Harpsichord
Dave and I had a long friendship with English friends, Ruth and Ron C., for over thirty years, beginning in Warrenton, Virginia. We met at a party and what seemed to give us an instant bond, besides liking each other, was that Ron owned a Zuckerman harpsichord that he built from a kit.
Building a harpsichord was a project Dave had been thinking about ever since he heard it from Handel Messiah performed with original instruments in Arlington. He said it was transcendental for him and led to a lifelong appreciation of Baroque music.
In the meantime, we had become friends with John and Linda Shortridge, professional harpsichord makers in Aldie, Virginia. Inspired by these friends and instrument makers, Dave decided to do it around this time!
He researched available harpsichords and chose the Hubbard. Its designer was Frank Hubbard, a scientist and builder in Massachusetts. Dave inquired about kits and we ended up driving to Redding, Connecticut to Ruth and Ron’s house, and from there we all drove together to Waltham, Massachusetts to see Hubbard’s studio and buy the kit Dave wanted.
‘Kit’ is a misleading name for them, because they are very different from ‘glue A to B’ and ‘glue Y to Z’. It was a very long and complicated job, and Dave built it beautifully, in the attic/studio above the stable in Warrenton.
It was used for Christmas cantata programs in Warrenton, led by an old friend, a choir director and a musicologist. We invited another music friend to his Warrenton Jr. High School Chorus to our house to see the harpsichord, and all the children who came signed their names to a thank you letter from him and the school principal.
The harpsichord was used several times at concerts in Lewisburg as an accompaniment instrument The Messiah at the Old Stone Presbyterian Church, and in May 1987 as part of a musical program, An afternoon and evening full of imagination at Carnegie Hall. The Greenbrier Hotel’s resident musician, Mr. Fearnley, played the 1904 tracker pipe organ in Carnegie Hall. I demonstrated Dave’s harpsichord, and a long list of other people played selections on the piano. The money raised from this event was for the restoration of the Baldwin Grand piano in the Hall.
Dave carefully tuned the harpsichord several times after it was moved to Carnegie Hall for the concert, including a few minutes before the concert began, as the delicate wooden parts quickly went out of tune due to changes in room temperature and humidity. He and the harpsichord were hired from time to time by the Greenbrier Hotel for private concerts. A free dinner in the main dining room was a perk for Dave and me when they borrowed the instrument.
On December 1, 1989, the Roanoke Symphony, directed by Maestro Victoria Bond, came to Carnegie to perform an exciting concert that included Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D major. The accompaniment and glorious credenza were performed by Dr. James Leland of Hollins College in Roanoke, the symphony’s guest harpsichordist.
At one point during Dr.’s solo. Leland whistled and cheered and the audience clapped, just like at jazz concerts! I had never heard of baroque music getting such a response, and of course it was exciting for Dave and me. It seemed just right!
To be continued…
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About the author: RD Blakeslee (1931 – 2024) built his wealth by investing only in what he can enjoy at the time of purchase and throughout his life, as opposed to papers in a drawer, such as stocks and bonds. You can read more about him here.
Photos: Courtesy of the Blakeslee family
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