RICHARD  LESTER
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THE INSTRUMENTS

Cardinal Francesco Barberini, Frescobaldi’s most important patron owned many instruments housed in the Pallazzo della Cancelleria, his residence as vice-chancellor of the Church of San Lorenzo in Damso. Giovanni Battista Boni da Cortona was a harpsichord and organ builder, tuner and repairer who worked for the Barberini family and he features prominently in their archival records. He also trained other harpsichord makers, notably Girolamo Zenti who took over his position after Boni’s death.

The Cardinal’s inventories amongst other instruments, also mention a chamber organ, a spinet and two harpsichords - one with three registers and another with a single register built by Giovanni Boni, who specialised in making instruments with split keys. The instrument on the CD, pictured above and owned by Alexander Mackenzie of Ord, is one of three surviving single - brass strung harpsichords made by Boni around 1619; the other two are those in the Brussell’s Collection and that in the Vizcaya Museum in Florida, USA.; of the three, it is, in several aspects, unique. It is the only one of false inner/outer construction. Moreover, it also differs in its particular keyboard compass. Beginning with what is, in the bass, apparently, an extended form of short octave, the compass extends to C3; it differs again in the manner in which the particular split accidentals in the tenor and alto octaves are arranged. In addition to the more usual Eflats/Dsharps; Gsharps/Aflats, it

has Bflats/Asharps – totalling 15 notes to these middle octaves instead of the more normal 12. The more usually-required accidentals being those in the front: with their less-often required chromatic counterparts at the back. The unusual arrangement of notes in the bass, with its two rare split naturals, may well have been a customised requirement of the original owner. The instrument is voiced in quill and the pitch is a little under Hz 415. It is a fascinating probability that during his employment in the Cardinal’s household in 1634, Frescobaldi performed on this harpsichord. We are indebted to Sandy Mackenzie for allowing use of this beautiful instrument.

The first two CDs feature the harpsichord by Giovanni Batistta Boni.

Volume 3 includes three instruments in the Benton Fletcher Collection at Fenton House in Hampstead. A single strung Italian harpsichord (anonymous, c.1590, likely Neapolitan), a Marcus Siculus virginals (1540) and a Vincentius virginals (c.1600).