DOUBLE-MANUAL HARPSICHORD, OPUS #333
RICHARD KINGSTON, 2003, NORTH CAROLINA, USA
Kingston’s 333rd instrument was built for Elaine Funaro, specialist in new music for harpsichord and artistic director of the Aliénor, a nonprofit organization which encourages modern compositions for harpsichord.
Kingston says his first challenge was to free the instrument from all preconceived notions of what a harpsichord should or should not be visually. He believes that though modern harpsichord makers have the responsibility to remain honest to the design and materials of the historic instruments, they must also extend the instrument’s limits to the farthest horizons that modern composers dare to take them. Opus #333 is 18th-century northern European in all aspects of its design, though the action is most certainly 18th-century French as to octave span, key length, shape, and balance points.
The disposition is 2x8, 1x4, hand stops, shove coupler, with a compass of FF-g3,three-position transposition. A buff is supplied on separate battens for each 8-foot set, one conventionally operated for the hand stop in the key well, and the other from a knob at the batten on the bass end of the pin block. The pads of the back batten reach diagonally across the near batten to engage the strings close to the nut.
Since the composer of modern pieces asks the audience to hear new sounds, Kingston believes it is fitting that the instrument be void of design elements which could evoke expectations of historical music. With this in mind, he designed the Opus #333 levers, hinges, and stand to function the same as classically designed instruments, but also to stand apart visually from all other harpsichords, classic or modern. His design incorporates the repeating concept of sets of threes, along with the illusion of the freedom of movement in every direction. The stand/cradle was made from Pennsylvanian black walnut and is a work of art separate from the instrument it holds. Its legs curve in two planes, simultaneously angling out and curving forward, and the sides of the stretchers and crossbeam are both convex. Kingston asked glass artist Alex Greenwood, from the Asheville (North Carolina) Center for Glass to create the three nontraditional glass ends of the handstops for the Kingston Opus #333.
Artist Lisa Creed of Durham, North Carolina, painted the lid with an abstract representation which flows beyond its boundaries onto the case. On the left side of the lid is an icon representing the composer’s score and the performer’s realization with resultant emanations of sound.
Loan Courtesy of Elaine Funaro and Randolph Love
This incredible harpsichord occupies Tier 3 of the Museum's adoption packages. The total pledge amount for this instrument is $5,000, paid over the course of 5 years. Click the button below to begin discussing your adoption pledge.
Listen to this instrument being played!
2003 Richard Kingston Harpsichord
DOUBLE-MANUAL HARPSICHORD
OPUS #333
RICHARD KINGSTON, 2003
NORTH CAROLINA, USA
Kingston’s 333rd instrument was built for Elaine Funaro, specialist in new music for harpsichord and artistic director of the Aliénor, a nonprofit organization which encourages modern compositions for harpsichord.
Kingston says his first challenge was to free the instrument from all preconceived notions of what a harpsichord should or should not be visually. He believes that though modern harpsichord makers have the responsibility to remain honest to the design and materials of the historic instruments, they must also extend the instrument’s limits to the farthest horizons that modern composers dare to take them. Opus #333 is 18th-century northern European in all aspects of its design, though the action is most certainly 18th-century French as to octave span, key length, shape, and balance points.
The disposition is 2x8, 1x4, hand stops, shove coupler, with a compass of FF-g3,three-position transposition. A buff is supplied on separate battens for each 8-foot set, one conventionally operated for the hand stop in the key well, and the other from a knob at the batten on the bass end of the pin block. The pads of the back batten reach diagonally across the near batten to engage the strings close to the nut.
Since the composer of modern pieces asks the audience to hear new sounds, Kingston believes it is fitting that the instrument be void of design elements which could evoke expectations of historical music. With this in mind, he designed the Opus #333 levers, hinges, and stand to function the same as classically designed instruments, but also to stand apart visually from all other harpsichords, classic or modern. His design incorporates the repeating concept of sets of threes, along with the illusion of the freedom of movement in every direction. The stand/cradle was made from Pennsylvanian black walnut and is a work of art separate from the instrument it holds. Its legs curve in two planes, simultaneously angling out and curving forward, and the sides of the stretchers and crossbeam are both convex. Kingston asked glass artist Alex Greenwood, from the Asheville (North Carolina) Center for Glass to create the three nontraditional glass ends of the handstops for the Kingston Opus #333.
Artist Lisa Creed of Durham, North Carolina, painted the lid with an abstract representation which flows beyond its boundaries onto the case. On the left side of the lid is an icon representing the composer’s score and the performer’s realization with resultant emanations of sound.
Loan Courtesy of Elaine Funaro and Randolph Love
This incredible harpsichord occupies Tier 3 of the Museum's adoption packages. The total pledge amount for this instrument is $5,000, paid over the course of 5 years. Click the button below to begin discussing your adoption pledge.
