Study Day - THE TWENTIETH-CENTURY REVIVAL OF THE EARLY HARPSICHORD

Although the revival of harpsichord making by Pleyel and Érard in the early 20th century is now well-known, the renewed interest in early harpsichords, their study, restoration and even recreation throughout the 1900s, has not been the subject of comprehensive historical scholarship. Today, this period is recognised as fundamental in composing collections, dating and identifying instruments, and restoring them to playing condition. However, existing studies and contributions in these areas are sometimes a better reflection of 20th-century knowledge and tastes than of the earlier historical periods they examine.

The purpose of this study day is to raise awareness among players in the broad field of music about these questions of history, aesthetics, and critical reading and listening as they pertain to the harpsichord.

Language: French used with the exception of Mimi Waitzman’s lecture
Recording: audio recording of the study day available later on the online library of the Philharmonie de Paris (pad.philharmoniedeparis.fr)
On-site study day

PROGRAMME

9am - Welcoming remarks
Marie-Pauline Martin (Director of the Musée de la Musique, Cité de la musique - Philharmonie de Paris)

9.15am - Introduction: For a History of Early Harpsichords in the 20th century
Christine Laloue (Curator, Musée de la Musique, Cité de la musique - Philharmonie de Paris)

9.30am - From Paul Brunold to Michel Robin: Discovery and Re-discovery at the Musée Instrumental
Florence Gétreau (Director Eremitus of Research at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - CNRS, Institut de Recherche en Musicologie, IReMus-UMR 8223, Paris)

10am - Dolmetsch and the Harpsichord: a Love-Hate Relationship?
Mimi Waitzman (Senior Curator of Musical Collections and Cultures, Horniman Museum and Gardens, London)

10.30am – Break

10.45am - 1900 - 2000: A Century of Early Music in Hamburg
Olaf Kirsch (Head of the Musical Instrument Collection, Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg)

11.15am - Harpsichords Falsely Attributed to Ruckers
Pascale Vandervellen (Keyboard Instrument Curator, Musée des Instruments de Musique, Brussels)

11.45am - Interview - The Experience of Early Music in Boston in the 1960s and ‘70s
William Christie (Harpsichordist, Conductor, Les Arts Florissants, Paris)

12.15pm – Lunch Break

2.15pm - The Donzelague Harpsichord: The Story of an Exceptional Acquisition
Esclarmonde Monteil (Director of the Musée des Tissus, Lyon)
Marion Falaise (In charge of Textile Arts and Decorative Arts Collections, Musée des Tissus, Lyon)

2.45pm - The 'Nicolas Blanchet' Harpsichord, Myth and Reality
Jean-Claude Battault (Conservator, Musée de la Musique, Cité de la musique - Philharmonie de Paris)

3.15pm - Contributions of Mechanics and Acoustics to the Knowledge and Conservation of Historic Harpsichords
Marguerite Jossic (Researcher, Musée de la Musique, Cité de la musique - Philharmonie de Paris)     

3.45pm – Break

4pm - Roundtable - How Instrument-Makers and Musicians Approach Early Instruments 
Animated by Jean-Claude Battault 

With Christopher Clarke (Harpsichord Maker, Donzy-le-National), Marc Ducornet (Harpsichord Maker, Conflans-Sainte-Honorine), Émile Jobin (Harpsichord Maker, Boissy-l’Aillerie), Annie Kalifa (Harpsichordist, Clavecin en France, Paris), Reinhard von Nagel (Harpsichord Maker, Paris)

5pm - Memories with the Harpsichord of Huguette Dreyfus
Olivier Baumont (Harpsichordist, Professor at the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris - CNSMDP, Paris)

5.30 - 5.45pm : Closing remarks