Clavichord

Clavichords were built as far back as the early fifteenth century, and perhaps earlier. This most personal, simplest, and quietest of European keyboard instruments was the perfect vehicle for music pedagogy, keyboard practice, and composition throughout its 400-year history. The action of the clavichord is relatively simple: the finger depresses a key which, working as a lever, causes its opposite end to rise so that a metal tongue (or tangent) hits a metal string, causing it to resonate. When the key is released, the string is damped. The clavichord is very quiet compared to the harpsichord or piano because of the inefficiency of its sound production, with the tangent hitting the string at the end of its resonating length, rather than in the middle. The tangent mechanism, however, allows a player to achieve a range, albeit narrow, of louder and softer tones as well as special effects like bebung, a form of vibrato, so that the clavichord was and is valued for its intimate expressiveness. Earlier clavichords were fretted, that is, a single string might be used to create several different notes, depending on where a tangent struck it. Unfretted clavichords, with a single note per string, came into use in the late seventeenth century.

Arnold Dolmetsch is regarded as an important figure in the early movement for historically informed performance practice. Born in France, Dolmetsch studied music in Brussels and then in London. He exhibited a harpsichord at London's Arts and Crafts Exhibition of 1896. He accepted a position with Chickering & Sons piano company in Boston where he worked from 1904 until 1911 supervising the building period instruments including harpsichords, clavichords, lutes, and viols.　

Technical description: Rectangular case painted dark green with gold trim, on trestle stand with 4 turned legs, FF-f3, unfretted, double-strung, lowest 15 pairs wound, ebony naturals with gold arcades, stained accidental blocks with ivory plates, 2 soundholes with AD monogram and 3 interlocking circles in rosette, fallboard (detached) hinged to front of case, lid attached by 3 large brass strap hinges, folding music rack behind nameboard supports lid, lidded compartment to left of keyboard, string gauge numbers stamped by hitch pins, pitch letters stamped by tuning pins; motto inside lid: PLVS* FAIT*DOVCEUR*QVE*VIOLENCE.