Welcome
My first day as an apprentice was in June of 1971, when I began work with Eric Herz Harpsichords in Cambridge drilling tiny holes in thousands of plastic jacks, and polishing a seemingly endless supply of veneered harpsichords. Fifty years later, my workday has changed a lot, but I count myself fortunate for beginning my own career when the early music revival was in full bloom.
In those days, musicians were discovering the rich sound, responsive action and new interpretations embedded in instruments made along historical lines. Though Eric’s harpsichords were more in the 20th century transitional style, my apprenticeship with him taught me the importance of craftsmanship, attention to detail, and the patience needed to combine these disciplines into a finished instrument. These principals are the foundation of what became known as the “Boston School of Harpsichord Making,” that is, an approach to reproducing early instruments based on the fundamental study and analysis of original instruments, and their relevance to music of the period.
What I Make and How
In the years since my apprenticeship, I visited instrument collections in the United States and Europe, and have a special connection with the Musical Instrument Collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston as a maintenance technician and consultant for thirty years. Most of my research has been on the expressive double manual harpsichord as well as its single manual counterpart, since both models were important in earlier centuries, and both are equally rewarding to build. I also devoted much attention to the clavichord, an instrument that is becoming an important addition to the pedagogy of music schools, and lately appears in the inventory of many musicians.
The 20th century renaissance of historically based instruments introduced practical standards for pitch-transposing keyboards and to ease moving, but did so without invalidating the essence of an antique’s design. Servicing my own and other instruments has informed my designs, building process and techniques, as well as the selection of the woods, wires, leather and felted cloth. My obvious intent is to produce instruments that are rewarding to play and hear, but also to make them easy to tune, and simple to maintain. A well-made and well-designed instrument will always gain character and appreciate in value with age, and, with a modicum of care, last as long as their seventeenth and eighteenth century ancestors.
All of my instruments are made entirely with solid woods, dovetail joinery and trenail fastenings where appropriate. Harpsichords are painted with an alkyd enamel finish, with gold leaf banding and moldings. Wood jacks are shop-made with a bottom adjustment screw and voiced in Delrin, or with quill as an option. Keyboards are finished with ebony naturals and bone-capped sharps. The stand is a trestle-type with four turned legs, and is easily disassembled for moving.