The Harpsichord

This harpsichord is a reproduction of the 18th century French harpsichords. It was built in 1994 by harpsichord builder David Jensen for the University of North Dakota Music Department.

The instrument has two manuals, and three ranks of strings. The lower manual has an 8' and 4' rank, the upper manual having an 8' rank. The upper 8' rank sounds with less fundamental, and more overtones, while the lower 8' rank sounds quite full. The instrument's pitch is A-440 Hz, but also can be transposed to A-415Hz by means of a sliding mechanism. The instrument is currently set with equal temperament, however, instructions for setting different temperaments were supplied by the builder.

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