[CAUT] clavichord

[Laurence Libin]

You can; it depends on the effect you want. Can't do bebung or a legato line 
with a staccato touch, of course, and also hard to play very quietly while 
ensuring all the notes sound.
Laurence


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ed Sutton" <ed440 at mindspring.com>
To: <caut at ptg.org>
Sent: Friday, February 11, 2011 4:50 PM
Subject: Re: [CAUT] clavichord


> 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
>>>
>>
>