Early Music Advance Access originally published online on August 24, 2006
Early Music 2006 34(4):635-644; doi:10.1093/em/cal050
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Recent approaches in understanding Cristofori's fortepiano
Denzil Wraight is both a researcher of historical keyboard instruments and an instrument maker, thus combining historical and practical insights. His 1997 PhD thesis (Queen's University, Belfast) addressed problems of pitch and stringing in Italian keyboard instruments. www.denzilwraight.com/contact
Although Bartolomeo Cristofori is appreciated as the inventor of the fortepiano action, the musical performance of his instruments is little known, since none of his three surviving fortepianos is in its original condition. Reproduction instruments in the last decade have explored the potential of the early Cristofori fortepiano and revealed the extent to which the tone is dependent on the maker's choices when stringing and voicing. The technical content of Scipione Maffei's article of 1711 describing Cristofori's invention can be seen on closer examination probably to have been written by Cristofori, and describes his conception of the fortepiano. The tonal quality was intended to be significantly different from the harpsichord with a sweeter, softer sound. The new fortepiano was intended for chamber music, not churches, with at most a few accompanying instruments.
Cristofori's ingenious double-bentside construction made possible a heavier stringing than in his harpsichords. Experience shows that the lighter the fortepiano is strung, the more brightly the maker will tend to voice it. The heavier stringing confers more dynamic range, but the player must still exercise skill in order to avoid detuning the treble strings. Cristofori's action was designed for speed and, with the check which he developed, is comfortable and reliable to play. The touch weight is a little more than that of the average Viennese actions.
By 1726 Cristofori had developed hammerheads with sizes increasing from treble to bass, which clearly indicate his intention to graduate the tone colour and avoid the brighter, harder tone at normal playing volumes. His use of brass strings and cypress for the soundboards tend to produce a warmer, softer sound than results with the iron strings and spruce soundboards normally used in pianos.
Key Words: Bartolomeo Cristofori • fortepiano • Scipione Maffei