Would it not make sense, once the pantalon stop is engaged, to play the keys with staccato strokes so that the key tangents strike the strings as hammers? Ed Sutton ----- Original Message ----- From: "Laurence Libin" <lelibin at optonline.net> To: <caut at ptg.org> Sent: Friday, February 11, 2011 4:35 PM Subject: Re: [CAUT] clavichord > Sure. There's a 1763 Kinzing clav with divided pantalon stop at the Met > Museum along with any number of damperless square pianos and early squares > with damper lifters--not necessarily crude by any means. It's a mistake to > think of early pianos as crude; some are highly sophisticated instruments > by any standard, starting with Cristofori's. > BTW the pantalon tangets maintain strong, not barely positive contact. If > you're interested, there's an active clavichord list you can join on > Yahoo. > Laurence > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Fred Sturm" <fssturm at unm.edu> > To: "College & University Technicians" <caut at ptg.org> > Sent: Friday, February 11, 2011 3:47 PM > Subject: Re: [CAUT] clavichord > > >> On Feb 11, 2011, at 12:35 PM, Laurence Libin wrote: >> >>> The pantalon tangents, affixed to a hinged rail below the keyboard, >>> rise between the key levers and touch the strings slightly to the left >>> (usually) of the striking tangents. Therefore pitch drops very slightly >>> when the striking tangent descends, allowing the strings again to >>> contact the pantalon tangent. Importantly, when in operation all the >>> pantalon tangents (or bass and treble if the rail is so divided) touch >>> the strings all the time except when strings are lifted by the striking >>> tangents, hence all the strings vibrate sympathetically with the played >>> notes. >> >> >> Fascinating! So that stop puts its tangents into just barely positive >> contact with the strings, meaning that while it is engaged the strings >> are all undamped, giving the true, though muted, pantalon sound. >> I understand there were also crude small square pianos with a pantalon >> stop, just lifting all the dampers; and some without dampers to begin >> with, essentially a keyboard activated pantalon. Both upward and >> downward striking. (For those who don't know, the pantalon was a >> hammered dulcimer, played with hand-held hammers, without damping. Named >> after Pantaleon Hebenstreit, a famous virtuoso). Are examples of such >> instruments still extant? Of the clavichord with the pantalon stop? >> Regards, >> Fred Sturm >> fssturm at unm.edu >> http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/FredSturm >> >
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