Clavicembelo

This variant of the pianoforte was popular throughout Italy during the late 17th and 18th centuries. The large wooden bodies, often ornately gilded and carved, resemble harpsichords; the strings of both these instruments are plucked by quills which are controlled by a keyboard action.

Reproduction of a Clavicembelo,
Stearns Collection, 1921

Selected references:

• Boalch, Donald H. Makers of the Harpsichord and Clavichord 1440-1840 3rd ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1995.
• Gordon, Stewart. A History of Keyboard Literature: Music for the piano and its forerunners. New York: Schirmer Books ; London: Prentice Hall International, 1996.
• Early Keyboard Journal. Athens, Ga. : Southeastern Historical Keyboard Society and the University of Georgia School of Music (1983 to present).
• Letnanova, Elena. Piano interpretation in the Seventeenth, Eighteenth, and Nineteenth centuries: A Study of Theory and Practice using Original Documents. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co., 1991.

Last updated byJanet Szczesny August 1, 2000