (1752–1831) at the residence of the Duchesse de Villeroi,
who also provided the funds. This initial attempt was so
successful that in 1779 Sébastien and his brother Jean-Baptiste
established a factory, which became one of the first famous
pianohouses.

The Erard was the first Parisian piano equipped with foot pedals.
Ignace Pleyel (1757– 1831), a German who owned a music
publishing house in Paris, also began to manufacture pianos
there in 1809, thereby starting a lively competition with Erard that
still continues today.
By 1775, piano manufacture extended beyond these few cities.
England had its Zumpe, Broadwood, and Shudi, as well as a branch of
Erard; Germany its Stein and Silbermann; and Pleyel and Erard still
competed in Paris.

In America, manufacturing houses capable of competing with the

European makers also opened up at this time The first American piano
was made in 1775 by John Behrent in Philadelphia; Benjamin Crehore of
Milton,Mass., also began building pianos about this time

Henry Steinway, who was born in Germany in 1797, became one of the
great United States builders. Transporting to America the house he had
begun in Brunswick, Steinway turned out American pianos that
seriously challenged the European instruments.
 Henri Pape
And a few fantastic inventions appeared in the early nineteenth century,
some only briefly. For instance, there were the vertical obelisk piano,
the “Giraffe” piano, the lyre piano, and the “piano-secretary” (a piano
disguised as a secretary and designed by Henri Pape, at one time
director of the house of Pleyel).

Pape, to his credit, also createdthe felt hammer in 1826. The “Turkish
stop” (consisting of drums, little bells, and metallic rods suitable for
executing the “Bacchanals” of Daniel Steibelt) was another addition to
these piano novelties, most of which soon passed into oblivion.
 Double-escapement Mechanism
In 1821 Pierre Erard secured a patent for a double-escapement
mechanism, which had been perfected by his uncle Sébastien,
founder of the firm. This mechanism made possible quicker,
subtler note repetitions, thus facilitating the spread of virtuosity by
such agile performers as Sigismund Thalberg and Franz Liszt.

No doubt this invention encouraged Liszt to compose and

perform his Douze Études Transcendantes (Twelve Transcendental
Etudes, 1838). The Erard invention transformed finger technique
and opened up unheard-of possibilities of execution.
 Modern Piano (1830 onwards)

In Germany, the Bluthner and Bechstein pianos have usurped the

spotlight; in France, Pleyel and Erard are still very highly
esteemed, but Gaveau is offering some strong competition; in
Austria, the Bösendorfer piano is recognized for its lyrical tone
quality and because it is so well suited to the music of Beethoven
and the Romantic composers. Steinway and Baldwin are the
foremost American piano manufacturers.
 Nowadays
In this century, too, the harpsichord and clavichord have
again come into favor. Due in great measure to the late
Wanda Landowska (1877–1959), the harpsichord and
clavichord are no longer considered antiquated instruments.

Listen to some recordings of the same work, played by

different instruments. For example, Bach's Partita No.2 in
harpsichord and piano.