Why do some harpsichords have two, three, even four sets of keys?

Question

I cannot find any resource on the internet that explains why some harpsichords were manufactured with double and triple manuals!

Answer 1

The different tone colours aren't done with different quills!

Each organ stop consists of a specific set of pipes with a particular tone. Each harpsichord stop is a set of strings. Look inside the harpsichord, and you will see that each key has two, three, or very rarely four strings connected to it. A basic harpsichord will have one 4' stop, two 8' stops, as well as a "lute stop" which uses dampers to muffle the sound of the string and makes it sound very dry. Some harpsichord have a pedal with a 16' stop.

Registration is done by twinning the manuals to the stops, or series of strings. In other words, you set the number of strings that will be plucked with each note, whether one, two, or three strings. You will get a soft sound from one 8' stop, a fuller sound if both 8' strings are plucked at the same time, and a very bright sound if you add the 4' stop, which sounds one octave higher.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Two Manual Harpsichord

Answer 3

Multiple keyboards let you vary the "color" (timbre) of the sound, according to how a string is plucked.

An Organ does this by using "stops" to change the pipes/combination of pipes to which the air is pushed. It is called, registration.

A harpsichord accomplishes this by the use of different types of quills that pluck the strings.

Another, big, advantage of multiple keyboards is the instrument can be tuned in different ways, so that a piece written in, e.g., D, is played in D.

Today, in instrumental music, the tuning is generally "equal temperament," meaning each note's frequency is evenly spaced throughout an octave.

The ratio of the distance between semi-tones is 1:2^1/12 (the twelfth root of two) 1.05946309435929526456182529494634.

If you start with the frequency for A3 at 220Hz., multiply it by that number; you get the frequency for the next "equal tempered" semitone.

Continue to multiple & at the12th multiplication, the answer is 440, which is the standard pitch for A4--an octave, twice the frequency of the lower note.

The downside is that makes the distance from A3-E4 ( a perfect fifth), 329.629 Hz. However, the actual ratio of the perfect fifth is 3:2, which is 330 Hz. This will be heard as "beats" (wavering of the tone-vibrato). It is not clean, clear, and pure.

Today's P5s are a little flat, P4s a little sharp. To be able to place equally as well in all keys, every interval is a bit, out of tune.

This is especially noticeable when harmonic intervals are played that run (mellismas). If they are played equal tempered, the faster played, the more muddier the sound, but it is equally muddy throughout the keyboard and different keys.

When they are played by an instrument tuned to give the correct ratio to the primary notes, no matter how fast the music is, the intervals can be distinctly heard, with a clear, bell-like, ring; but you can only play in that key and a few close ones.

Seldom these days do we hear a piece, such as a Bach Invention, played in tune; but it is a revelation when we do.

The consonances are much sweeter (no beats) and the dissonances are much "meaner" (beats).

It is reported that as the "well" vs. ”equal" temperaments were competing, Bach entered a piece in a contest. However, prior to playing it, he re-tuned the harpsichord to the actual key of the piece. He won, hands down, because of the beauty of the sound.

Bottom line:

The manuals can be used to give different colors: adding, taking away strings, plucking with different types of quills;
or, for me, more importantly: it allows you to play pieces, so that the harmonies are in tune.

Answer 4

Multiple keyboards, or manuals, enable the player to use pre-set specific sound effects or tone colours, just like organ keyboards can be tied to specific registrations, and alternate between these effects whenever desired.

Here's a pretty comprehensive Wiki article with good illustrations that give you the low down on the why and the different ways of how it's done:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpsichord#Multiple_choirs_of_strings

Hope this helps.

Answer 5

CubCur is right on with his answer. Thumbs up!

Musician,composer,teacher.