Musical versatility and sheer beauty of tone have made
18th century French style harpsichords the standard
in the modern world of early music. We have chosen
three particularly fine representative examples
for our prototypes:
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Nicolas Dumont, 1707 |
|
|
François Blanchet, 1733 |
|
|
Andreas Ruckers, 1646, |
|
enlarged by Blanchet, 1756, and reworked by Pascal Taskin, 1780, (Ruckers-Taskin) |
The cases are painted one or two colors and decorated
with traditional gold bands and moldings. A trestle
stand in walnut, cherry, or ebonized ash and a matching
music desk are standard. Table stands with trumpet-turned
legs and a floor level frame (Dumont), cabriole legs
(Blanchet or Ruckers-Taskin) or turned and fluted legs
(Ruckers-Taskin) are available as options. Also optional
are soundboard paintings and other painted or gilded decoration.
The keyboards have ebony naturals and bone-topped accidentals
and closely follow the dimensions and balance of the originals.
Disposition for all models:
Lower manual: 1x8', 1x4'
Upper manual: 1x8', buff, shove coupler