An eager group of harpsichord enthusiasts gathered at the Reed College Early Keyboard Collection on October 10, 2015 to learn about tuning and voicing from Paul Irvin, a harpsichord builder since the 1970s. The participants were pleased to receive a packet of printed material for reference.
Paul offered fascinating commentary on how our assumptions about historical harpsichord building have so often been incorrect and thus have lead us into inappropriate choices in building, stringing and voicing. For example, a French builder of the time would have found the “sweet spot” at which a set of strings sounds best, and planned the instrument to be pitched at that level; unlike a modern builder who would simply tune the instrument to A 415.
Participants then disbursed to the various instruments for individual practice with tuning or voicing.
