Archive

Janny van Wering, the most respected Dutch harpsichordist from the 1930s to the 1950s

Graduating in 1934, she was the first professional Dutch harpsichordist who performed with all the early Dutch pioneers and Brüggen and Leonhardt; she worked both as a soloist and continuo player with several orchestras. […]

Lady pioneers who popularized early music in Britain, at the beginning of the 20th century.

“There is a fragrant air about the[se] concerts of old music …” (The Times Oct. 1927) They combine scholarship and entertainment, which is a very rare. […]

Harpsichordist Huguette Dreyfus and the French Early Music Revival

Huguette Dreyfus at home in the early 1960s, playing her Blanchet. From a private collection, all rights reserved.

Guest blogger:

Sally Gordon-Mark, writer/researcher/translator/teacher, was a student and devoted friend of Huguette.

November 30th would have been Huguette Dreyfus’ 88th birthday, but the effervescent concert artist and beloved teacher, the self-proclaimed “inexhaustible chatterbox,” silently […]

Arnold Dolmetsch, a Bach double harpsichord concerto and the genesis of the early dance revival.

Nellie Chaplin in 1910

By Guest Blogger: Mandy Macdonald

One fine morning in the summer of 1904 a van drew up at our door and from it emerged Arnold Dolmetsch and a harpsichord. He had previously asked me to play in Bach’s Double Concerto in C major with Miss [Kathleen] Salmon […]

Raymond Russell, collector, harpsichordist, author, and the man behind the famous instrument collection.

Raymond working at a Pleyel

Guest blogger: Kate Hawnt

Shortly after moving in to her new home, Mottisfont Abbey, the indomitable Maud Russell noted in her engagement book:

April 4 1935. Take boys to Londonderry House to hear Mrs Woodhouse.

Maud, a wealthy heiress, was married to Major Gilbert Russell, a […]

Jos van Immerseel: The shock of the old

The Belgian early music pioneer explains why period style matters, no matter what period.

by Clive Paget

“For me Stockhausen and Messiaen is early music.” Now there’s a provocative statement, but then Jos van Immerseel has been provoking a response on and off for 40 years now. The Belgian early music pioneer [ … […]

A 1718 bass viol, a viola d’amore and a Kirkman harpsichord in regular concert use in 1906, and not a Dolmetsch in sight!

A Kirkman harpsichord from 1755, similar to that used by Nellie Chaplin. By courtesy of Musical Instrument Museums, Edinburgh (MIMEd 4330).

By Guest Blogger: Mandy Macdonald The fascination of old instruments

The use of historical instruments contributed greatly to the charm of the concerts given by the Chaplin sisters and drew in audiences. […]

A nineteenth-century harpsichord promoter, with a famous music collection, who had dealings with Arnold Dolmetsch, Part 2

Taphouse’s 1743 Hass clavichord. By kind permission of the Bate Collection, Faculty of Music, University of Oxford. Copyright © 2016

T.W. Taphouse and early keyboards

In 1857, when he was aged just 19, Taphouse bought “a remarkably fine harpsichord by Shudi and Broadwood [made in 1773]” which “led me to take an interest […]

A nineteenth-century harpsichord promoter, with a famous music collection, who had dealings with Arnold Dolmetsch, Part 1

The library of T.W. Taphouse was very famous during his lifetime and his harpsichords were often used for concerts and exhibitions. His name is now forgotten, and it’s a tragedy that everything was sold off after his death. […]

Arnold Dolmetsch’s competitors in 1904

“Indefatigable propagandists of ancient music” likened to Arnold Dolmetsch. Their hugely popular early music entertainments began in 1904, and continued for 25 years. […]