by Joan K. Yanni
Docents who have had to
coax their tours away from the harpsichord in the Baroque room in order to look
at other art have asked about the history of the eye-catching instrument.
The harpsichord was
built in the studio of Joseph Mondini, a native of Imola, Italy, and was signed
and dated 1696. Where it went immediately after its completion is
unclear, but it is known that Mondini worked for Pope Alexander VIII, Ferdinand
de Medici, and other notable patrons. Our provenance dates from the late
19th century, when the instrument was owned by American actress Ada Rehan and
used by impresario David Belasco in Broadway productions such as The School forScandal and The
Taming of the Shrew. After Rehan's death, it passed into a Rochester
private collection. It was presented to the Gallery in 1977 by a
"Friend of the Gallery."
Harpsichord experts who
examined the instrument for the Gallery found it to be of outstanding quality
and said that it could be restored to its original condition. The
instrument was sent, therefore, to the studio of Lynette Tsiang in Summerville,
Massachusetts, to be restored. The case was restored in Oberlin, Ohio, at
the Intermuseum Conservation Laboratory. Because harpsichords such as
ours were often kept in decorative cases and taken out and placed on tables to
be played, it is not certain that the painted case is contemporary with the instrument.
It would not date from much later, however, since the heavy floral decoration
and putti are painted in a style dating from either the late 17th or early 18th
century.
The landscape scene,
showing Apollo and the Muses in a wooded setting, is very much in the style of
Gaspard Poussin, a brother-in-law of the French history painter Nicholas
Poussin. The scene, with its
classical temple and waterfall, is probably meant to represent the Roman ruins at Tivoli, a
site popular in the 18th century. Have you noticed that the painter
created two scenes in one? The main landscape is painted from left to
right across the lid, with the horizon parallel to the back hinges. A
second scene emerges if only the front part of the lid is turned back: the
ground is then seen from left to right parallel to the keyboard. The legs
and frame may not be original, and could have been made later to support the
case.
One thing is certain:
the range of the keyboard was altered to increase the span from 54 to 58 keys,
presumably during the 18th century. The original had walnut keys with
ivory keytops; those added are fruitwood with bone. At that time the base
strings were shortened and the tail of the case was cut down to adapt to the
new shape. Since neither the decorative paintings on the top and sides
nor the landscape on the inside of the lid seem interrupted by this change,
they were probably executed after the case was cut down.
The harpsichord was
played only once at the Gallery after restoration: at a patrons'
dinner on June 6, 1993, when Ross Wood, a harpsichord expert with the Eastman
School of Music's Sibley Music Library, gave a lecture and concert using the
instrument. After the concert a crack was found on the right side of the
cypress soundboard. Two trips back to Massachusetts for repairs and
further restoration followed, until both the Gallery and Tsiang decided that it
could not be permanently repaired without complete rebuilding--a procedure
which would erase the authenticity of the piece.
The harpsichord now
stands as a beautiful museum piece attracting the attention of all visitors and
perhaps recalling more glamorous times.
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| HAPRSICHORD |
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