Grandfather built a harpsichord once; in 1970.
It was an “expressive” double-manual, incorporating many of the traditional French/Flemish characteristics, but with some modern materials, like Delrin plastic for the plectra.
It was a kit, but Grandfather says you have to know something about kits: Some of them are not much more than a sketch, a log and an adze.
This one was better than that, but Grandfather says he’s entitled to point out it took more than Lego-building to fashion its parts, glue it together and regulate it. Among other things, he had to teach himself how to apply J.S.Bach’s equal-tempered tuning to it. (Grandfather says: “There’s no such thing as teachers. Only students”)
The harpsichord was used as continuo for several performances of Handel’s Messiah, in several churches at Christmastime, over the years.
The Greenbrier Hotel — Really uptown! My goodness! — used it for a wedding once; they also used it for several wine and cheese tastings.
Its final performance was as continuo for Bach’s fifth Brandenburg Concerto, performed by the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra in Lewisburg’s Carnegie Hall. That’s right; Lewisburg, West Virginia. (Maybe one day Grandfather will tell us how that came about.)
The cadenza was played by a music professor from Hollins College in Roanoke; Grandfather says remembrance of that cadenza ringing through the hall is one of the glories in his mind.
Delrin has a life of about twenty years, whereupon it gets brittle.
Grandfather says he can’t see well enough to replace and shave tiny replacement plectra, and he can’t hear well enough to tune it anymore, so the harpsichord sits derelict now, awaiting its savior — if there is one in what Charlie Chaplin called “modern times.”
In this photo, the case has been built and the soundboard has been shaped and the braces glued to the underside. The bridges (not visible) are glued to the topside.
Thin strips of oak sprung in an arc apply pressure to the soundboard edges while the glue dries to fasten the soundboard to the case.
Grandfather stringing the instrument.
Grandmother playing the finished instrument.
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About the Author: RD Blakeslee is a nonagenarian in West Virginia who built his net worth by only investing in that which can be enjoyed during acquisition and throughout life, as opposed to papers in a drawer, like stocks and bonds. You can read more about him here. This article was originally published on 21 December 2017.
Original oil painting by: Grandfather’s wife
Awesome story! I always look forward to the latest from Grandfather.
Thank you, DA C. That’s encouraging.
Len tells me he has enough “Grandfather Says” episodes in his queue to last through July, 2019, so far.
Most excellent!
I enjoy your words of wisdom too Grandfather!
Len also used to feature stories written by his late Aunt Doris that I enjoyed too. We can all learn so much from our elders but many people don’t seem to care.
Thank you, Sandy. I truly miss my Aunt Doris! She was quite a lady. (I will continue to occasionally repost her witty stories in 2018.)
And I agree … All of our elders have a treasure trove of wisdom and knowledge that we should all strive to tap into.
Aw, shucks ..
Dad! (Grandfather is my Dad.) What wonderful memories.
What Dad left out of the story is that the room where he built the harpsichord was also pretty much built by him. He framed out the second storey of our barn in Warrenton, Virginia, and installed all the paneling and the big window. (The other half of the upstairs remained our hayloft.
Then Dad built a trailer to haul the harpsichord around in. Took a welding class if I remember right. I have many great memories of running around to performances and competitions, with Mom on harpsichord and me on alto recorder. Won some scholarship money, too. And we played every year at the Christmas cantata that was music-directed by Barbara Stinson.
The instrument-building legacy has been picked up by my son (Grandfather’s oldest grandson), Timothy Steis. He is a graduate student in guitar performance at Shenandoah Conservatory, and a sought-after luthier whose classical guitars are going for $6,000 or so. His guitars are resonant and beautiful, and he has also built two eight-string guitars that have incredible deep bass notes.
Here’s a video of him playing one of his recent builds:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTjYM4lTSfM&feature=youtu.be
and a video of someone else, Adam Kossler, playing one of his guitars:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_BlZpsf6lU
Thanks for adding to the story, Carolyn! I know you know that your dad is a very special man!
Thank you for allowing me to share them with everyone every other Thursday here at Len Penzo dot Com. I’ve had the pleasure of already seeing many of Grandfather’s future stories — I’ll just say that everyone is in for a treat in 2018!
Thank you, Len. I’m proud of him — and he’s really enjoying contributing to your web site, too. Bringing back some great memories for me as well!
Well, now: It’s been tree years or so and it turns out that one of my Grandchildren (my daughter Carolyn’s son) has started the harpsichord’s restoration and is taking courses in restoration of old instruments at the university he is attending.
“The harpsichord is dead – long live the harpsichord!”
You are a man of many talents, and interests Mr. Dave. Thank you for sharing your adventures with us.
You’re welcome, Bill.