The making of a pentagonal virginal

This video is a series of still shots taken during the various stages of making an Italian virginal to the ubiquitous pentagonal design from the late Italian renaissance. This particular instrument was made during the summer of 2007, using the sketches in John Koster's catalogue of keyboard instruments at the MFA, Boston, Mass. The case is in maple as are the natural keyplates. Part of my motivation was to explore the extent to which it is possible to produce an instrument at low pitch - this one has been designed to play at 395Hz, a full tone below modern pitch. I think it is not an entirely successful experiment owing to the difficulty of getting satisfactory repetition in the bass with such low string tension. Pretty though, isn't it!

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Virginal
• Italian
• Passamezzo
• harpsichord
• renaissance
• Classical

[Blackdaveeeee]

Hi! Realy nice and soft sound! I would like to built a small instrument like this, but i don't know the correct length of srings and some mesurement of sound bord..ect. If possible please send me the plans of give advice for building,or add me to your msn. Thanks. My e-mail: blackdavee@msn.com I wait your response! Thx. (sorry, my english is poor)

[clementmatchett]

@Blackdaveeeee

I think that if you have not built an instrument before, then you would be best advised to buy a set of plans and follow them closely. Many organisations publish plans, including London's Royal College of Music and Edinburgh University's Friends of St Cecilias Hall. I expect there will be some Hungarian plans available too. This instrument was not built from a published plan.  Best wishes.

[jhonwask]

Love the flutey mids. I always wanted a nice, big virginal. Have to settle for my cheaply made 5 foot.

[clementmatchett]

Thanks. You could of course try making one yourself, in which case I would suggest buying a set of plans- which is what I ( deliberately) did not do!

[Blackdaveeeee]

Hi! Realy nice and soft sound! I would like to built a small instrument like this, but i don't know the correct length of srings and some mesurement of sound bord..ect. If possible please send me the plans of give advice for building. Thanks. My e-mail: blackdavee@msn.com I wait your response! Thx. (sorry, my english is poor)

[clementmatchett]

I have deleted your second comment, inadvertently - sorry - but two points:- nearly all these instruments are either C/E- c3 or C/E to f3, so mine is a hybrid - I plan to revert to C/E-c3. Secondly, Yes you can plank up your soundboard from narrower pieces ( ~4mm thick) but it is best to use Titebond glue available from Axminster (white glue is no good) and try to get the grain of the planks running in the same direction, otherwise the glued-up blank will be difficult to plane.

[clementmatchett]

Thanks - in fact I have indeed begun to up-grade it - I am going to make a keyboard with a narrower 3-octave span and a shorter compass, to take advantage of the best bits of the soundboard, and to avoid the big stretches which you inevitably get with these instruments. That will entail re-voicing - I agree, it is rather loud.

[clementmatchett]

Thank you - personally, I am not so pleased with either the video or the instrument. There is an opportunity to improve both, but I just have not had the time to devote to either. Best wishes.

[Polluxgeminae]

.

It's a lovely video, very nice music and the instrument really beautiful... I wish I could have one.... :-(

[clementmatchett]

The subject is the English spinet - part socio-cultural (ie the place of the spinet in C17th English musical culture), and part organological. I am getting to the nightmare stage now, trying to eliminate all errors and inconsistencies from a text of over 120,000 words! Regards,

Peter