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Double Manual Flemish Harpsichord by Kevin Fryer, San Francisco 2000
After Johannes Ruckers, Antwerp 1624 (the “Colmar Ruckers”)
Commissioned by Indiana University
This is Kevin Fryer’s second version of the Colmar Ruckers, completed in the spring of 2000.
The soundboard is a faithful recreation of the original. It is painted with gouache, and I
chose to use only the pigments which were available in Flanders and the Netherlands during
the early part of the 17th century. Many of these cannot be purchased as ready-made paints,
so I made most of the paints myself using recipes from the period. For example, for white I
used oxide of lead, mixed with gum arabic, glycerin, water and a few drops of oxgall. Some
of the other pigments are finely ground minerals and semi-precious stones. (I chose only to
avoid using one authentic pigment, due to its extreme toxicity: a rich sunflower yellow
color, called Orpiment, which is essentially pure arsenic).
For the exterior of the case we chose a typical early 17th century style which imitates
metal strapwork. The inside of the lid is painted with a simple red-on-red diaper pattern
covered by a highly reflective glaze which reflects the soundboard painting when the lid
is open. The black and white designs which surround the keywell and the soundboard are
block-printed papers, the same technique used to decorate the original 17th century
instruments, a practice that began as an inexpensive imitation of the marquetry then
popular in Italy. I carved the designs into pieces of pearwood, which then were inked,
a sheet of paper laid on top, and rolled through a press. After drying, they are glued
into place with wheat paste.
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