A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.

In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard. In a broader sense, "harpsichord" designates the whole family of similar plucked keyboard instruments, including the smaller virginals, muselar, and spinet.

The harpsichord was widely used in Renaissance and Baroque music. During the late 18th century it gradually disappeared from the musical scene with the rise of the piano. But in the 20th century it made a resurgence, used in historically informed performance of older music, in new (contemporary) compositions, and in popular culture.

Mechanism

Harpsichords vary in size and shape but all have the same basic functional arrangement. The player depresses a key pivoted in the middle of its length, which causes the far end of the key to rise. This lifts a jack, a long strip of wood, to which is attached a small plectrum (a wedge-shaped piece of quill or, nowadays plastic), which plucks the string. When the key is released by the player, the far end returns to its rest position and the jack falls back. The plectrum, mounted on a tongue that can swivel backwards away from the string, passes the string without plucking it again. As the key reaches its rest position, the string's vibrations are halted by the damper, a piece of felt attached to the top of the jack.

These basic principles are explained in more detail below.

The ''keylever'' is a simple pivot, which rocks on a ''balance pin'' passing through a hole drilled through it.

The ''jack'' is a thin, rectangular piece of wood which sits upright on the end of the keylever, held in place by the registers (the upper movable, the lower fixed) which are two long strips of wood running in the gap from spine to cheek with rectangular mortises through which the jacks can move up and down.

In the jack, a ''plectrum'' juts out almost horizontally (normally the plectrum is angled upwards a tiny amount) and passes just under the string. Historically, plectra were normally made of crow quill or leather; most modern harpsichords based on historic instruments have plastic (delrin or celcon) plectra.

When the front of the key is pressed, the back of the key rises, the jack is lifted, and the plectrum plucks the string.

When the key is released, the jack falls back down under its own weight, and the plectrum pivots backwards to allow it to pass the string. This is made possible by having the plectrum held in a tongue which is attached with a pivot and a spring to the body of the jack.

At the top of the jack, the felt damper keeps the string from vibrating when the key is not depressed.

The vertical rise of the jacks is stopped by the jackrail, which is covered with soft felt to muffle the impact of the jack.

Strings, tuning, and soundboard

Each string is wound around a ''tuning pin'', normally at the end of the string which is closer to the player. When rotated with a wrench or tuning hammer, the tuning pin adjusts the tension so that the string will sound the correct pitch. Tuning pins are held tightly in holes drilled in the ''pinblock'' or ''wrestplank'', an oblong hardwood plank.

Proceeding from the tuning pin, a string next passes over the ''nut'', a sharp edge that is made of hardwood and is normally attached to the wrestplank. The section of the string beyond the nut forms its ''vibrating length'', which is plucked and creates sound.

At the other end of its vibrating length, the string passes over the bridge, another sharp edge made of hardwood. As with the nut, the horizontal position of the string along the bridge is determined by a vertical metal pin inserted into the bridge, against which the string rests.

The bridge itself rests on a ''soundboard'', a thin panel of wood usually made of spruce, fir or—in some Italian harpsichords—cypress. The soundboard efficiently transduces the vibrations of the strings into vibrations in the air; without a soundboard, the strings would produce only a very feeble sound.

A string is attached at its far end by a loop to a ''hitchpin'' which secures it to the case.

Multiple choirs of strings

Many harpsichords have exactly one string per note. There are several reasons why it is sometimes an advantage to have more. When there are two choirs of strings at the same length, it is possible to arrange for them to give different tonal qualities, and thus to increase the variety of sound produced by the instrument. This is done by having one set of strings plucked closer to the nut, which emphasizes the higher harmonics, and produces a "nasal" sound quality. When two strings tuned to be the same pitch, or to an octave apart, are plucked simultaneously by a single keystroke, the note is louder and richer than one produced by a single string. The qualitative distinction is particularly noticeable when the strings are tuned an octave apart.

When describing a harpsichord it is customary to specify its choirs of strings, often called its disposition. Strings at eight foot pitch sound at the normal expected pitch, strings at four foot pitch sound an octave higher, and sometimes harpsichords have the rare 16-foot pitch (one octave lower than eight-foot) or two-foot pitch (two octaves higher).

When there are multiple choirs of strings, the player is often able to control which choirs sound. This is usually done by having a set of jacks for each choir, and a mechanism for "turning off" each set, often by moving the upper register (through which the jacks slide) sideways a short distance, so that their plectra miss the strings. In simpler instruments this is done by manually moving the registers, but as the harpsichord evolved, builders invented levers, knee levers and pedal mechanisms to make it easier to change registration.

More flexibility in selecting which strings play is available in harpsichords having more than one keyboard or manual, since each manual can control the plucking of a different set of strings. In addition, such harpsichords often have a mechanism to couple manuals together, so that two can be used while actually playing on only one. The most flexible system is the French shove coupler, in which the lower manual can slide forward and backward, so that in the backward position "dogs" attached to the upper surface of the lower manual engage the lower surface of the upper manual's keys. Depending on choice of keyboard and coupler position, the player can select any of the sets of jacks labeled in figure 4 as A, or B and C, or all three.

The English dogleg jack system (also practised in Baroque Flanders) does not require a coupler. The jacks labeled A in Figure 5 have a "dogleg" shape that permits A to be played by either keyboard. If the player wishes to play the upper 8' from the upper manual only and not from the lower manual, a stop handle disengages the jacks labeled A and engages instead an alternative row of jacks called "lute stop" (not shown in the Figure). Find full details in Hubbard 1967, p.133 ff., Russell 1973, p.65 ff. and Kottick 2003.

The use of multiple manuals in a harpsichord was not originally provided for the flexibility in choosing which strings would sound, but rather for transposition; for discussion see ''History of the harpsichord''.

The case

The case holds in position all of the important structural members: pinblock, soundboard, hitchpins, keyboard, and the jack action. It usually includes a solid bottom, and also internal bracing to maintain its form without warping under the tension of the strings. Cases vary greatly in weight and sturdiness: Italian harpsichords are often of light construction; heavier construction is found in the later Flemish instruments and those derived from them (see ''History of the harpsichord'').

The case also gives the harpsichord its external appearance and protects the instrument. A large harpsichord is, in a sense, a piece of furniture, as it stands alone on legs and may be styled in the manner of other furniture of its place and period. Early Italian instruments, on the other hand, were so light in construction that they were treated rather like a violin: kept for storage in a protective outer case, and played after taking it out of its case and placing it on a table. Such tables were often quite high - until the late 18th century people usually played standing up. Eventually, harpsichords came to be built with just a single case, though an intermediate stage also existed: the "false inner–outer", which for purely aesthetic reasons was built to look as if the outer case contained an inner one, in the old style. Even after harpsichords became self-encased objects, they often were supported by separate stands, and some modern harpsichords have separate legs for improved portability.

Many harpsichords have a lid that can be raised, a cover for the keyboard, and a stand for music.

Harpsichords have been decorated in a great many different ways: with plain buff paint (e.g. some Flemish instruments), with paper printed with patterns, with leather or velvet coverings, with chinoiserie, or occasionally with highly elaborate painted artwork.

==Variants==

The terms used to denote the various members of the harpsichord family are now standardized. This was not so in the harpsichord's heyday.

Harpsichord

In modern usage, "harpsichord" can mean any member of the family of instruments. More often, though, it specifically denotes a grand-piano-shaped instrument with a roughly triangular case accommodating long bass strings at the left and short treble strings at the right. The characteristic profile of such a harpsichord is more elongated than a modern piano, with a sharper curve to the bentside.

Virginals

The virginal is a smaller and simpler rectangular form of the harpsichord having only one string per note; the strings run parallel to the keyboard, which is on the long side of the case.

Spinet

A spinet is a harpsichord with the strings set at an angle (usually about 30 degrees) to the keyboard. The strings are too close together for the jacks to fit between them. Instead, the strings are arranged in pairs, and the jacks are in the larger gaps between the pairs. The two jacks in each gap face in opposite directions, and each plucks a string adjacent to a gap.

Clavicytherium

A clavicytherium is a harpsichord with the soundboard and strings mounted vertically facing the player, the same space-saving principle as an upright piano. In a clavicytherium, the jacks move horizontally without the assistance of gravity, so that clavicytherium actions are more complex than those of other harpsichords.

Some of the earliest harpsichords for which we have evidence are clavicytheria. One surviving example from the late 15th century is kept at the Royal College of Music in London. For most of the history of the harpsichord, however, the clavicytherium was far less common than the horizontal instrument, probably because of its greater complexity and lesser reliability. In the 18th century fine clavicytheria were made by Albertus Delin, a Flemish builder.

Ottavino

Ottavini are small spinets or virginals at four foot pitch. It is thought that harpsichords at octave pitch were more common in the late Mediæval times and the early Renaissance, but lessened in popularity later on. However, ottavini remained very popular as domestic instruments in Italy. In England, Samuel Pepys makes many mentions of his "tryangle" in his diary, which references the usual shape of these instruments. In the Low Countries, ottavini were commonly paired with an 8' virginals, encased in a small cubb under the soundboard. The ottavino could be removed and placed on top of the larger virginal, making an effect like unto a double manual instrument. These are sometimes called 'mother-and-child' or 'double' virginals.

Other

The archicembalo, built in the 16th century, had an unusual keyboard layout, designed to accommodate variant tuning systems demanded by compositional practice and theoretical experimentation. More common were instruments with split sharps, also designed to accommodate the tuning systems of the time.

The folding harpsichord was an instrument that could be folded up for travel.

Occasionally, in late 18th c., harpsichords were built with a pedal keyboard. While these were mostly intended as practice instruments for organists, a few pieces are believed to have been written specifically for the pedal harpsichord.

Compass and pitch range

On the whole, earlier harpsichords have smaller ranges and later ones larger, though there are many exceptions. The largest harpsichords have a range of just over five octaves and the smallest have under four. Usually, the shortest keyboards were given extended range in the bass with a "short octave".

Tuning pitch is often taken to be a=415 Hz, roughly a semitone lower than the modern standard concert pitch of a=440 Hz. An accepted exception is for French baroque repertoire which is often performed with a=392 Hz, approximately a semitone lower again. Tuning an instrument nowadays usually starts with setting an A; historically it would commence from a C or an F.

Some modern instruments are built with keyboards which can be shifted sideways, allowing the player to align the mechanism with strings at either a=415 Hz or a=440 Hz. If a tuning other than equal temperament is used, the instrument requires retuning once the keyboard is shifted.

History

The harpsichord was most probably invented in the late Middle Ages. By the 16th century, harpsichord makers in Italy were making lightweight instruments with low string tension. A different approach was taken in Flanders starting in the late 16th century, notably by the Ruckers family. Their harpsichords used a heavier construction and produced a more powerful and distinctive tone. They included the first harpsichords with two keyboards, used for transposition.

The Flemish instruments served as the model for 18th century harpsichord construction in other nations. In France, the double keyboards were adapted to control different choirs of strings, making a more musically flexible instrument. Instruments from the peak of the French tradition, by makers such as the Blanchet family and Pascal Taskin, are among the most widely admired of all harpsichords, and are frequently used as models for the construction of modern instruments. In England, the Kirkman and Shudi firms produced sophisticated harpsichords of great power and sonority. German builders extended the sound repertoire of the instrument by adding sixteen foot and two foot choirs; these instruments have recently served as models for modern builders.

In the late 18th century the harpsichord was supplanted by the piano and almost disappeared from view for most of the 19th century: an exception was its continued use in opera for accompanying recitative, but the piano sometimes displaced it even there. 20th century efforts to revive the harpsichord began with instruments that used piano technology, with heavy strings and metal frames. Starting in the middle of the 20th century, ideas about harpsichord making underwent a major change, when builders such as Frank Hubbard, William Dowd, and Martin Skowroneck sought to re-establish the building traditions of the Baroque period. Harpsichords of this type of historically informed building practice dominate the current scene.

Music for the harpsichord

Historical period

The great bulk of the standard repertoire for the harpsichord was written during its first historical flowering, the Renaissance and Baroque eras.

The first music written specifically for solo harpsichord was published around the early 16th century. Composers who wrote solo harpsichord music were numerous during the whole Baroque era in European countries including Italy, Germany, England and France. Solo harpsichord compositions included dance suites, fantasias, and fugues. Among the most famous composers who wrote for the harpsichord were the members of English virginal school of the late Renaissance, notably William Byrd (ca. 1540 – 1623). In France, a great number of highly characteristic solo works were created and compiled into four books of ''ordres'' by François Couperin (1668-1733). Domenico Scarlatti (1685–1757) began his career in Italy but wrote most of his solo harpsichord works in Spain; his most famous work is his series of 555 harpsichord sonatas. Perhaps the most celebrated composer who wrote for the harpsichord was J. S. Bach (1685-1750), whose solo works (for instance, the Well-Tempered Clavier and the Goldberg Variations), continue to be performed very widely, often on the piano. Bach was also a pioneer of the harpsichord concerto, both in works designated as such, and in the harpsichord part of his Fifth Brandenburg Concerto.

Two of the most prominent composers of the Classical period (music), Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), wrote harpsichord music. For both, the instrument featured in the earlier period of their careers and was abandoned once they had shifted their efforts to the piano.

Besides solo works, the historical harpsichord was widely used for accompaniment in the basso continuo style (a function it maintained in operatic recitative even into the 19th century).

Music written for the revived harpsichord

Through the 19th century, the harpsichord was almost completely supplanted by the piano. In the 20th century, composers returned to the instrument, as they sought out variation in the sounds available to them. Under the influence of Arnold Dolmetsch, the harpsichordists Violet Gordon-Woodhouse (1872–1951) and in France, Wanda Landowska (1879–1959), were at the forefront of the instrument's renaissance.

Concertos for the instrument were written by Francis Poulenc (the ''Concert champêtre'', 1927–28), Manuel de Falla, Bertold Hummel, Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, Michael Nyman, Philip Glass, and Roberto Carnevale. Bohuslav Martinů wrote both a concerto and a sonata for the instrument, and Elliott Carter's ''Double Concerto'' is scored for harpsichord, piano and two chamber orchestras.

In chamber music, György Ligeti wrote a small number of solo works for the instrument (including ''Continuum''), and Henri Dutilleux's ''Les Citations'' (1991) is scored for harpsichord, oboe, double bass and percussions. Elliott Carter's ''Sonata for Flute, Oboe, Cello and Harpsichord'' (1952) explores the timbre possibilities of the modern harpsichord. Josef Tal wrote ''Concerto for harpsichord & electronic music'' (1964) and ''Chamber Music'' (1982) for s-recorder, marimba & harpsichord. Both Dmitri Shostakovich (''Hamlet'', 1964) and Alfred Schnittke (''Symphony No.8'', 1998) wrote works that use the harpsichord as part of the orchestral texture.

In the Preface to his piano collection ''Mikrokosmos'', Bela Bartok suggests some ten pieces as being suitable for the harpsichord.

Harpsichordist Hendrik Bouman has composed pieces in the 17th and 18th century style, including works for solo harpsichord, harpsichord concerti, and other works that call for harpsichord continuo. Other contemporary composers writing new harpsichord music in period styles include Grant Colburn, Miguel Robaina, Fernando De Luca and Gianluca Bersanetti. Notable performers include Oscar Milani and Mario Raskin.

During the second half of the 20th century, the sound of the harpsichord (or perhaps rather more often, its electronically created equivalent) became very familiar in popular culture, appearing frequently in popular music, television, films, computer games, and so on.

See also

Clavichord

Notes

References

Boalch, Donald H. (1995) ''Makers of the Harpsichord and Clavichord, 1440-1840'', 3rd ed., with updates by Andreas H. Roth and Charles Mould, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-318429-X. A catalogue, originating with work by Boalch in the 1950s, of all extant historical instruments.

Dearling, Robert (ed.) (1996) ''The ultimate encyclopedia of musical instruments'', London : Carlton, ISBN 1-85868-185-5

Hubbard, Frank (1967) ''Three Centuries of Harpsichord Making'', 2nd ed., Harvard University Press, ISBN 0-674-88845-6. An authoritative survey by a leading builder of how early harpsichords were built and how the harpsichord evolved over time in different national traditions.

Kottick, Edward (2003) ''A History of the Harpsichord'', Indiana University Press, ISBN 0-253-34166-3. An extensive survey by a leading contemporary scholar.

O'Brien, Grant (1990) ''Ruckers, a harpsichord and virginal building tradition'', Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-36565-1. Covers the innovations of the Ruckers family, the founders of the Flemish tradition.

Russell, Raymond (1973)''The Harpsichord and Clavichord: an introductory study'', 2nd ed., London : Faber and Faber, ISBN 0-571-04795-5

Skowroneck, Martin (2003) ''Cembalobau: Erfahrungen und Erkenntnisse aus der Werkstattpraxis = Harpsichord construction: a craftsman's workshop experience and insight'', Fachbuchreihe Das Musikinstrument 83, Bergkirchen : Bochinsky, ISBN 3-932275-58-6. A study (written in English and German) of harpsichord building by a leading figure in the modern revival of historically authentic methods of building.

Zuckermann, Wolfgang (1969) ''The Modern Harpsichord: twentieth century instruments and their makers'', New York : October House, ISBN 0-8079-0165-2

External links

;Instruments

A few historic harpsichords from the collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art

* Double virginal by Hans Ruckers, Antwerp, 1581

* Harpsichord by Girolamo Zenti, Rome, 1666

* Harpsichord by Jan Couchet, Antwerp, 1650

* Octave virginal, Augsburg, ca. 1600

* Spinnetta or Virginal, Venice, ca. 1540

* Golden Harpsichord by Michele Todini, Rome, ca. 1675

* Harpsichord, Italy, late 17th century

* Harpsichord by Pleyel et Cie, Paris, 1928

A harpsichord constructed from Lego

;History

''Italian Harpsichord-Building in the 16th and 17th Centuries'' by Shortridge

;Listen

Hear the sound of various harpsichords

''Sala del Cembalo'', free harpsichord sound files

;Images

''HarpsichordPhoto'', photographs of early stringed keyboard instruments

;Organisations

British Harpsichord Society

;Craftsman insights

Interview with harpsichord builder Jack Peters

;Music

''Procembalo'' free catalog of contemporary harpsichord music

Category:Keyboard instruments Category:Early musical instruments Category:Baroque instruments

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Coordinates	41°52′55″N87°37′40″N
name	José Iturbi
background	classical_ensemble
born	November 28, 1895Valencia, Spain
died	June 28, 1980Los Angeles, California, USA
instrument	Piano
genre	Classical
occupation	Conductor, pianist
associated acts	Rochester Philharmonic }}

José Iturbi (28 November 1895 – 28 June 1980) was a Spanish conductor, harpsichordist and pianist. He appeared in several Hollywood films of the 1940s, notably playing himself in the 1943 musical, ''Thousands Cheer'' and in the 1945 film, ''Anchors Aweigh''. He was involved in a complex family custody battle in the 1940s that culminated in his former son-in-law kidnapping Iturbi's two granddaughters.

Biography

Born in Valencia, Spain, of Basque descent, Iturbi studied in Barcelona and at the Valencia and Paris conservatories on scholarship; at this time, he also undertook extensive private studies in keyboard technique and interpretation with the harpsichordist Wanda Landowska. His worldwide concert tours, beginning around 1912, were brilliantly successful. He excelled as an interpreter of French as well as Spanish music. He made his American debut in New York City in 1929. He made his first appearance as a conductor in Mexico City in 1933 when presented by donon Ernesto de Quesada from Conciertos Daniel. In April 1936, Iturbi was injured in the crash and sinking of Pan American Airways' Puerto Rican Clipper in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. After the incident, he said he would not be able to play "for some time", and "I may not be able to conduct again." Later that year, however, he was named conductor of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra in upstate New York, serving until 1944. He also led the Valencia Symphony Orchestra for many years. He often appeared in concert with his sister, Amparo Iturbi, who was also a renowned pianist.

Iturbi was a noted harpsichordist, and made several short length instructional films utilizing the re-emergent early 20th C. French Pleyel et Cie pedal, metal-framed harpsichord made famous by Wanda Landowska. He appeared as an actor-performer in several filmed musicals of the 1940s, beginning with 1943's ''Thousands Cheer'' for MGM. He usually appeared as himself in these films. He later was featured in MGM's ''Anchors Aweigh'', which starred Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra, as well as several other MGM movies. In the biopic about Frédéric Chopin, ''A Song to Remember'', Iturbi's playing was used in the soundtrack in scenes where Cornel Wilde, as Chopin, was playing the piano.

Unfortunately, while these films made him very popular during his lifetime, his musical exhibitionism and Hollywood appearances caused many connoisseurs to undervalue him as a serious musician.

Personal life

Iturbi married María Giner de los Santos in 1916; she died in 1928. They had one child, María. His companion for many years was Marion Seabury, his secretary, who survived him and founded the José Iturbi Foundation after his death.

María Iturbi married Stephan Hero, an American concert violinist who had been one of her father's protégés in 1936. They had two daughters, Maria Antonia and Maria Theresa, before separating in 1939. At age 28, in 1946, Iturbi's daughter committed suicide.

María Hero had obtained legal custody of the children in her 1941 divorce; her former husband had them for three months of each year. In 1943 Iturbi took his daughter to court for custody of the girls, calling her unfit, according to ''The New York Times''. Their father, Stephan Hero, absconded with them while Iturbi was on a European concert tour in 1947. After a court battle, Iturbi and his former son-in-law ultimately resolved their differences, and the girls remained with their father.

José Iturbi continued his public performances into his eighties. Finally he was ordered by his doctors to take a sabbatical in March 1980. He died on 28 June 1980, five days after being admitted to Cedars-Sinai Hospital for heart problems.

Popular culture

Iturbi is mentioned in Philip Roth's bestselling ''Portnoy's Complaint'', where the women in Portnoy's neighborhood call a talented young pianist "José Iturbi the Second". The pianist kills himself because of his overpowering mother and thus becomes a memento to the protagonist, who also has to deal with a dominant mother. The reference to Iturbi is probably a side-thrust at the Jewish community Portnoy grows up in, especially at its mercantile, Hollywood-dominated notion of culture.

Cormac McCarthy honored Iturbi with a moment of colloquial humor in ''Suttree'', his semi-autobiographical novel published in 1979. Conversing with his Aunt Martha on the topic of dogs once owned between himself and his ancestors, he proclaimed, "We had one named Jose Iturbi. Because it was the peeinest dog."

See also

José Iturbi International Piano Competition

List of Basques

References

External links

http://www.joseiturbi.com

Category:1895 births Category:1980 deaths Category:People from Valencia Category:Valencian musicians Category:American people of Basque descent Category:Spanish conductors (music) Category:Spanish classical pianists Category:Classical piano duos Category:José Iturbi International Piano Competition

ca:Josep Iturbi Bàguena de:José Iturbi es:José Iturbi fr:José Iturbi ro:José Iturbi

Coordinates	41°52′55″N87°37′40″N
Name	Rosemary Clooney
Background	solo_singer
Born	May 23, 1928Maysville, Kentucky, U.S.
Died	June 29, 2002Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Genre	Traditional pop, vocal jazz
Years active	1946–2001
Occupation	Singer, Actress
Spouse	Jose Ferrer (1953–1961; 1964–1967), Dante Cesare DiPaolo (1997–2002, her death)
Label	ColumbiaMGMCoralRCA VictorRepriseDotUnited ArtistsConcord Jazz
Website	Rosemary Clooney Palladium website }}

Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 – June 29, 2002) was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the novelty hit "Come On-a My House" written by William Saroyan and his cousin Ross Bagdasarian (David Seville), which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me" (a cover version of the Italian song ''Ba-Ba-Baciami Piccina'' by Alberto Rabagliati), "Mambo Italiano", "Tenderly", "Half as Much", "Hey There" and "This Ole House", though she would go on to success as a jazz vocalist. Clooney's career languished in the 1960s, partly due to problems related to depression and drug addiction, but revived in 1974, when her ''White Christmas'' co-star Bing Crosby asked her to appear with him at a show marking his 50th anniversary in show business. She continued recording until her death in 2002. She is the aunt of Academy Award winning actor George Clooney.

Early life

Clooney was born in Maysville, Kentucky, to Andrew Joseph Clooney and Marie Frances Guilfoyle, both of whom were Roman Catholics of Irish and German ancestry. When Clooney was fifteen, her mother and brother, Nick, moved to California. She and her sister, Betty, remained with their father. Rosemary, Betty and Nick all became entertainers. In the next generation, some of her children, including Miguel Ferrer and Rafael Ferrer, and her nephew, George Clooney, also became respected entertainers. In 1945, the Clooney sisters won a spot on Cincinnati, Ohio's radio station WLW as singers. Her sister Betty sang in a duo with Clooney for much of her early career.

Career

Clooney's first recordings, in May 1946, were for Columbia Records. She sang with Tony Pastor's big band. Clooney continued working with the Pastor band until 1949, making her last recording with the band in May of that year and her first as a solo artist a month later, still for Columbia. In 1951, her record of "Come On-a My House", produced by Mitch Miller, became a hit. It was her first of many singles to hit the charts—despite the fact that Clooney hated the song passionately. She had been told by Columbia Records to record the song, and that she would be in violation of her contract if she did not do so. Around 1952, Rosemary recorded several duets with Marlene Dietrich.

In 1954, she starred, along with Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, and Vera-Ellen, in the movie ''White Christmas''. She starred, in 1956, in a half-hour syndicated television musical-variety show ''The Rosemary Clooney Show''. The show featured The Hi-Lo's singing group and Nelson Riddle's orchestra. The following year, the show moved to NBC prime time as ''The Lux Show Starring Rosemary Clooney'' but only lasted one season. The new show featured the singing group The Modernaires and Frank DeVol's orchestra. In later years, Clooney would often appear with Bing Crosby on television, such as in the 1957 special ''The Edsel Show'', and the two friends made a concert tour of Ireland together. On November 21, 1957, she appeared on NBC's ''The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford,'' a frequent entry in the "Top 20" and featuring a musical group called "The Top Twenty." In 1960, Clooney and Crosby co-starred in a 20-minute CBS radio program aired before the midday news each weekday.

Clooney left Columbia Records in 1958, doing a number of recordings for MGM Records and then some for Coral Records. Finally, toward the end of 1958, she signed with RCA Victor Records, where she stayed until 1963. In 1964, she went to Reprise Records, and in 1965 to Dot Records. She moved to United Artists Records in 1966.

Beginning in 1977, she recorded an album a year for the Concord Jazz record label, which continued until her death. This was in contrast to most of her generation of singers who had long since stopped recording regularly by then. In the late-1970s and early-1980s, Clooney did television commercials for Coronet brand paper towels, during which she sang a memorable jingle that goes, "Extra value is what you get, when you buy Coro-net." James Belushi later parodied Clooney and the commercial while as a cast member on NBC's ''Saturday Night Live'' in the early 1980s. Clooney sang a duet with Wild Man Fischer on "It's a Hard Business" in 1986, and in 1994 she sang a duet of ''Green Eyes'' with Barry Manilow in his 1994 album, ''Singin' with the Big Bands''.

She guest-starred in the NBC television medical drama ''ER'' (starring her nephew, George Clooney) in 1995; she received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. On January 27, 1996, Clooney appeared on Garrison Keillor's ''Prairie Home Companion'' radio program. She sang "When October Goes" -- lyrics by Johnny Mercer and music by Barry Manilow (after Mercer's death) -- from Manilow's 1984 album ''2:00 AM Paradise Cafe'', and discussed what an excellent musician Manilow was.

In 1999, Clooney founded the Rosemary Clooney Music Festival, held annually in Maysville, her hometown. She performed at the festival every year until her death. Proceeds benefit the restoration of the Russell Theater in Maysville, where Clooney's first film, ''The Stars are Singing'', premiered in 1953.

She received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002.

Personal life

Clooney suffered for much of her life from bipolar disorder. She revealed this and other details of her life in her two autobiographies.

Clooney was married twice to the movie star José Ferrer who was sixteen years her senior. They were first married from 1953 until 1961 and, despite his open infidelities, again from 1964 to 1967. They had five children: actor Miguel Ferrer (b. 1955), Maria Ferrer (b. 1956), Gabriel Ferrer (b. 1957) (who married singer Debby Boone), Monsita Ferrer (b. 1958), and Rafael Ferrer (b. 1960).

In 1968, her relationship with a young drummer ended after two years, and she became increasingly dependent on pills after a punishing tour.

She joined the presidential campaign of close friend Bobby Kennedy, and heard the shots when he was assassinated on June 5, 1968. A month later she had a nervous breakdown onstage in Reno, Nevada, and was hospitalized. She remained in psychoanalysis therapy for eight years afterwards. Her sister Betty died suddenly of a brain aneurysm in 1976. She subsequently started a foundation in memory of and named for her sister. During this time she wrote her first autobiography, ''This for Remembrance: the Autobiography of Rosemary Clooney, an Irish-American Singer'', written in collaboration with Raymond Strait and published by Playboy Press in 1977. She chronicled her unhappy early life, her career as a singer, her marriage to Ferrer and mental health problems, concluding with her comeback as a singer and her happiness. Her good friend Bing Crosby wrote the introduction. Katherine Coker adapted the book for Jackie Cooper who produced and directed the television movie, ''Rosie: the Rosemary Clooney Story'' (1982) starring Sondra Locke (who lip syncs Clooney's songs), Penelope Milford as Betty and Tony Orlando who plays Jose Ferrer.

Living for many years in Beverly Hills, California, in the house formerly owned by George and Ira Gershwin, in 1980, she purchased a second home on Riverside Drive in Augusta, Kentucky, near Maysville, her childhood hometown. In 1983, Rosemary and her brother Nick co-chaired the Betty Clooney Foundation for the Brain-Injured, addressing the needs of survivors of cognitive disabilities caused by strokes, tumors and brain damage from trauma or age.

In 1999 Clooney published her second autobiography, ''Girl Singer: An Autobiography'' describing her battles with addiction to prescription drugs for depression, and how she lost and then regained a fortune. "I'd call myself a sweet singer with a big band sensibility," she wrote.

Today, the Augusta house offers viewing of collections of her personal items and from many of her films and singing performances. Her Beverly Hills home at 1019 North Roxbury Drive was sold to a developer after her death in 2002 and has been demolished.

She married her longtime friend, a former dancer, Dante DiPaolo in 1997 at St. Patrick's Church in Maysville, Kentucky.\

Lung cancer and death

Clooney was diagnosed with lung cancer at the end of 2001. Around this time, she gave her last concert, in Hawaii, backed by the Honolulu Symphony Pops; her last song was "God Bless America". Despite surgery, she died six months later on June 29, 2002, at her Beverly Hills home. Her nephew, George Clooney, was a pallbearer at her funeral, which was attended by numerous stars, including Al Pacino. She is buried at Saint Patrick's Cemetery, Maysville.

In 2003 Rosemary Clooney was inducted into the Kentucky Women Remembered exhibit and her portrait by Alison Lyne is on permanent display in the Kentucky State Capitol's rotunda.

In September 2007 a mural honoring moments from her life was painted in downtown Maysville. The mural highlights her lifelong friendship with Blanche Chambers, the 1953 premier of ''The Stars are Singing'' and her singing career. It was painted by Louisiana muralists Robert Dafford, Herb Roe and Brett Chigoy as part of the Maysville Floodwall Murals project. Her brother Nick Clooney spoke during the dedication for the mural, explaining various images to the crowd.

Discography

Filmography

''Tony Pastor and His Orchestra'' (1947) (short subject)

''Slaughter Trail'' (1951)

''The Stars Are Singing'' (1953)

''Here Come the Girls'' (1953)

''Red Garters'' (1954)

''White Christmas'' (1954)

''Deep in My Heart'' (1954; cameo appearance)

''Frasier'' (1993)

''Radioland Murders'' (1994)

''ER'' (1994)

''Marlene Dietrich: Her Own Song'' (2002) (documentary)

See also

Rosemary Clooney Museum; Augusta, Kentucky

References

External links

Rosemary Clooney Palladium page

Clooney Discography

Biography on musicianguide.com

"Elvis Bows, Bing Just Nods: High and Low Culture in ''Fancy Meeting You Here''" by Gilbert L. Gigliotti

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Coordinates	41°52′55″N87°37′40″N
birth name	Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti
birth date	October 26, 1685
birth place	Naples, Kingdom of Naples
death date	July 23, 1757
death place	Madrid, Spain }}

Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti (26 October 1685 – 23 July 1757) was an Italian composer who spent much of his life in the service of the Portuguese and Spanish royal families. He is classified as a Baroque composer chronologically, although his music was influential in the development of the Classical style. Like his renowned father Alessandro Scarlatti he composed in a variety of musical forms although today he is known almost exclusively for his 555 keyboard sonatas.

Life and career

Domenico Scarlatti was born in Naples, Kingdom of Naples, in 1685, the same year as Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel. He was the sixth of ten children and a younger brother to Pietro Filippo Scarlatti, also a musician. He most likely first studied under his father, the composer and teacher Alessandro Scarlatti; other composers who may have been his early teachers include Gaetano Greco, Francesco Gasparini, and Bernardo Pasquini, all of whom may have influenced his musical style.

He became a composer and organist at the royal chapel in Naples in 1701. In 1704, he revised Carlo Francesco Pollarolo's opera ''Irene'' for performance at Naples. Soon after, his father sent him to Venice; no record exists of his next four years. In 1709 he went to Rome in the service of the exiled Polish queen Marie Casimire, where he met Thomas Roseingrave. Scarlatti was already an eminent harpsichordist: there is a story of a trial of skill with George Frideric Handel at the palace of Cardinal Ottoboni in Rome where he was judged possibly superior to Handel on that instrument, although inferior on the organ. Later in life, he was known to cross himself in veneration when speaking of Handel's skill.

In Rome, Scarlatti composed several operas for Queen Casimira's private theatre. He was ''Maestro Di Cappella'' at St. Peter's from 1715 to 1719. In 1719 he travelled to London to direct his opera ''Narciso'' at the King's Theatre.

According to Vicente Bicchi (Papal Nuncio at the time), Domenico Scarlatti arrived in Lisbon on 29 November 1719. There he taught music to the Portuguese princess Maria Magdalena Barbara. He left Lisbon on 28 January 1727 for Rome, where he married Maria Caterina Gentili on 6 May 1728. In 1729 he moved to Sevilla, staying for four years and gaining a knowledge of flamenco. In 1733 he went to Madrid as music master to Princess Maria Barbara, who had married into the Spanish royal house. The Princess later became Queen of Spain, and as a result Scarlatti remained in the country for the remaining twenty-five years of his life, and had five children there. After the death of his first wife in 1742, he married a Spaniard, Anastasia Maxarti Ximenes. Among his compositions during his time in Madrid were a number of the 555 keyboard sonatas for which he is best known.

Scarlatti befriended the castrato singer Farinelli, a fellow Neapolitan also enjoying royal patronage in Madrid. The musicologist Ralph Kirkpatrick acknowledged that Farinelli's correspondence provides "most of the direct information about Scarlatti that has transmitted itself to our day." Domenico Scarlatti died in Madrid, at the age of 71. His residence on Calle Leganitos is designated with a historical plaque, and his descendants still live in Madrid.

Music

			performed on a harpsichord by Martha Goldstein
		performed on a harpsichord by Martha Goldstein
		performed on a piano by Raymond Smullyan
		performed on a spinet by Ulrich Metzner
		performed on a piano by Veronica van der Knaap
	Musical Instrument Digital Interface>MIDI rendition
		performed on a piano by Raymond Smullyan
		performed on a piano by Raymond Smullyan

Only a small fraction of Scarlatti's compositions were published during his lifetime; Scarlatti himself seems to have overseen the publication in 1738 of the most famous collection, his 30 ''Essercizi'' ("Exercises"). These were rapturously received throughout Europe, and were championed by the foremost English writer on music of the eighteenth century, Dr. Charles Burney.

The many sonatas which were unpublished during Scarlatti's lifetime have appeared in print irregularly in the two and a half centuries since. Scarlatti has, however, attracted notable admirers, including Frédéric Chopin, Johannes Brahms, Béla Bartók, Dmitri Shostakovich, Heinrich Schenker, Vladimir Horowitz, Emil Gilels, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, and Marc-André Hamelin.

Frédéric Chopin, as a piano teacher, notably wrote:

Scarlatti's 555 keyboard sonatas are single movements, mostly in binary form, and mostly written for the harpsichord or the earliest pianofortes. (There are four for organ, and a few for small instrumental group). Some of them display harmonic audacity in their use of discords, and also unconventional modulations to remote keys.

Other distinctive attributes of Scarlatti's style are the following:

The influence of Iberian (Portuguese and Spanish) folk music. An example is Scarlatti's use of the Phrygian mode and other tonal inflections more or less alien to European art music. Many of Scarlatti's figurations and dissonances are suggestive of the guitar.

A formal device in which each half of a sonata leads to a pivotal point, which the Scarlatti scholar Ralph Kirkpatrick termed "the crux", and which is sometimes underlined by a pause or fermata. Before the crux, Scarlatti sonatas often contain their main thematic variety, and after the crux the music makes more use of repetitive figurations as it modulates away from the home key (in the first half) or back to the home key (in the second half).

The harpsichordist Ralph Kirkpatrick produced an edition of the sonatas in 1953, and the numbering from this edition is now nearly always used – the Kk. or K. number. Previously, the numbering commonly used was from the 1906 edition compiled by the Neapolitan pianist Alessandro Longo (L. numbers). Kirkpatrick's numbering is chronological, while Longo's ordering is a result of his grouping the sonatas into "suites". In 1967 the Italian musicologist Giorgio Pestelli published a revised catalogue (using P. numbers), which corrected what he considered to be some anachronisms. See for a list converting Longo, Kirkpatrick and Pestelli numbers of Scarlatti's sonatas.

Aside from his many sonatas he composed a quantity of operas and cantatas, symphonias, and liturgical pieces. Well known works include the Stabat Mater of 1715 and the Salve Regina of 1757 that is thought to be his last composition.

Recordings

Harpsichord

Scott Ross recorded all 555 Scarlatti sonatas in a 34-CD set, nearly all on harpsichord, excepting the three for organ and the instrumental suites, for which he provided the continuo.

In 2007 the Dutch harpsichordist Pieter-Jan Belder finished his recording of all the keyboard sonatas in sequential order for the label Brilliant Classics, playing 34 of them on a fortepiano.

Richard Lester recorded all the sonatas on harpsichord for the Nimbus label.

The Italian Stradivarius label's Scarlatti sonata project, mostly recorded with harpsichordist Ottavio Dantone, currently stands at volume 10. According to an official at the label, there are talks to continue with the project.

Other harpsichordists have recorded selected sonatas, including Trevor Pinnock, Wanda Landowska, Ralph Kirkpatrick, Luciano Sgrizzi, Fernando Valenti, Andreas Staier, and Colin Tilney.

Piano

Vladimir Horowitz made several recordings of Scarlatti sonatas, performed on a modern piano. While these recordings have been the subject of critical debate and discussion Horowitz was a pianist of the Romantic tradition they caused a huge surge in popularity for Scarlatti's sonatas, which pianists had rarely played in public.

Glenn Gould also made some recordings, but declined to release them. They have become available since his death.

Carlo Grante is recording all of the sonatas for the Music & Arts label. Grante decided to use a Bösendorfer piano primarily because of its distinctive timbre in different registers.

The Naxos label is currently working on a project to record all of Scarlatti's sonatas on the piano, with each disc taken by a different pianist.

References

Notes

Free scores

Sheet music for K.1 to K.176 John Sankey edition

www.kreusch-sheet-music.net harpsichord sonatas by Scarlatti

Sheet music engraved by Sebastiano Vigna

External links

Converter for Scarlatti's Works Number

Associazione Domenico Scarlatti

Keyboard Tuning of Domenico Scarlatti

Complete edition, harpsichord, downloadable recordings in MIDI

The Life of Domenico Scarlatti

Scarlatti Domenico – A new look at the keyboard sonatas; complete catalogue including newly discovered works

"The mercurial maestro of Madrid" by Robert White, 20 July 2007, ''The Guardian''

538 Piano Sonatas (mp3 files)

Piano Society – A short biography and some free recordings in MP3 format, performed by Roberto Carnevale, Chase Coleman, Graziella Concas, Knut Erik Jensen

Category:Baroque composers Category:Italian composers Category:Italian harpsichordists Category:Composers for harpsichord Category:Opera composers Category:People from Naples Category:1685 births Category:1757 deaths

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Igor Kipnis (27 September 1930 - 23 January 2002) was a well-known American harpsichordist and pianist.

The son of Russian bass Alexander Kipnis (1891 - 1978), and born in Berlin, he moved to the United States with his family in 1938. He learned the piano with his maternal grandfather, Heniot Levy (1879 - 1946); attended the Westport School of Music, and received his B.A. from Harvard University. He studied harpsichord with Fernando Valenti, and made his concert debut in New York in 1959. He was an honorary member of Phi Beta Kappa (Harvard, 1977), and in 1993 he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by Illinois Wesleyan University.

Kipnis lived in Redding, Connecticut. For five years he was President and Artistic Director of the Friends of Music of Fairfield County, the Connecticut chamber music series, in addition to having served thirteen years as co-artistic director of the Connecticut Early Music Festival.

He married Judith Robison on January 6, 1953. They subsequently divorced, in May 1996, but reconciled shortly before her death on March 1, 2001 of the rare "salt and water" retention metabolic condition, Robison Syndrome.

He died in his home in Redding, Connecticut of renal cancer. His last concert was a solo piano recital in October 2001, in San Francisco. He is survived by his son, film, record producer, and Kipnis Studio Standard creator Jeremy R. Kipnis, and his wife Carolina R. Kipnis.

Musical career

Following his debut in 1959, harpsichordist, fortepianist, duo-pianist, and clavichordist Kipnis performed in recital and as soloist with orchestras throughout the world, including North, Central, and South America, Western and Eastern Europe, Israel, and Australia.

Igor Kipnis performed as harpsichord soloist with the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Louisville, Dallas, Denver, Baltimore, Milwaukee, Seattle, Vancouver, Honolulu, and National Symphonies, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Capella Cracoviensis, the Boston Pops, the Munich Philharmonic, the New Amsterdam Sinfonietta, the Los Angeles, St. Paul, Cologne, Israel, New Stockholm, McGill, and Polish Chamber Orchestras, the New York Chamber Symphony, the Smithsonian Chamber Players, the Sinfonia of Sydney, and the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. His appearances at international and domestic festivals included those of Ansbach, the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart, and Ludwigsburg in Germany, the Bath Festival in Great Britain, Gulbenkian in Portugal, Lanaudière in Canada, the Israel Festival, the Melbourne International Festival of Organ and Harpsichord, the Madeira Bach Festival, Poland's Music in Old Crakow, the Indianapolis Early Music Festival, and Prague Spring International Music Festival.

Kipnis' enormous harpsichord repertoire encompassed not only the traditional 16th through the 18th Century composers but also includes contemporary music and jazz as well. He is especially noted for his entertaining concert-length presentation, The Light and Lively Harpsichord, which samples the full range of the harpsichord repertoire, from Bach to Brubeck, as well as for his informal mini-concerts whose format he has extensively pioneered at college student centers throughout the United States, and, additionally, for his performances and recordings on related early keyboard instruments, the fortepiano and clavichord, and for directing ensembles from the keyboard.

In 1995, he formed a duo with New York pianist, Karen Kushner, internationally performing works for (modern) piano, four hands.

Broadcasting

A frequent guest on both television and radio, such as the syndicated program, First Hearing, Kipnis for three seasons hosted his own The Age of Baroque over WQXR in New York and was host on WGBH-Boston’s syndicated program, "The Classical Organ." In 1978, he was the first harpsichordist to perform on the Grammy Awards telecast.

Editions, reviews and articles

Oxford University Press has published numerous of his keyboard editions, including his anthology, A First Harpsichord Book. He was also noted for his record reviews and articles in such periodicals as The International Classic Record Collector, The International Piano Quarterly, Gramophone Early Music, Goldberg, Early Music America, the internet music magazines Music & Vision and Stereo Times, Stereophile, Audio, FI, Schwann/Opus, Stereo Review, The American Record Guide, Clavier, Opus, Chamber Music Magazine, Early Keyboard Studies Newsletter, and The Yale Review, as well as having written for the Washington Post, the New York Post, and the New York Herald Tribune. He was also involved in compiling a Harpsichord Resource Book for Greenwood Press, editing the harpsichord and clavichord volume of a two-volume Encyclopedia of Keyboard Instruments to be published by Garland, writing a harpsichord tutor for Oxford University Press, and, for Amadeus Press, preparing a biography of his father, the late Metropolitan Opera bass, Alexander Kipnis.

He was also for a time responsible for the covers and background sleeve notes for Westminster Records.

Recordings

He was a prolific recording artist with 106 albums to his credit, of which 93 were solo. Among the honors he received were 9 Grammy Nominations, 3 "Record of the Year" Awards from ''Stereo Review'', the 1969 Deutsche Schallplatten Prize, and the 1988 Gold Star award from the Italian periodical, ''Musica''. ''Keyboard'', in that magazine's annual readers' poll, named him "Best Harpsichordist" in 1978, 1979, and 1980 and "Best Classical Keyboardist" in 1982 and 1986.

Among his last record releases were ''The Virtuoso Scarlatti'', fifteen sonatas played on five harpsichords after historical prototypes built by Hubbard of Boston and Vivaldi‘s The Four Seasons in which he directed members of the Connecticut Early Music Festival from the keyboard (both on Chesky), Sony CD reissues of ''The Spanish Harpsichord'', the complete Bach Harpsichord Concertos with Neville Marriner conducting, Bach’s Italian Concerto and ''Second English Suite'' (together with works for clavichord), ''Harpsichord - Greatest Hits'', as well as the complete Fantasias of J. S. Bach for harpsichord and clavichord (on Arabesque), ''A Treasury of Harpsichord Favorites and Mozart on the 1793 Fortepiano (two anthologies on Music & Arts)'', and ''Igor Kipnis - The First Solo Harpsichord Recordings'' (on VAI).

He recorded for Epiphany, Chesky, Angel (EMI), Sony Music/CBS, VAI, Arabesque, Music & Arts Programs of America, London (Decca), Musical Heritage Society, Intercord, Teichiku, Nonesuch, MCA, CRI, Grenadilla, Vanguard, Nitepro, King, Start, Golden Crest and Newport Classic.

External links

Interview with Igor Kipnis by Bruce Duffie, April 5, 2001

Mind My Harpsichord!, In Affectionate Memory of Igor Kipnis, by Bill Newman, Music & Vision, March 15, 2002, retrieved October 4, 2006

A Man of Many Talents, by Jennifer Paull, January 25, 2002, retrieved October 4, 2006

Stereophile Obituary, by Wes Phillips, February 3, 2002, retrieved October 4, 2006

[ Biography], by Joseph Stevenson, allmusic, retrieved October 4, 2006

References

Category:1930 births Category:2002 deaths Category:American people of Russian descent Category:American harpsichordists Category:People from Connecticut Category:Harvard University alumni

de:Igor Kipnis ja:イーゴリ・キプニス fi:Igor Kipnis