Vincentius Harpsichord

Vincentius Harpsichord

This harpsichord was originally listed as Spanish in the Darlington Collection. This might have been a mistake in entering information, or perhaps it was sold to Darlington as such an instrument. Consistent with the carved inscription, John Koster and Walter Burr surmised that this instrument is the work of “Vincent of Prato”. The instrument features an additional curved row of jacks close to the nut that give a more nasal tone when in place. This is quite uncommon and Kottick, in his "A History of the Harpsichord" claims that this very instrument might be the only one in existence with this mechanism. Notable about the instrument are both the peculiar treatments that it has endured–many at the hands of Franciolini–and the extensive restoration efforts given by Walter Burr to keep it in such good condition as we find it today. The false ink inscription matches inscriptions on violins that Franciolini had in his possession, leading Burr and others to suspect him as the main cause of alterations to the instrument. The entire outer case has been painted over, much to the dismay of historian Dr. Julius Held who scoffed when asked for his opinion on the decoration. There is evidence of past attempts to remove the over-painting. Franciolini also substituted the original soundboard rose with one of his own. This is evidenced by the water-soluble glue that held it in place as well as references to known Franciolini rose designs. Lastly, due to crowding of the keyboard when the bottom board shrank, it was deemed necessary by Franciolini to remove the case ends. This was done so quite crudely and, by what remains, it seems the original case ends resembled cornucopias consistent with several other existing harpsichords of Vincentius. The current case ends were fashioned from cypress by Burr after the style of Florentine maker Baptista Bertarinus. The instrument was also at one point altered to be double-strung. It is difficult to know when this happened, but Burr points out that the second set of hitch pins are misaligned, suggesting they were added later. The jack mechanisms and some alterations to the key levers are all modern thanks to Burr and greatly contributes to the playability of the harpsichord.

c. 1610

Boalch, Donald H. 1956. Makers of the harpsichord and clavichord, 1440 to 1840.
Kottick, Edward L. 2003. A history of the harpsichord.
Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Ripin, Edwin M. 1974. The Instrument Catalogs of Leopoldo Franciolini. Joseph Boonin, Inc.

Conservation Report by Walter Burr

There is compelling evidence that this instrument was at one point possessed by the convicted swindler Leopoldo Franciolini. It later fell into the hands of Bishop Darlington of Harrisburg PA before being donated to Vassar College.

Possibly Prato

Vincentius Pratensis (Vincenti of Prato)

Length 192 cm; Width 75 cm; Height 25 cm; Height (with stand) 77 cm

Three octaves and a sixth; E-c2; 45 keys

Keyboard

“Vincentius Pratensis 1610” is scratched into the back of the name board. A deceptive ink inscription above it reads “Fatto dal Padre stoppaccio del Carmine nell’ Anno 1554”.

The instrument is kept detuned, but by Walter Burr’s account it is playable and has an agreeable timbre.

Burr remarks at Vincentius’ superior animal hide glue several times. He also made efforts in his restorations to match the colors of replaced surfaces to their surroundings.

The instrument catalogs of Leopoldo Franciolini reveal that a harpsichord of a similar description and same maker was in his hands at one point. This harpsichord appears in his sixth catalog which Ripin argues was created in either late 1908 or early 1909 (Ripin, 1974). On page 7 of Catalog 6 Series A, Franciolini lists a cimbalo (Italian term for harpsichord) for 300 lire with the following description:
"pitturato rappresentente un paesaggio con figure ed altro cassa tinta di celeste scuro conpiedi torniti con tasti di legno bossolo e neri. Firmato: Vincentius Pratensis faciebat anno domini MDCXIII, Lungo m. 2 largo m. 0,80"

This roughly translates into the following description:
"Painting representing a landscape with figures and other case painted in pale blue with turned feet, wooden casing and black contrasts. Signed: Vincentius Pratensis faciebat anno domini MDCXIII".

Little is known of Vincentius Pratensis aside from that he worked in Prato (outside of Florence) and that he flourished in the time of 1610-1612. His known surviving instruments all date from this time.

Leopoldo Franciolini at the time was not as well-known as he is now for his musical instrument dealer. Similarly to Vincentius, relatively little biographical information remains of Franciolini. He was born in 1844 on March 1st in Florence. Later, he married and had the first of his six children in 1879. The earliest record that demonstrates the existence of his firm is of a leaflet dated 1890, but Ripin (1974) speculates that it may have existed eleven years prior to this date. In addition, his six catalogs and two lists of instruments along with photographs and drawings of instruments that went through his shop remain. It is important to remember that he not only sold forgeries, but also genuine antique instruments. The difficulty in identifying the latter comes from the fact that Franciolini often "worked over the real pieces in his stock until they tended to look very much like his forgeries –equipping them with new painted decor, clumsily lettered inscriptions, bogus labels and signatures, and wholly out-of-style stands" (pg. ix, Ripin, 1974). Ultimately, Franciolini was brought to trial in 1910 for a swindle (See Appendix I of Ripin, 1974). In 1920, Franciolini died of bronchial pneumonia, but many instrument scholars speculated whether he truly died as he had created a rumor that he had died to "legitimate his existing stock of counterfeits and altered originals" (pg. xiv, Ripin, 1974).

MC

Darlington Collection

Cypress (inner case), Spruce (soundboard), Fir (bottom board), Poplar (soundboard liner, corner blocks, and keyframe), Lime (key levers), Walnut (balance rail, and one of the original jacks), Boxwood (key covers and arcades), Fruitwood (accidentals), Service wood (all original jacks but one), Brass (strings provided by Malcolm Rose).

Vassar Treasure Room

Walter Burr leaves an exhaustive report of his restoration and conservation of the instrument. Among the important projects there are the following. Restoring the instrument to its single strung specification, regluing key covers, repairing the cracked spine, replacing the case ends, repairs to the soundboard, regluing soundboard rose, replacing all of the original jacks, removed thin brown glaze from outer case.