Giovanni Spinetti

Giovanni Spinetti (* in the 15th century ; † 16th century , in the German-speaking area also Johannes Spinetus ) was a Venetian harpsichord maker in the early 16th century.

invention

He is considered to be the inventor of the spinet . According to an etymological theory that is often doubted, but also widely held, the name "Spinett" should go back to his surname. Writes Adriano Banchieri in Bologna in 1608: "The spinet was named after the inventor [...] Maestro Giovanni Spinetti, a Venetian; I saw an instrument […] and it bore the inscription: JOANNES SPINETUS VENETUS FECIT. AD 1503. "

literature

Item harpsichord. In: Music in the past and present . Volume 2. Electronic edition. direct media, Berlin 2004, p. 959.
Article spinet. In: Friedrich Herzfeld : Ullstein Lexicon of Music. 6th edition. Ullstein, Frankfurt / Berlin / Vienna 1973, p. 517 (“The origin of the name from the piano maker Joh. Spinetus around 1500 in Venice is incredible”).

Individual evidence

↑ Wolfgang Pfeifer: Etymological Dictionary of German, 2005 (8th edition, Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, ISBN 3-423-32511-9 ), p. 1326, article “Spinett”: “From Italian etymologists as an education for the name of an inventor Giovanni Spinetti explained; but perhaps rather as a derivative of the Latin spina, the sting, the thorn. "
↑ Meyers Großes Konversationslexikon, 6th edition, 1905–1909, Volume 11, page 101, article "Piano": "The small ones in the form of a table were called Spinett (French Épinette, after the Venetian piano maker Giovanni Spinetti, around 1500)"
↑ Quoted: “The spinet received its name from the inventor of the oblong form, Master Giovanni Spinetti, a Venetian; and I saw such an instrument in the hands of Frencesco Stivori, organist of the illustrious municipaly of Montagnana and it bore this inscription: JOANNES SPINETUS VENETUS FECIT. AD 1503. ", cit .: James, Philip: Early Keyboard Instruments. London 1930, p. 23. ( Memento of March 16, 2007 in the Internet Archive )

personal data
SURNAME	Spinetti, Giovanni
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Spinetus, Johannes
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Italian piano maker
DATE OF BIRTH	15th century
DATE OF DEATH	16th Century

[1] Wolfgang Pfeifer: Etymological Dictionary of German, 2005 (8th edition, Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, ISBN 3-423-32511-9 ), p. 1326, article “Spinett”: “From Italian etymologists as an education for the name of an inventor Giovanni Spinetti explained; but perhaps rather as a derivative of the Latin spina, the sting, the thorn. "

[2] Meyers Großes Konversationslexikon, 6th edition, 1905–1909, Volume 11, page 101, article "Piano": "The small ones in the form of a table were called Spinett (French Épinette, after the Venetian piano maker Giovanni Spinetti, around 1500)"

[3] Quoted: “The spinet received its name from the inventor of the oblong form, Master Giovanni Spinetti, a Venetian; and I saw such an instrument in the hands of Frencesco Stivori, organist of the illustrious municipaly of Montagnana and it bore this inscription: JOANNES SPINETUS VENETUS FECIT. AD 1503. ", cit .: James, Philip: Early Keyboard Instruments. London 1930, p. 23. ( Memento of March 16, 2007 in the Internet Archive )