Customer Reviews

The Historical Harpsichord

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This Historical Harpsichord, Volume 4 provides the reader with a scholarly, meticulous, detailed look at the evolution of this remarkable stringed instrument. Individual chapters are divided by nation, addressing different styles of harpsichord and how they were used in Italy, Southern Netherlands, France, Germany, and England. An extensive inlay of black-and-white photographs feature both lavishly painted instruments and works of classical art that featured harpsichords. Of special interest is "A Fable Deconstructed: The 1770 Taskin at Yale" by Richard Rephann. Enhanced with illustrations, a bibliography, a list of the illustrated instruments and their locations, The Historical Harpsichord is strongly recommended as a thorough, factual, and fascinating history. Also highly recommended for in-depth scholars of the harpsichord are the early volumes in this seminal series: Reconstructing The Harpsichord (0918728290); The Metallurgy of 17th- And 18th-Century Music Wire (0918728541), and Bartolomeo Cristofori as Harpsichord Maker (0945192262).

I ordered this book August 28, 1998, it arrived well over four years later (publishing date delayed). Well, the publishing date should have been delayed even more.

There is not a single color photo in this book, a homely object without even a colored dust jacket to adorn it. It is a disappointment and incredible irritation to receive an art reference book without colored photographs.

The grainy black and white photos that illustrate (without color) harpsichord decoration are poor quality reproductions and many exist in clearer form (and color) in other reference books.

So few books are published on the harpsichord topic, it was a tragedy for the publisher to waste this opportunity. Anyone interested in this topic would have gladly paid the premium for color photographs.

In many respects, I cannot disagree with the 'Baroque Music Lover' review more. This series, edited by the late Howard Schott, I consider exemplary and full of solid, useful knowledge. Yes, this series certainly isn't cheap, but then scholarly and esoteric items of this high calibre very rarely are. I found William Dowd's analysis of the surviving Blanchet workshop instruments in Volume One fascinating and invaluable, and the complex scholarship on music wire metallurgy contained in a subsequent volume quite challenging and thought provoking. In fact, I considered the latter book an open invitation to further investigation into various aspects of metallurgy to fill gaps in my knowledge, allowing me to then make full use of the information the volume contained. This ain't People Magazine, after all.

I will concede, however, that the earlier reviewer is perfectly right as regards the lack of illustrative photos. In print density, these books are very heavy, but a better job on illustrations would certainly have been helpful but not, to my mind, essential. I accept the view that the publishers could have done a better job here, but I can live with that in light of its other benefits.

If you are looking for a coffee table book full of full-colour pictures combined with important scholarship, then I cannot recommend John Koster's superb book on the Boston Museum Collection (ISBN 978-0878464012)or Ed Kottick's excellent A History of the Harpsichord (ISBN 978-0253341662) highly enough. Perhaps 'Baroque Music Lover' might have been better off starting with either of these titles instead.