Double Virginal - played by James Nicolson

[kratanuva725]

Mmmm, gotta love that meantone.

[chengyanslc]

Sounds Dowland to my ear.

[scienceisknolwedge]

can you post zelda on this?

[bajubner]

I waaant oonneee

[hartleymartin]

Looks like the larger instrument is playing at 8' pitch and the smaller at 4' pitch. Because they have separate soundboards the sound is much different from a regular harpsichord. Virginals also pluck closer to the centre of the string, producing a sweeter, less nasal tone. Having the 4' soundboard separate would make the sound in the room very different. I'd love to hear one in person.

[jpstenino]

Absolutely wonderful. Thank you.

[pastorjackw]

Wonderful! Thanks for posting this.

[TheStatue1]

great. trebly, biting sound. great clarity.

[JoelvanLennep]

Good work, Jim! A pleasure to see/hear, and pretty well recorded too. Hey, NICE insrument (by Lynette Tsiang)! Keep it up!

[monteverdi1567]

what a wonderful example of these lovely instruments-- this configuration was called "Mother and Child," yes? Please post some ore complete examples of your fine playing. I'd love to hear them and I'm sure many others would too!

[wilbur1960]

What a wild instrument..... I want more!

[DBJ06]

Cool, nice instrument,,

[IgnizFury]

Beautifull!

[daniel15671]

I want to know more! I hear William Byrd as if for the first time.

[diozent]

Where can I find this clip in its entirety? I swear that this is the best rendition of the song I've ever heard.

[dyad2r1]

The Elizabethans loved music, and Elizabeth I was no exception. She was a skilled musician and played the virginals and the lute. She enjoyed musical entertainments, encouraged musicians and composers, and was especially fond of dancing.

[ccoraxfan]

What an incredible sound! You can tell this has not been tuned to equal temperament, but to something much better suited for this music. I'm not familiar with the double virginal, but from the sound and appearance, I'm guessing that the lower manual is 8' register and the upper is 4', with separate strings and sounding boards. With the two manuals coupled, playing on the lower gives octaves, thus a richer sound.

[JamesMarshallJohansn]

yo mane diz niga on some fancy ass shit dats how you no he a REAL nigga

[jazzysaxplayer]

This is great, I really love this particular style of music.

[ihvamullet]

sounds weirdly like 8-bit gameboy music

[yamiimax]

@ihvamullet cause tetris using that tune XD

[pinahl]

@ihvamullet , or rather... 8-bit gameboy music weirdly sounds like this...

[KobeDjango]

Elliott would have played that great

[gOtHiCxAnGeLxox]

Wow, that's brilliant! XD

[place910]

that was great. i also like that additional keyboard at the top; i can see what he's playing.

[ymanganelli]

WOW.. thats an awesome instrument:)

[fulvioimbriani]

Does anyone know the name of piece?

[progressivelife]

Lord Willobies Welcome Home by William Byrd but you proabebly already know that

[pizzopasta]

very interesting instrument. very bad performance and tuning; sorry...

[peoplethought]

The tuning isn't off, that's just how these instruments sound.

[HerrJohannesPaul]

I thought the performance was quite good. The instrument is not out of tune. There are many types of temperaments besides the equal temperament you are use to.

[RobtheKappelmeister]

The E4 on one of the keyboards is a half step lower than it should be...but other than that, the instrument is in very good tune!

[GroovyGuitar02]

reminds me a bit of an old clavinet i used to play a lot in my music school ...

*memories* *what an amazing instrument*

[Elfgris]

Beautiful instrument. And what a sound quality...

Thank you.

[place910]

nice

[DGSE]

i think (i m not sure) i visited one day a museum in Belgium ( Brugges) where a lot of old weird instruments were exposed.

Great song by the way...

[Ntalikeris666]

how do the couplers work in this instrument?

[Renshen1957]

The Jack rail of the Larger instrument or "mother" is removed. The "daughter" or ottavino instrument has part of the bottom of its case open. The Jacks from the "mother" push the underside of the daughter instruments keyboard. See Raymand Russells book on Harpsichord, in the section with all the photographs. The Photos will illustrate the principle better than I can describe.

[Ntalikeris666]

Oh, ok i got it!

Thanks!

[marsvltor2]

Russell's 'The Harpsichord and Clavichord', in combination with Hubbard's 'Three Centuries of Harpsichord Making' was for years the backbone of any harpsichordist's 'non musical' library...

[ipoohkumasan2]

Its wonderful musical instruments.

[Hobbs360]

wholy crap!

[kefaad]

Wonderful piece indeed!

[Clavichordist]

Thank you for sharing. "The Battel" would sound great on this.

[orion777temp]

could you record more of mr. nicolsonthis video is fantastic

[Puppyjump]

What piece of music is this? I have a copy of byrd's "Lord Willobies Welcome Home " and it is different. I like the one on this video better than the one I have.

[sk8nruff]

a mother daughter virginal, cool.

[michaeljking]

Do you have an more of the ottavino by itself?

[BethDiane]

I bet the Earl of Oxford's March would sound wonderful on that!

[carrietide]

How wonderful to listen to revived ancient instruments.

[wolfgang7445]

Ancient? No my friend not ancient, just a little old

[Noshirm]

More, please! It sounds so beautiful! Almost bell-like, and full of light. Thanks for this posting!

[wolkowy1]

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

[alra1975]

Sublime.

[clydesight]

Absolutely lovely! I just wish there was more! Thanks!

[wolfgang7445]

The ottavino is marvelous

[wolfgang7445]

Is this is the Hubbard Harpsichords Shop in Massachusetts?

[allengarvin]

Very nice! A mother and child muselar. Is that a Hubbard?

[tonyyyyguitar]

Nice - I had to listen twice.

One day I will afford a little virginal; One keyboard will do me fine!

[ernststolz]

that is a nice instrument, congratulations!