New instrument acquired for recording purposes

Ever since I was was child, I have found the pleasant plucking tone of the harpsichord irresistible. I was immediately drawn in whenever I heard the instrument being played on recordings or the radio. Coincidentally, while listening to the my father’s Swingle Singers records, I gained an appreciation for all things baroque. As a youth, I studied piano, thinking that the baroque pieces I worked on would sound so much better, if played on harpsichord. 

Through my younger days, songs including a harpsichord crept onto the pop music scene. The Jamies recording of “Summertime, Summertime,” being one of the earliest from 1958, but the one that made an impression on me was Paul Mauriat’s instrumental cover of “Love is Blue,” in 1968. If you are not familiar with this recording, the harpsichord is prominently featured in this heavily-orchestrated piece.

In college, I studied, among other things, percussion and piano, and although my piano teacher intimated that I could perform my assigned baroque pieces on the school’s harpsichord, it never happened.

I’ve always wanted to play or possibly own a harpsichord. And now, that dream has become a reality. Sam Nitsch, one of our talented violinists, let me know that his father was thinking about parting with his harpsichord. It was built in 1972, and was in need of some repairs. Kevin, Sam’s father, was at a crossroads with the instrument, thinking it may be time to part with it. One visit to Kevin’s house convinced me that it was going to be mine. Fortunately, the greater Rochester area has a harpsichord craftsman who completed the repairs on my instrument and had it playing good as new after working on it for about a week. 

My harpsichord is a single manual instrument, meaning there is only one row of keys, but it’s not exactly light. Somehow, my sister and I were able to carry it into the house, even though it had to be tilted to fit through the front door. I sat down and familiarized myself with the levers and lute stop that shape the sound of the instrument. Interestingly, the harpsichord can not be played dynamically from the keys, it does not matter how hard you depress them, the jacks pluck the strings the same way.

After my initial fascination, I began to play passages from some pop and rock songs that feature harpsichord, from the opening to “I Haven’t Got the Nerve,” by the Left Banke, to the harpsichord solo in “I Think I Love You, “ by the Partridge Family. Next, I played the part to “Heartbeat, It’s a Lovebeat,” by the DeFranco Family, and then, having recently seen the Linda Rondstadt documentary, thought about the solo to the Stone Poneys’ tune, “Different Drum.” And yes, I finally played some of my old college pieces on the instrument, better late, than never.

The most exciting part of this acquisition is the possibility of using the harpsichord on an It’s My Party recording. We have one song we have been working on called “Mister Sunshine” that lends itself to adding a harpsichord to the ensemble. I have been working on some riffs for this song that are promising. I’m sure, by trial and error, we’ll find exactly where this instrument should sit in the mix. We’ll keep you posted.

Apparently this harpsichord replicates a traditional Flemish design

Upcoming editions of the Confetti Clatter

October and November are typically slow months for news about the group, but we will keep the newsletters coming to you. We are expecting new video footage of the 2019 tour from Ken, one of our fans, who records most of our performances. We will upload them to YouTube, and give you a heads up here on our website. There should also be more photos from the past season we will also share with you.

Feel free to leave a comment or question. Pop music has many examples of the use of the harpsichord, from the Beachboys to the Rolling Stones, to the Kinks and of course the Beatles. Perhaps you have a favorite example, if so please start a discussion here.