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HARPSICHORD
AVAILABLE FOR HIRE
The Portuguese harpsichord built in 1785 by Jozé Joaquim Antunes in the Finchcocks collection (left) and my 1993 Robert Greenberg copy (right) This single-manual instrument was the last harpsichord that the distinguished builder Robert Greenberg was able to complete and show before his untimely death at the age of 58 in 1995. In building it he followed closely a set of technical drawings by Christopher Nobbs, the restorer of the 1785 Finchcocks Antunes. There are, however, a few slight differences between the copy and its model. The Greenberg copy lacks the mythological lid painting and the two pedals which were added to the original when it was restored. The function of these pedals, which control the buff stop and the distal 8', is fulfilled in the copy by brass handstops. Unlike the original, the Greenberg copy can transpose up a semitone, allowing it to be pitched at both A= 415Hz and 440Hz, the latter being required for accompaniment at modern pitch. It has two 8' registers, which are strung in brass, with a buff stop which unusually operates on both registers at once. It has a full five octave compass, from GG to g³, and thus can accommodate all of Scarlatti's sonatas bar one (K 485). For more on the 1785 Antunes, which was bought by Richard Burnett at Sothebys in December 1985 for £33,000, see J. H. van der Meer, 'Um cravo Português desconhecido em propriedade particular em Inglaterra', Boletim da Associação Portuguesa de Educação Musical 58 (1988), pp.17-22. I am grateful to the following for information about Greenberg's Antunes copy: David Calhoun, who maintained it while it was at Laurette Goldberg's MusicSources, Prof. Edward Kottick, and Jonathan Rhodes Lee, who gave public recitals on it several times in the Bay Area, including a concert at the Berkeley Early Music Festival. This instrument was used by the Brazilian harpsichordist Pedro Persone for two performances at Florida International University in 2005, and for numerous concerts in the Miami Bach Society's Baroque Festivals in 2006 and 2007. In the summer of 2007 it was used for a recital by the Dearmas sisters at the Spanish Cultural Center in Coral Gables (Picture here) Recordings have been made on the original Antunes by Robert Woolley (Seixas sonatas), Christophe Rousset (Scarlatti) and Carole Cerasi (Nebra). Richard Lester used a copy of the Antunes built by Michael Cole for his series of Scarlatti recordings for Nimbus Records. Available for hire for concerts and recordings, or
possibly even for
purchase (comes with its own padded travel cover, tuning hammer, and custom built shipping
crates for instrument and stand). Its dimensions are about 39" by 98". More photographs are available
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