Piano harp

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Piano harp, probably Ignaz Lutz, Vienna 1891

The piano harp (sometimes also referred to as a harp piano , English name Claviharp or harp Harpsichord , French Harpe al Clavecin ) is a historical type of harp , the strings of which are torn by a keyboard with pins. It is thus a hybrid between pianoforte and harp, with which on the one hand one wanted to preserve the harp sound and on the other hand make it easier to play with a keyboard.

Piano harps have been mentioned since the 17th century. There is evidence of the development of piano harps by the Württemberg organist Joh. Kurtz in 1681 and Ant. Berger in Grenoble in 1719 . A patent for a piano harp can be found in London in 1813 under the name Clavilyr by Bateman. Initially, however, the instrument was not widely used. That is why Joh. Chr. Dietz in Paris is often wrongly referred to as the inventor of the piano harp. He had his invention protected on February 18, 1814 and his family business continued to build piano harps for several generations. Other builders of piano harps were Elias in Stuttgart (1884), Rud. Grimm in Milan (1884), Caldera and Racca in Turin and Ignatz Lutz in Vienna (1891). However, the instrument could not prevail. The instruments were brought out under different names: Caldera called his piano harp Calderarpa , Beale in London (Cramer. Addington & Beale) chose the name Euphonikon for his piano harp from 1842, which was built in 1842 and featured a triple soundboard and open bass strings and a larger range of seven octaves. Instruments of this type have not been made since the end of the 19th century.

A preserved copy of a piano harp by Johann Christian (III) Dietz can be found in the Museum for Musical Instruments at the University of Leipzig . Further instruments can be found in the Landesmuseum Württemberg in Stuttgart (see picture above) and in the Musical Instrument Museum (Brussels) .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ piano harp. In: Curt Sachs: Real Lexicon of Musical Instruments. Julius Bard, Berlin 1913, p. 217 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ Calerarpa. In: Curt Sachs: Real Lexicon of Musical Instruments. Julius Bard, Berlin 1913, p. 70 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive )
  3. ↑ Euphonikon. In: Curt Sachs: Real Lexicon of Musical Instruments. Julius Bard, Berlin 1913, p. 133 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive )
  4. ↑ Entry in the Austrian Music Lexicon . Retrieved November 9, 2018
  5. ^ Europeana Collection . Retrieved November 9, 2018

Picture gallery

  • Piano harp by Dietz, MfM.Uni-Leipzig

  • Claviharp

  • Harp piano