Author Description
This is a thoroughly revised and updated version of a standard work of reference, first published in 1956, second edition in 1974. The third edition incorporates the extensive research of the last twenty years: biographical information on more than 1500 makers (including 500 not listed previously) and details of their surviving instruments are now separated into two substantial parts, the second part now including detailed descriptions and remarks on more than 2,000 instruments. The main text is complemented by four tables, a geographical and chronological conspectus of makers, and an enlarged seven-language glossary of technical terms.
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
This reference work seeks to provide a comprehensive, systematic catalog of historical harpsichord and clavichord makers active between 1440 and 1840. Donald H. Boalch, a noted authority in the field of early keyboard instruments, compiled this data through extensive archival research and physical examination of surviving artifacts. The text serves as a primary resource for musicologists, curators, and historians by organizing biographical data and instrument specifications into a structured, accessible framework.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- Biographical entries for over 1,500 individual makers.
- Detailed technical descriptions and remarks on more than 2,000 surviving instruments.
- A geographical and chronological conspectus of makers.
- A seven-language glossary of specialized technical terminology.
Scope Limits
- The work is strictly limited to the period between 1440 and 1840.
- It does not cover modern reproductions or instruments constructed after the specified date range.
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Experts and music historians consistently identify this volume as the foundational reference text for the study of early keyboard instrument construction. Readers frequently note the high density of technical data and the meticulous nature of the biographical entries, which remain essential for provenance research in the field of organology.
Page Count:
824
Publication Date:
1995-12-28
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
019318429X
ISBN-13:
9780193184299
Biography
History
Music
Musicology
Reference
Harp
Clavichord