Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Harpsichord: Burning Part 2

Yep, he burned it alright.
(image hosted on Bill Thompson's website)

According to the press release following the burning/performance, Bill Thompson said, "It was very beautiful to see and surpassed all my expectations." He recorded the instrument burning, attaching mikes to it so that he could record the sound of the flames consuming the instrument, which he rescued from a scrap heap. It's hard to tell what kind of an instrument he used (A slabside Zuckerman? An old Neupert?). Perhaps I'll email him and ask.

Bill Thompson is going to make a DVD of the event from the video footage, audio recordings, and photos friends took.

2 comments:

megc said...

Yes, I doubt Bill is a harpsichordist. Not really sure what his instrument is.

Thanks for the info about Romania and early music. For some reason I thought there'd be more of a harpsichord presence in Central Europe. Perhaps I need to come and play a concert there! Bring a harpsichord from Hungary or something (I have a musician friend Budapest). I should ask your friend about instruments and ask the builders I know about instruments, too. My understanding is that there is an antique in the National Museum of Art in Bucharest. Have you seen it?

Yay for CDs! They do make a difference.

Thanks for contributing to the blog's comments. It makes a difference, Tia!

megc said...

Tia, check this website:
http://websquad.com/harpsichord/french/

According to the preface, the list "documents all extant harpsichords presently known to have been built or rebuilt in France during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Also included are a few instruments that survived into the twentieth century but have since been lost or destroyed."

There are two instruments in Romania listed. Very interesting!