Harpsichord Frank Hubbard

Rare Frank Hubbard harpsichord in black lacquer and gold fillet resting on five legs Very good general condition Delivery from 100 to 200 euros Born in New York, Frank Hubbard studied English literature at Harvard, obtaining his Bachelor of Arts degrees in 1942 then Master of Arts in 1947. One of his friends was William Dowd, who was interested in ancient instruments and together they built a clavichord. This attendance, and his interest as an amateur violinist in violin making, as well as the location of his reading place at the university library near the shelves of books on musical instruments led him to become interested in harpsichords. historical. While he continued his studies at Harvard, he and William Dowd decided to change paths to devote themselves to instrumental making. In 1947 he left for England to be an apprentice in the workshop of Arnold Dolmetsch in Haslemere. Employed in menial, uninteresting tasks, he was disappointed with this internship, did not learn much about historical harpsichords, and was suddenly fired; In 1948 he joined postman Hugh Gough in London, with whom he worked for a year in a much more interesting manner. During this period, he had the opportunity to visit European collections of ancient keyboard instruments and study the works of historical makers. Gough introduced him to his friend Donald Boalch, author of a monumental repertoire of old harpsichord makers. He studied viola da gamba with Edgar Hunt at Trinity College of Music in London to obtain a GI Bill scholarship; but his activity as an instrument maker hardly allows him to really practice. Historical harpsichords[edit | [edit code] He returned to the United States in 1949 and, in association with William Dowd, created a workshop for making harpsichords according to historical principles and methods and not, as was generally the case at that time among all makers professional, in the style of “modern” harpsichords of the 20th century. They find a market in the restoration of old instruments belonging to public or private collections, which allows them to perfect their knowledge and practice in the design and construction of their instruments. In 1958, they separated and Hubbard established his own workshop in Waltham on the Lyman property while Dowd founded a larger one in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Having become a recognized expert, and thanks to obtaining scholarships, he was able to examine a number of old instruments in Europe, and in 1967, was responsible for the creation of the restoration workshop of the Instrumental Museum of the Paris Conservatory of which he entrusted then the responsibility goes to Hubert Bédard. At the time of the publication of his seminal treatise Three Centuries of Harpsichord Making in 1965, Ralph Kirkpatrick could write: "It is undeniable that he knows more about the history and construction of harpsichords than anyone else alive Today". During the 1970s, he gave courses and lectures at Harvard and Boston. Around 1963, he created a harpsichord, distributed in kit form, a replica of Pascal Taskin's 1769 instrument kept in Edinburgh. He is also an amateur violinist who restores a number of old violins and makes numerous bows for violins and viols, according to models prior to François Xavier Tourte. Frank Hubbard died in Wellesley, Massachusetts in 1976; his workshop continues its activity under the direction of his wife Diane Hubbard.