Cembalon i Sverige samt frågan om det svenska klavikordets uppkomst

Abstract

The harpsichord in Sweden and the origin of the ”Swedish clavichord”
The harpsichord was probably a far more common instrument in eighteenth-century Sweden than the small number of surviving Swedish-built instruments would seem to suggest. This is indicated by an examination of the role of the harpsichord in the musical life of the period-in amateur music making, the music of the royal court and public concerts, where it was used as a solo instrument and not only for continuo playing, as well as by the existence of significant compositions expressly written for the harpsichord: sonatas and concertos, particularly by J. H. Roman, H. P. Johnsen and F. A. Uttini. The harpsichord was at the height of its popularity between about 1740 and 1780. This period was followed by a decline, and by about 1800 the instrument had fallen into disuse. Harpsichords were both imported and built in Sweden. The main Swedish manufacturers were evidently Specken, Rosenau, Kinström and Broman, whose workshop histories coincided fairly exactly with the heyday of the instrument, i.e. between about 1740 and 1780. Although the available sources do not furnish exact particulars concerning the numbers of harpsichords built in Sweden, it seems fair to say that the output must have been substantially greater than has hitherto been supposed. This is substantiated by the attributions of unsigned harpsichords now in Swedish museums and other institutions, which can be traced back to Specken’s, Kinström’s and Broman’s workshops via model determinations and the analysis of structural features. There appear to have been two principal models in production, one copied from an instrument made in about 1725 by Thomas Hitchcock of London (Specken, Rosenau, Broman) and the other (Kinström) based on instruments by H. A. and J. A. Hass of Hamburg. Thus far the Swedish harpsichord makers were dependent on foreign prototypes, but it is a fallacy to say that they were completely dominated by the Hamburg school. There is, however, a Swedish-built harpsichord, signed by Johannes Broman of Stockholm and dated 1756, which does not fit into this pattern of things. This instrument is distinguished by its extremely long frame, measuring 3,600 mm, which conceals strings doubled in length for each new octave. This type of scaling, which was otherwise never practised in the mid-eighteenth century, can be firmly attributed to Jacob Faggot, a member of the Swedish Academy of Science, and together with a speech made by Faggot to the Board of Commerce in 1756 to request privileges for Johan Broman, it has occasioned an investigation of the role of the Academy of Science in the making of instruments and of the activities and standpoints of certain of its members. This investigation has shown that the Academy tried, through the medium of essays published in its proceedings and by means of oral instruction, to encourage the native manufacture of musical instruments, especially organ building and the production of other keyboard instruments. The author of this drive was evidently Jacob Faggot, aided by Nils Brelin, and at least five instrument makers-Specken, Wolthersson, Gren & Strahle and Broman-appear to have been taught by the Academy. Having shown that the idea behind the scaling of the Broman harpsichord emanated from Faggot, we can connect the instrument with his statement to the Board of Commerce in 1756, and this in turn entitles us to regard the instrument as one of Broman’s two masterpieces. Faggot’s statement also makes it clear that Broman’s other masterpiece was a clavichord incorporating the same scaling principles as his harpsichord. The Nordic Museum has a clavichord of this type, signed by Johannes Broman of Stockholm and dated 1756 (no. 54.244, on permanent loan to the Museum of Musical History). An analysis of all the principal parts of the mechanism of this instrument serves to identify it with the clavichord referred to by Faggot. This is proved not only by the scaling but also by various structural features which are demonstrably based on ideas propounded by Nils Brelin in the
proceedings of the Academy of Science (cf. Handlingar 1739); several of these ideas are also incorporated in Broman’s harpsichord. But the most remarkable thing about this clavichord is that all the vital features of its mechanism (scaling, stringing, sounding
board and bridges) bear such a striking resemblance to those of the ”Swedish clavichord” which was fully evolved by about 1770 that the former instrument may be termed the prototype of the latter. Thus the main secret of the ”Swedish clavichord” would appear to be the long scaling, on the principle of doubling the strings for each new octave down to and including c, from which point they are half as long again-a procedure confirmed by random scaling measurements of clavichords by Lundborg, Lindholm, Kraft and Wessberg. Thus although, for obvious reasons, Faggot’s ideas on scaling did not result in a ”Swedish harpsichord”, they did give rise to the ”Swedish clavichord” when combined with the technical advances made by Nils Brelin.