Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/504

 488 PIANOFORTE to the ancient lyre ; and from this he shows a course of gradual modification through the forms of the harp, the psaltery, the dulcimer, &c. The first marked approach to the piano- forte appears in the transition from the dul- cimer to the clavicitherium (keyed cithara), a small oblong box, holding a series of strings in triangle form, and struck by plectra of quill attached to the inner ends of the keys. This application of the keyboard to stringed in- struments is believed to have been first made in the 12th century. Next followed the clavi- chord, which continued in favor for about six centuries, though in part giving place to va- rieties known as the cymbal and manichord. The damper, a contrivance allowed to fall or rest upon the string, so as to arrest its vibra- tion when the key has been released by the finger, was introduced at an early period into the clavichord. An improvement upon the keyed cithara, called the virginal, was very popular with Queen Elizabeth and ladies of her time. In this the strings, of catgut, were at once struck and pulled by pieces of quill fixed in the upper end of short, upright jacks upon the inner ends of the keys. The spinet, of about the same period (1500-1760), was a larger triangular box, having sometimes 49 strings, some of steel wire, and also played on by means of a jack and quill (spind). The body of the so-called square pianoforte, which is oblong in form, is evidently copied from that of the clavichord; while the almost triangu- lar arrangement of the strings as clearly has its origin in the form assumed by the strings of the spinet. The harpsichord was substan- tially a horizontal harp, played by means of keys with jacks and quills. It was manufac- tured in Italy early in the 16th century, and long maintained its place, being extended from four to at least six octaves, and often having double strings ; while into some of its improved forms were introduced pedals, and even ar- rangements for transposing the music by shift- ing the action of the keys to different sets of strings. The most distinguished harpsichord maker of London, from about the year 1740 to 1775, was Burckhardt Tschudi, a native of Switzerland, whose son-in-law, John Broad- wood, was one of the earliest piano makers in England, founding the firm still represented in London under this name. The transition from the instruments here named to the piano appears to have taken place about 160 years since; and yet, unless we may rely on the article by Maffei in the Giornale dei letterati d 1 Italia (Venice, 1711), we must regard the place of this important invention and the in- ventor's name as obscure, or even lost. The invention has been claimed in turn by Italians, Germans, French, and English. By some wri- ters it is asserted that the first improvement from the spinet and harpsichord consisted merely in the introduction into the latter of hammers, formed each of a leather button on the top of a short stout wire, taking the place of the jack. These hammers could not readily enough quit the string after striking, and its tone was in this way deadened. Such a change would form no marked improvement on those instruments. But the article of Maffei, above mentioned, which is full and specific, and ac- companied with a cut, and which is translated at length in Rimbault's work, describes, as hav- ing been constructed by Bartolommeo Oristo- fali, a harpsichord maker of Padua, an instru- ment in which the strings were vibrated by hammers, and acted through a complex mech- anism, the parts of which were a key, lever, movable tongue acting on the hammer, the hammer, its rest of silk strings, and a damper. Such a mechanism would allow of the rapid stroke and sudden recedence of the hammer, leaving the string free to vibrate until, by re- leasing the key, the damper should be allowed to check its movement ; and thus it would ac- complish in a manner all that was aimed at in the earlier " actions " of German and English makers. If this account be genuine, it settles a long controversy, and proves Cristofali (be- fore 1711) the real inventor of the pianoforte. In 1716 Marius, a French maker of harpsi- chords, submitted to the academy four forms of instruments of which he claimed to be the inventor, termed by him clavecins d maillets (hammer harpsichords). In some of these the hammers were in a degree detached from the keys. A third claimant to the invention is Christoph Gottlieb Schroter, who asserted some years later that he had devised in 1717 an arrangement of keys, springs, and hammers, which others were already employing without due credit. He is believed by some to have suggested the present name by his statement, in a published account in 1768, that on his in- struments the performer " at pleasure might play forte or piano." At the outset, however, the instrument was not appreciated, which may account for the obscurity resting over its origin. Silbermann of Freiburg first became somewhat popular as a manufacturer ; and in 1747 Frederick the Great was so pleased with some pianofortes of his, that he purchased the whole stock, 15 in all; but these were still very imperfect, and were allowed to fall into disuse when, in 1765, the king received an improved harpsichord from Tschudi of Lon- don. Of these German instruments, which appear to have been square, the strings were double, and the compass was not more than four and a half or five octaves. They were adopted, however, by Haydn, Gluck, and other composers of the time ; one made for Gluck in 1772 was 4 ft. long by 2 ft. broad, the sound- ing board at one end only, and the strings mere threads compared with those now in use. The first piano known in England (about 1757) was made by an English monk at Rome. About 1760 many German mechanics arrived in England, two of whom, Viator and Back- ers, became known by their improvements in pianos. In 1767 the piano was introduced on