Sabathil Harpsichord Review
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- čas přidán 5. 09. 2024
- James finds a 49 year old unique Harpsichord that is no longer made. Built in 1970 from a new design of a very old style instrument that made this harpsichord likely the most stable stringed musical instrument we have ever found. The harpsichord had not been tuned in three years before this video was recorded, and had just a couple of unisons that were out. We reviewed about five instruments in this store and all this time having interest in this one for the studio. In was in the end it was meant to be as we were able to come to an agreement on it's purchase and it now resides in the studio. This Harpsichord was found and purchased at Craig's Pianos & Keyboards Toledo, OH.
Hi. I'm Sigurd Sabathil's son, Marcus. So great to hear your appreciation of my father's and grandfather's work. I'll definitely show him this video. Beautiful playing. Thanks.
Marcus, For a number of years I have heard the wonderful sound of the harpsichord, but could never accept the fact that they consistently need of tuning. I have grown up in a home with instruments everywhere, but had ruled out ever owning a harpsichord because of the constant tuning required. I just love your families work, and admire them greatly. I hope one day to own a Sabathil clavichord of the same design. I plan on recording hundreds of recordings with these instruments. I am so happy I just happened to drop in to a small piano store in Ohio that had this wonderful example of your families work. P.S. Could you place me in contact with those who could supply the plectrum as I have not been able to find it's exact replacement. Please feel free to contact me through this link. www.aloveofmusic.com
I recall back in the early 70's I was working in the CP Rail yards in Vancouver. I had been in Seattle and saw for the first time a Sabathil harpsichord for sale in the downtown Bon Marche dept stores piano department.. I had never seen one and I was even more surprised to see that it was made in Vancouver and in a very building I think it was on Hamilton Street that backed onto the rail yards I worked. So naturally one day I walked over there to see and your dad showed me the shop and some of the different instruments.. I couldn't afford one back then but perhaps now LOL.
Hi Marcus! I have a Sabatbil & Son harpsichord in my living room. I bought it from a piano store in Melbourne Florida. Not sure how they got it, but they said it had been in storage for years until they decided to list it on eBay. I live in east central FL, so drove there and bought it.
It has BEAUTIFUL original celtic themed artwork on it and is quite different than the one showed in this video.
If you want to get in touch I can share photos. Please let me know! :)
Hi Marcus I just but this same 1969 harpsichord and was wondering where I can get parts, Jacks/plectrum, etc. Any ideas? I'm in the Chicago area.
This is fun to see. When I was 19 (1969) I worked at Sabathil's for a few months doing odd jobs. Both father and son worked there then in Vancouver's old warehouse district, Yaletown. I felt like I was in a DIckens story, and played some of the harpsichords on my lunch breaks. The top of the line Bach III was a monster - two manuals and a full set of bass pedals. When you ganged all these together you really had to press hard to play all 8 sets of strings. Then on releasing a note there would be a big "celery crunch" sound as all the plectrums reset. I think Sigurd (the son,) still has a workshop on Bowen Island.
the reason the stops seem 'reversed' is so they can be activated by the non playing hand. . . Loved the way Superstition sounded.
Good to know.
Why there are no pedals for that?
Sorry to be repetitive if others have already said this. This is a so called "Modern Revival" harpsichord. These instruments are durable and reliable, and can be used for accompaniment in chamber music. Most harpsichord builders of the last 30 or 40 years have switched to a more "authentic" all-wood frame design that is intended to more closely replicate the sound of historical (17th-18th century instruments). There are several relatively consistent designs, usually broken down as Italian, French, and Flemish, with the Italian being narrower but longer, with a sweet tone especially good for accompanying singers or playing ensemble music. There is ALL KINDS of snobbery surrounding harpsichord sound and construction, but the main thing is to play one, and if you think you want to own one, really study what they are, how they are made and what they are for. If you aren't primarily interested in using them to play music of the period (roughly up to and including early Haydn and Mozart), chances are you will not be that happy with one. I own an Italian style, 52 notes, almost 7 feet long, strung in brass, with two identical 8 foot ranks of strings. It has a lovely bloom and is great for accompaniment, but it has its limitations.
Notice the use of the Robertson (square head screwdriver) screws, a distinctively canadian building technique. Canadian workmen generally despise the phillips (star) screw design, and the slotted (flat blade) screw while beautiful in furniture is less functional (it's very likely to strip). The use of the robertson screw makes me happy. I could have told you this was Canadian, just from that one tiny detail!
14:00 There are many bands that used harpsichord in rock : The Beach Boys, The Beatles, The Kinks , Emerson Lake and Palmer, Blur ...
Don't forget Petula Clark.
Even in metal bands like children of bodom
Tori Amos - Blood Roses, Professional Widow, and Talula and many others...
Don't forget the Stranglers
Many years ago Linda Ronstandt and the Stone Ponies did a magical album called Everygreen II, which had wonderful harpsichord passages in most of the songs. I've never heard anything quite like it.
I really enjoyed your playing on this harpsichord! What a lucky find! I'm glad it has such a wonderful home! The wood grain and the instrument is really impressive. But, what I enjoyed most was the happy expression on James' face when he was playing Superstition; he was really having a good time :-) So was I!!!
Thank you.
Cool. Love how you’re always showing us such rare and cool stuff
Very good! Finally some harpsichord music and tutorial! Back in the 1970s, E. Power Biggs made an LP of Scott Joplin rags on the pedal harpsichord. It had a pedal keyboard like an organ. Thanks for posting this!
Wow, thanks for this info ... I'm going to look that up right now!
Thanks a lot x2
THANKS FOR THE HARPSI VID, JAMES!!!!!
A lot of popular music from the 50's to the early 70's used the harpsichord. The song by the Partridge Family "I Think I Love You" features the harpsichord.
Hi James,
We live in noisy times,can you imagine how quiet it must have been in those early days'
The Harpsichord is a subtle instrument and quiet chamber music with lots of embellishments was the norm.
Subtlety is not a component of modern society but listening to you play evokes the era.. even with The Pirates of the Caribbean..:)
Thanks,
Rik Spector
Sigurd Sabathil, built several harpsichord models during this time, including the "Bach" models, I, II, and III (Bach III was ten feet long), the Concerto (double manual, 8',8',4'), the Cantabile, (one manual, 8' or 8'8' or 8'4' foot choirs), the Amoroso, which was a virginal, and a couple of other models; I can't remember off hand. He also built clavichords. The one you're sitting at, is a Cantabile (8'4').. He gave up the "modern" style building, for more historical style, in the early 80's. He once built a huge, double-ended instrument for the Canadian harpsichordist, Joyce Rollings. Sabathil harpsichords, that were made in Munich (before the business moved to Canada), looked more like instruments, built by the other makers in Germany. I've seen only one example. They had a "normal" bentside. Sabathil was still in business as of a few years ago. He was building only two models: a French double, and a clavichord. Both instruments have a light aluminum frame. His daughter, Barb Sabathil, once told me about how wonderful it was, as a young girl, to lie on the floor, under a newly built Bach III, and listen to her father play it in.
I tried to find the company, but with no luck. It sounds like Barb had a great childhood. I grew up in a home where pianos were everywhere, and I even had an old 45 inch Howard in my bedroom with a worn out action that I could play at lighting speed, I think it had been played an awful lot in it's life.
Yeah, I tried to find them, too, but Mr. Sabathil is over 80, so it's safe to say he has now closed shop. We had a 1996 Baldwin Acrosonic spinet. It belonged to my great grandmother, but when she moved into a nursing home, she gave it to my father, who is a self-taught player. I grew up playing, and had some lessons, but I played mainly (and still do) by ear. I switched to pedal harp, as my mainly instrument, in the nineties. I've always loved harpsichord, though, and I found a double-manual one for cheap in 2000. The Baldwin piano is now at my brother's house, and my father plays a Yamaha p-88, which sounds nice. His playing has deteriorated due to Parkinson's, but he still enjoys to play, every day.
I'm Sigurd Sabathil's son, Marcus, but not the son in the company name. Ricky Larch is just my youtube name. My Grandfather, Simon, was the original Sabathil and my father, the son. My father is retired but still repairs his instruments on occasion. I didn't take up the profession but I became an artist as a result of growing up in that milieu. When I was very young , I used to play in my father's workshop. He would stand me on a stool at the bandsaw with a scrap of wood for me make a little sculpture with. Not so much with the OSHA in those days but I still have all of my fingers! Great to hear Barb's story too. We all used to do the same as kids. I'll let Barb know that you mentioned her.
Sigurd also made a pedal harpsichord and a ten foot concert Harpsichord. He started working on a vertical harpsichord but abandoned development when sales slumped in the early eighties recession. He became somewhat discouraged at the time due to harsh criticisms from the early musical "purist" community who held disdain for my father's modern metal frames, delrin plectra and, gasp, pelxiglas lids. It is wonderful to see how wrong he has proved them when people show such appreciation of the very features they disdained.
Rickylarch Your should know that these "purist" have attacked me as well, for things as simple as playing Bach on a piano. They feel that Bach can only be played on a period correct instrument. I am so happy to have found this wonderful instrument, and would never exchange it for a period correct harpsichord. If I were a historian I would want a period correct instrument, but first and foremost I am a musician. The fact that it stays in tune as well as any instrument I have ever played makes me realize just how well it was designed. Please contact me through www.aloveofmusic.com
Wow. The sound out of this instrument is fascinating. I guess because it looks something like a piano yet sounds quite unlike one.
I love the sound of it! I'm going to have a lot of fun with it, it'll sound even better once I regulate and tune it!
Using harpsichord for jazz? That's sound very interesting! Only problem will be coping with other very loud instruments sounds, might need special mic and amplifier for it. Thank you very much for nice introduction for this beautiful musical instrument.
14:00 Actually, many older instruments are kinda popping up in newer songs too. Either Harpsichord or Clavichord started being used in Funk or something and a couple pop songs. So yes, pretty sure harpsichord has been used in Jazz, if not, the clavichord has been.
Yeah I actually heard harpsichord in the soundtrack to a new TV show. I think it was season 2 of Ms weisel or something like that
Very, Very interesting vide0!!!
The reason I heard for harpsichords having the sharps/flats white,j and natural notes black was that this was the more common practice with old pipe organs, long before the piano was invented. The piano introduced the naturals being white.
Play us a fugue you're the harpsi man.
Play us a fugue tonight.
Cause we're all in the mood for a melody,
played with both the left hand and right....
I loved the comment, Billy Joel would have too.
I have some other pieces in line to upload, but in the near future I will be working on some preludes, fugues, two-part inventions, and other cool stuff as well. And I will be playing some of it on the harpsichord in the future, as well.
Greetings James, how "Cool" that Marcus Sabathil contacted you, I bet that took you by surprise, and how wonderful that you purchased this very Harpsichord for the studio; it has a very pleasing tone to it, and will sound sweeter still when it has been tuned, greatly look forward to hearing this again back at the studio, and yes that jazz chord did sound interesting: a thought occurs to me about the portability of this keyboard, whilst perhaps not putting it upon your back ! with an extra pair of hands, would it be able to be moved to the site you recently recorded the lovely dulcimer film at ? that sweetly sounding harpsichord would look and sound awesome in that setting, hope the blossom has not blown away ...
Much appreciated little film, kind regards Simon.
Great job on the Luheran Hymn, God the holy Spirit let us pray
This, thing inspired me!
I want updated hardware!! Yes
A metal brace, I think it's right!
Sabathil & Son did make clavichords. I don't believe they made any fortepianos.
Harpsichords were used in a lot of mid 60s tunes and the Beatles use a Baldwin Electric Harpsichord on "She's So Heavy".
2bonk22 wrong, its “Because”
I love the sound of this instrument. I would love to own it. so I could play bach,s a lovers concerto.. I still play it on my lowrey organ
The wooden block is for cutting plectra and to avoid slicing yourself
Fantastic James. The rest of us will die wondering. lol.
You have to find a Pleyel Harpsichord! One of the most unique Harpsichords ever!
I visited concerts where harpichords are used and notice that they are very sensitive to temperature as well. They have to be tuned even minutes before the start of the concert. And the harpichord player usually brings his own instrument.
I think you will find that is the basic difference between a traditional constructed harpsichord, and a Sabathil with the medal harp. We found out after recording this video that it had been three years since this harpsichord was tuned, and although several of the unisons were out it was in fact in remarkable tuning considering the lack of tuning for so long. We believe the reason for this is the fact that these strings are under much less tension than a piano, and so the stay in tune for a longer period of time.
@@ThePianoforever Wauw, 3 years without tuning! They often have 2 keyboards like this one : photos.app.goo.gl/Kfp7aCadREz17b2o6
Nice to hear you play different kinds of music on the harpichord.
Simon Warner they are much more sensitive to humidity than temperature. And the second keyboard - it's essentially to be able to play different choirs of strings at the same time without switching back and forth. Instruments like that also usually have two 8ft choirs, sometimes sounding slightly different (allowing for expressive effects)... or you can have two different volumes - one keyboard only strikes one 8ft choir and the other - both, making it twice as loud.. you can also combine 8s with the 4' and so on . some harpsichords even have three keyboards :) Look up Raphael Puyana... his harpsichord is legendary :)
@@LordXsi Today, there is a far larger proportion of doubles than was true historically. Most actual original harpsichords were fairly straightforward, usually double strung but single keyboard, instruments.
Happy New Year James to you and your family.
Thank you and your parents for allowing you to share your incredible talent with all of us out here in You Tube Land.
What a beautiful instrument, I love the sound of a harpsichord, do you own one?
Keep the videos coming and a special “ Thank You” for all of the wonderful Christmas music.
Best wishes ,
Brad Maier and family
I decided to buy this one.
The key colours being inverted is also an economics thing, as ivory was expensive and rare, wood not so much.
The old days, they used mainly bone....beef bone at that. Now, a plastic called Ivorite, is used.
@@takemyjobpleeez yes ivory has been banned from like 1970
"The key colours being inverted is also an economics thing, as ivory was expensive and rare, wood not so much."
It has nothing to do with economics, because the woods used could have been reversed in position.
Ivory was almost never used on harpsichords. That custom became prevalent in the 19th century with pianos.
Hmm. Yep, the third octave b is definitely out, as are some of those in the sixth. Lovely to hear it, though.
Yes we love it when you find harpsichords.
Sorry they are hard to find where you are. Probably not the time to mention there were about 17 on holiday where I went last year......
This one will not be hard to find, because I bought it. I plan on doing a lot of recording with this harpsichord. Please stay tuned, and of course I am going to continue to be looking for other harpsichords to review as well.
If you do some chordal experiments some day add in the different tunings. Not necessarily in equal temperament. Going into viloti etc does change how chords sound.
@@ThePianoforever awesome. That's so exciting! Congratulations.
Hi James. Great demonstration. There is one contemporary song (when I say contemporary, that is relative to me not someone as young as you lol) which is Golden Brown by a British Group called the Stranglers. If you manage to listen to it, let me know what you think.
Yeah buddy compose something modern on the harpsichord. Definately agree
I love the harpsichord
This shop is cool had selling many types of keyboard instruments not just the Harpsichord also seen the Piano & Organ in the background. Hey Mr. James why no musical store selling or factory to make the Claviharp(A harp combined with keyboard)? The Claviharp is a 19th Century musical instrument build by JC Dietz. But Japan Hamamatsu Musical Instrument Museum inside had a Claviharp but not allow to play it.
More videos from this store coming up in the future.
@@TheRealDrJoey No! That a harp combined with a keyboard. So thats means you play the harp with a keyboard doesn't need finger to pluck anymore. This harp is available pianist, organist & harpsichordist to play. The normal pedal harp is too difficult to play. Now this one is easier due to using a piano keyboard when you hit the key with your finger the mechanism will pluck the string of the harp. try check it out on wikipedia here is the link: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/claviharp
Thanks for talking about the feel of the action a little bit, I've been obsessed with harpsichords for years but never had the chance to see one in person. I also love clavichords if you get the chance i'd love to hear your impression
Clavichords have a different feel than harpsichords. When you press the key down on a clavichord, you will feel no resistance until the tangent hits the string, and then that's about as far as the key can go down. As a result the clavichord has an extremely light feel, so it's very easy to play fast pieces and quick ornaments on it.
The sound of them in person is also very, very quiet, much quieter than a harpsichord or a piano. This can be worked around by miking the instrument properly, making it sound very loud on recordings.. Here's a video I did a while back on a clavichord!
czcams.com/video/M3Yfr0TqkHI/video.html
You sir, are a great talent
Thank you.
If you like music, you might want to check out my second channel "Milan Recording Studios". Feel free to subscribe and hit the bell icon if you want to!
czcams.com/channels/u1LrpmWwK1ztTvIayRar9w.html
It will be perfect if you played Salleris jarch of welcome from the movie Amadeus
A lot of modern music use harpsichord. One popular song is “ real slim shady “ has a harpsichord intro.
Including modern "classical" music. Poulenc wrote a concerto that calls for a harpsichord, and Elliott Carter wrote a very thorny atonal work in the 1940s, still occasionally played, his sonata for flute, oboe, cello, and harpsichord. The harpsichord part, unlike in the trio sonatas of the 18th century, is not accompaniment but a separate and entirely idiosyncratic part. Not my taste, really, and very, very difficult to play, but interesting in any case.
The fact that you played Davy Jones theme was PERFECT.
I have a 130 year old c.bechstein piano
I have an earlier version of this harpsichord, the case is all aluminum and the lid is plexiglass.
Oh, it also has a piano style keyboard.
I would love to see a picture of it if possible. If you would like you could contact me by way of this link. www.aloveofmusic.com/
Funny, but I saw this same harpsichord make and model on a PBS documentary last night called "Korla," about a musician named Korla Pandit.
Accidentals are either cherry or maple.
I've always wanted a harpsichord, though I doubt I could play properly.
If you wanted to learn you could. I have an online course (free) for some starting Bach pieces that would sound wonderful on a harpsichord. I will include a link. czcams.com/video/_rra5NAIm8M/video.html It's in three parts really, the performance at full speed, a tutorial where I break it all down not by note, and also the scale that you would practice for the piece being learned. In additional to all of this I will help you anywhere along the path to learning keyboard instruments. If you learn one you basically have learned them all.
Harpsichords are not hard to play, if you already know your way around a keyboard. You just have to develop the feel for it. The technique is rather different, and they are a bit more temperamental and delicate, but you can easily begin to develop a feel for it within a few hours. I own a 2007 Neapolitan (Italian style) harpsichord and a grand piano, and play both of them every day. (The harpsichord I tune myself, using a tuner, about once a week... and if you aren't up for that, forget about getting a harpsichord, because you HAVE to tune them yourself. Even the older and simpler clavichords stay in tune better than most harpsichords).
Try to listen to Bruce Prince Joseph's "Swingin' Harpsichord'. it's on Spotify. Played pieces such as "Cumana", and "Tico Tico"
.
what's kind of INTERESTING
Bb = B NATURAL!
Robert Pająk I think I’ve found my group here. A sharp good luck.
I just purchased the same Harpsichord made in 1969. do you know where I can get parts for it. Jacks, plectrum, etc.
The church that I practice organ at, has one. It's from 1977. It's very nice but there are a few hiccups here and there.
Oceananswer Could you send me a picture? aloveofmusic.com/
I couldn't keep my eyes off the johannus organ in the background
Keep watching! We will have a video coming up soon on the same Johannus organ.
You should learn a little bit of "Fixing a Hole" by The Beatles if you have to review one of these again. Great pop tune with Harpischord on it.
It's a really cool song. I had never heard of it before, and so I found it to be a very interesting side of the Beatles. I have been thinking of doing some covers where the harpsichord would be the driving force behind the music. I think the harpsichord can cover many different kinds of music. I have already covered a version of Light My Fire by The Doors recorded just a few days after the first video was recorded, but after I had touched up the tuning and a bit of regulation to the action. I will upload it as soon as I get a bit caught up on the editing.
Iron harp?
Seems maple wood on the sharp and flat keys?
Thumbs up Indiana USA.
Several examples of jazz use of harpsichord exist. Most of them use the harpsichord in place of a piano, such as Artie Shaw's Gramercy Five recordings (for example, check out czcams.com/video/pehNz5BJ1XU/video.html Summit Ridge Drive, but the other recordings in this set are really good too), and some more modern recordings (just search on CZcams for jazz harpsichord). Another set that was also from the 1930s or very early 1940s DIDN'T use the harpsichord in place of a piano, but as a different instrument; unfortunately, having only heard these on the radio back in the 1990s (on Dick Buckley's Archives of Jazz, if that helps anyone else remember), I can't remember which group, and so have been at a loss to find them again.
For more modern music that isn't jazz but is still awesome that uses a harpsichord, check out the WarCraft II Orc music. I REALLY want Blizzard to bring this back for future versions . . . most awesome video game music ever produced (although a subset of the StarCraft 1 and WarCraft III/TFT music comes close) . . . .
Edit: For (sort of) modern classical music using a harpsichord, try Francis Poulenc's Concert Champêtre.
It looks so much like a Zuckermann kit harpsichord
Not if you look very close.
@@ThePianoforever Yes, just the basic outline.
The Zuckremann kits vary a lot but all of them are "historical" rather than "modern revival." The Sabathil, Neupert and Sperrhake harpsichords adapt the Harp or iron frame design from pianos, whereas historical harpsichords use the case itself to hold the tension of the strings and have a significantly different sound.
@@oldionus the early Zuckermann slabside instruments were far from historical. Forshortened bass, poplar plywood soundboard, styrene jacks, plywood for the framing and cases, BUT.... many of them sounded better than they have a right to. Later instruments were improvement, considerably, especially after Zuckermann sold the business. As far as the major German factory instrument makers, Sperrhake, Wittmayer, Neupert, (throw Merzdorf, Ammer, and Sassmann in for good measure) none of them used metal frames of any kind, not even the old Sabathil harpsichords that were made in Munich. It's all in what you like as an owner/player, since you'll be living with the sound the most.
interesting.
11:42 that's when Alvin & The Chipmunks start singing along xD
The white keys look like white chocolate KitKats
A fun video clip of a harpsichord. czcams.com/video/TXGsvrrNbGo/video.html
Yass 'Superstition' !!!!!
Is it me or it sounds like organs somehow o.O
Why am I the first like?
only had one son so it said son... yeah that's amazing English grammar
I loved superstition!
I loved it too!
I love the sounds of string insturments except for the harpsichord, for me it sounds like a child's toy even when played professionally. I don't mean to bash the instrument, it has an amazing history, and it always has it's "place in the choir" so to speak but, again for me, it's like nails on a chalkboard. Great videos, keep up the good work.
Most people find the harpsichord a wonderful instrument, and a joy to listen to, of course others will disagree. I love it's sound and plan on using it a lot in the future (just had to have one). If I can ever dig up a Sabathil clavichord I would like to give it a good home as well.
Historical brass strung instruments are typically much more resonant and "blooming," whereas the steel framed and steel strung modern revival instruments sound rather twangy to most ears. It's a matter of taste. Pianos, it is often observed, are not really descended from the harpsichord, which has a mechanism that plucks the string and is therefore not really capable of dynamics, but rather the clavichord, an earlier and simpler instrument with a very quiet tone but the capability of playing from very soft to... well, slightly louder. Christofori, in 1726, tried to build an instrument that used hammers rather than simple brass pegs to strike the strings. It took more than 30 years for instrument makers to solve the technical problems and come up with a really satisfactory instrument, which was the fortepiano that Mozart and Haydn knew. But even as later as the early 19th century lots of people would play music we think of as piano music on the clavichord at home, as opposed to the harpsichord. You can play the notes, but you cant really realize the intent of the composer of solo keyboard music after 1760 or so (for the most part) on a harpsichord.
Referring to an early metal framed instrument, I believe it was Thomas Beecham who described the sound as "two skeletons dancing on a metal roof. .... in the rain."
ok comparing this harpsichord with historical items there is no assurance to the sounds or comparisons given to the real deal!
I have a 130 year old c.bechstein piano
What size?
@@ThePianoforever baby grand it sounds beautiful
I have had the opportunity to play contemporary mid size C. Bechsteins and the are generally very nice. Thank you for the information.