Harpichords can be traced back as early as the late Middle Ages, but the instrument as we know it today took shape in the 1500′s.  Widely used in Renaissance and Baroque music, the harpsichord was the dominant keyboard instrument until the mid-1700′s.  Unlike a piano whose wires are struck by felt-covered hammers, the harpsichord’s wires are plucked by very small “plectrum” resembling miniature guitar picks.  Volume is not controlled by how hard or soft one plays; one can hit the keys as lightly or as firmly as one likes, and the volume remains the same.  However, some harpsichords feature multiple “choirs”, or rows of wires, which can be engaged or disengaged to produce more or less sound.  Also, the music of that time period was written with many strategically-placed trills and flourishes not found in today’s music in order to compensate for the lack of precise volume control.

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When the piano was invented in the mid-1700′s, the harpsichord almost totally disappeared.  It was not given much thought until around the early 1900′s when some interest was generated in playing early music more authentically.  Very poor reproductions, designed with limited historical research, were created up until the 1960′s when a few dedicated manufacturers decided to make harpsichords as close to the originals as they could. 

 

Craftsmen like David Jacques Way, owner of Zuckermann Harpsichords in Stonington, Connecticut, spent an enormous amount of time travelling around the world to study antique instruments and drawings.  The result was a more historically authentic approach to the action, creation and sound to the numerous styles of harpsichords from various countries.  The Zuckermann Company, while making full-sized instruments, also began to produce kits, available at different levels of construction.  This provided the opportunity for harpsichord enthusiasts to build their own instrument at a reasonable cost.