HISTORY

For over 300 years the harpsichord was at the center of countless sessions of music-making whether in the salon, palace, church or tavern. During this time, few items could be encountered in daily life to exceed the harpsichord in technological sophistication or value.

Across Europe, master builders such as Ruckers and Moermans in Antwerp, Blanchet and Taskin in Paris and Hass in Germany were each to the harpsichord what Stradivarius, Amati and Guarneri became to the violin. The designs and construction techniques developed in their workshops resulted in instruments of such timeless beauty and magical sound as to influence the tastes of all composers of the period. J.S. Bach, Handel, Scarlatti and Rameau are only the best known of a host of composers who used the unique timber of the harpsichord to produce some of the most varied and exciting keyboard music ever written.

Unfortunately, during the nineteenth century the art of harpsichord making all but died out as the musical world turned its fancy to the piano. By the early twentieth century it became almost impossible to find an artist/craftsman who understood the old masters' secrets and could produce a harpsichord of equal standards.

In 1948 Frank Hubbard and William Dowd conceived the idea of constructing harpsichords which would restore to their own time the sound and sensual beauty of the best classical instruments. Through tireless research by compiling measurements of available antiques, and by examining inventories of the old masters as recorded in local archives throughout Europe, the ancient craft of harpsichord building was recovered and mastered. Now, as the popularity of playing music on original instruments increases and the harpsichord takes center stage with period orchestras, we recognize that theirs was an idea whose time had come.