Peter Barnes Harpsichords

Welcome to my Website. Last updated on 6th July 2020.

My workshop is currently open to visitors by appointment. 

For a virtual visit, take a look at my new video tutorials!: video-tutorials-servicing-and-repairs.php 

Instruments currently for sale:
Delin Flemish Single by Peter Barnes, April 2020.
English Harpsichord by Peter Barnes, 2019.
Bentside Spinet by John Storrs, c.1980.
Spinet by Alex Hodsdon 1956.
Clavichord by John Storrs.
Virginal by Leigh Flanders.
Double Bass after Domenico Montagana c. 1750, made by Peter Barnes in 2018.

Coming shortly: 
Delin Double Manual Harpsichord by Peter Barnes BB-d3 compass, transposing.

Instruments available to commission:
Harpsichords after Gregori, Ruckers, Delin or Thomas Barton. Choice of Single or Double Manuals. Choice of compass and decoration. Specify exactly the instrument that you require! Prices from £8,000.
Delin Flemish Single by Peter Barnes, April 2020.
Harpsichord with 2 x 8' stops with buff. GG-f3 transposing 415/440 with full compass in both settings. This harpsichord has an exceptionally sweet sound with plenty of volume, due in part to the fabulously light French Poplar case and generous soundboard area. 

Decorated soundboard in the style of Albertus Delin c.1750 painted by Jennifer Douglas and case papers in the earlier Ruckers style. Ebony natural keyplates and imitation ivory sharp cappings. 

Case is 213cm long, 89cm wide and 27cm deep. The stand is 73cm high.

Finished on 4th April 2020. 

The asking price is £8,900. 

Delin PB 2020 Back 8'.mp3

Delin PB 2020 Both 8's.mp3

Delin PB 2020 Buff stop.mp3

Currently under construction: 
Delin Double Manual Harpsichord by Peter Barnes. 

BB-d3. Transposing a=415/440. 2x8' with buff stop.

£10,850.                        

English Harpsichord after Thomas Barton by Peter Barnes 2019.

This harpsichord, made by Peter Barnes in 2019, is in the English tradition and is based on the c.1715 bentside spinet by Keene and Brackley and the 1709 harpsichord by Thomas Barton. It has traditional wooden jacks, guides and keyboard, a detachable lid with solid decorative brass-work and a folding music desk. The inside of the case and the nameboard are made from Cedar wood, with cross-banded walnut capping. 

The harpsichord is strung with Malcolm Rose Iron and brass wire, it has 2x8’ stops and a walnut case and stand. The GG - f3 compass transposes A440 / 415 without loss of top or bottom notes. 

The stand detaches from the harpsichord and can be easily taken apart for transport. This harpsichord is 193cm long, 88cm wide and 21cm deep. It has a soundboard painting by Jennifer Douglas which is closely based on the Coston Harpsichord from the Edinburgh University Collection.

This harpsichord is about to come back from an 11 month home hiring and is now available for £8,900.


English Harpsichord 2019.mp3

Leigh Flanders Virginals c.1985.
Transposing keyboard, GG-d3 shower proof cover, turned stand that is easy to dismantle. As seen £1,300 or re-strung and in playing condition £1,800.
Size: 185cm long x 58cm wide x 27cm high, on a stand which is 64cm high.
Bentside Spinet by John Storrs, c.1980.

This spinet has an FF-f3, five octave compass and is strung in iron and brass wire. It cam be tuned to a=415 or 440.
 
The case, music desk and stand are in good condition and are made from solid, waxed poplar, making the instrument very light to carry about. 
The stand is screwed to the case and can be taken apart into three, flat sections for transport.

The spinet is 174cm long, 66cm wide at the widest point, (the back to the treble end of the keyboard,) and 17cm high. The stand is 65cm high. The weight is 22kg plus 3kg for the stand.

In good playing condition. £2,200. 
Special offer price for July 2020.  £1,800.


ZOOM0039.MP3

Bentside Spinet by John Storrs, c.1980.

This spinet has an FF-f3, five octave compass and is strung in iron and brass wire. It cam be tuned to a=415 or 440.
 
The case, music desk and stand are in good condition and are made from solid, varnished poplar, making the instrument very light to carry about. 

The stand can be screwed to the case and can be taken apart into three, flat sections for transport.

The spinet is 174cm long, 66cm wide at the widest point, (the back to the treble end of the keyboard,) and 17cm high. The stand is 65cm high. The weight is 22kg plus 3kg for the stand.

This instrument comes with some spares and a tuning key. In good working order £1,800
Bentside Spinet by Alex Hodsdon 1956.

This spinet has an C-e3, 4 1/4 octave compass and was restrung in Malcolm Rose iron and brass wire in 2015. It cam be tuned to a=415 or 440.
 
The case, music desk and stand are in good condition and are veneered in Walnut and Satinwood.
 
The solid Walnut stand can be taken apart into three, flat sections for transport.

The spinet is 175cm long, 62cm wide at the widest point, (the back to the treble end of the keyboard,) and 19cm high. The stand is 65cm high. The weight is 25kg plus 5kg for the stand.

In good playing condition. £1,800.

Clavichord by John Storrs.

Un-fretted Clavichord with 4 1/4 octave, C-e3 compass. Double strung throughout with new brass wire. The action has been reworked and adjusted by Peter Barnes, Nov 2019. Light and portable and in full playing order complete with stand. 
Size: 120cm long, 44cm deep and 13cm high. The weight is 20kg plus 3kg for the stand.

£1,350. July 2020 offer price. £1,100.

ZOOM0038.MP3

Double Bass after Domenico Montagana c. 1750, 
made by Peter Barnes in 2018. 

Maple neck, sides and back, Sitka Spruce table and ebony fingerboard. Weight 9kg.

For sale £2,100.
More details on my Double Bass page: double-bass.php

Good quality Keyboard instruments wanted. 

I am happy to buy your instrument from you, or sell it on commission.

Further details on: selling-your-harpsichord.php



You can contact me by phone on 01373 831498 or (+44)7733619002, or by email peterbarnes850@btinternet.com or via this page: contact-us-and-instrument-transport-links.php





Instruments sold since January 2019:
Single Manual Flemish Harpsichord after Ruckers 1637.  
Made by Michael Johnson 2016. R33

This instrument is closely based on the scaling and plucking points taken from the 1637 Andreas Ruckers in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg, (Inv. No. MIR 1073).
That instrument was used because it is one of the few Ruckers harpsichords that survive almost unaltered.
However the compass has been extended from the original C/E-c3 to GG-d3 chromatic. In order to keep as close as possible to original case dimensions a narrower octave span of 161mm has been used, similar to that of the French makers Taskin and Blanchet.
This instrument has a second rank of 8ft jacks plucking the single 8ft choir plucking to the left and set behind the 4ft choir. That gives the facility to work the same string together with the front 8ft jacks which work in the Ruckers direction. It also enables the 8ft choir to be used solo but plucked in two plucking points in the speaking length.
Keyboard shafts are made from poplar and the naturals are covered with casein ivory; the accidentals are made from ebony.
Beech has been used for the jack blanks and traditional holly for the tongues with peek escapement springs in preference to hog bristle.
The instrument is voiced with acetyl plectra and is strung to work at A415.
It has been strung with Historic Music Wire (p-wire) and with Stephen Birkett brass and red-brass for the bass strings.
The keyboard will transpose in both directions to give A392 and A440, however there is a loss of the endnote in whichever direction the keyboards have been transposed.
The fumed oak apron stand will collapse for more ease of transport.
Dismantled it breaks down to a top apron, a lower leg support frame and six legs.
There is also the matching stool.
The music desk and prop stick are both separate parts and are also made from fumed English oak.
The instrument has a fitted transport cover, tuning key and spare strings, plectra and service kit.


Price: £16,450.00.    No VAT required.

Sold on 3.7.2020

For a music video of this harpsichord see:
Zuckermann Italian Harpsichord c.1975, 
renovated by Peter Barnes 2020.

Light and portable, this single strung Italian harpsichord has 1 x 8 foot stop and a compass BB-e3. It can be transposed for a=440 to a=415 with the loss of the bottom note.This harpsichord has replacement strings, tongues, new Delrin plectra and is in good playing condition. The tone is warm and full, due in part to the earlier replacement solid spruce soundboard and carefully chosen string plan.
The case has been repainted in Farrow and Ball oil paint and measures 183cm long, 84cm wide and 22cm high. It rests on a stand which is 63cm high.

Now Sold.

The video below features this harpsichord:

Zuckermann Italian Harpsichord c.1975.mp3

ZOOM0024.MP3

Part-made Hass Clavichord c.1978

Clavichord case complete with soundboard, keyboard, unpainted lid and full scale technical drawing of Edinburgh University Hass clavichord from which this instrument was made.This is an unfinished, early piece by a professional maker and shows a high standard of workmanship.
The keyboard needs finishing, the case and lid need painting and the stringing and set up has yet to be started. Not a project for the feint hearted!

Available as a finished instrument soon. Price to be decided, c.£2000-£3,000. Now Sold.


Flemish Harpsichord after Albertus Delin c.1750, by Oliver Moor, 2000.

This versatile harpsichord has 2 x 8' stops with buff, GG-e3 compass and is transposing 415/440 with the full compass, and 465 with the loss of the top note. It is strung in Rose Iron and Brass, with Delrin plectra and wooden jacks and registers. It is in full playing condition and is a very useful instrument for concert hiring and professional use.
 
Decorated with traditional soundboard painting after Ruckers, printed case papers and red case paintwork in good condition. 

The case is 215cm long, 91cm wide and 28cm deep.
The stand takes apart into three sections for ease of transport. 


The asking price is £6,400. 
Special offer £5,999 Now sold.

Delin Oliver Moore front8 back8 both.mp3

Small Flemish, Double Manual Harpsichord by Sassmann, c.1980

Measuring only 200cm long x 80cm wide x 27cm high with a cheek which is 68cm long, this harpsichord is on a turned stand which is 62cm high.

2 x 8' and 4' stops with buff on upper manual 8'. 

BB-d3 compass, transposing a=415/440, with full compass in both transpositions.

Blue casework with gold mouldings and red interior in good condition but showing some small blemishes.
Ebony naturals and bone capped accidentals and wooden jacks and guides.

This harpsichord comes supplied with tuning key and a stout canvas cover. The stand can be separated into three, flat sections for easy transport.

This harpsichord is in excellent playing condition and can be seen at various concert venues in February and March with the Armonico Consort:
Poole, 31st January,
Malvern, 8th February,
Yeovil, 11th February,
Cardiff, 6th March.
It is also at concerts in Oxford on 23rd February and Portsmouth on 21st March.
As you can see from this list, it is an excellent little hiring instrument. It has a good, full sound!
It is available from 22nd March 2020.


Sold

Here is a sound file of the Sassmann Double:

ZOOM0023.MP3

Colin Booth Italian Double Manual Harpsichord after Migliai 2008.

Italian harpsichord with 2 x 8' on lower manual and 4' on upper manual. This disposition is traditional and derives from the practice of placing an octave instrument on a larger, 8' pitch harpsichord. These instruments sometimes had coupling devices, and there is a coupler on this instrument in the form of a dogleg on the 4' jacks and a sliding lower manual. There are stop levers for both 8' stops.

The compass is GG/BB short octave to c3 and transposes a=415, 440 and 465.

The bridges and nut are Walnut,the jacks and registers are wooden with a Spruce soundboard in a  Cedar case which measures 226cm long, 81cm wide and 26cm high. The cheek is 59cm long.

The red, painted stand is 228cm long, 83cm wide and  64cm high and has seven turned legs and feet, which can we separated for packing flat. 

This instrument is in showroom condition and has had very little use. The asking price is £16,400. Now Sold.

Harpsichord after Migliai by Colin Booth 2008.

This is what Colin Booth says about this harpsichord:

Two decades ago, while on a visit to the Germanisches National Museum in Nuremberg, I fell for the 2-manual Italian harpsichord in their collection. At the time the maker was unknown, but Denzil Wraight has since found evidence that it is by the leading 17th century Italian maker Migliai.

This original harpsichord is a light-weight ‘inner’ instrument, housed in an outer case. It has the normal small compass of only C/E short octave to c3, but demonstrates the common interest through Europe in the later 17th century, of either placing a small instrument on top of a large one at normal pitch, or actually building the octave facility into the instrument, using a second keyboard.

This tradition died out after 1700, but even without the presence of a manual coupler, it gives the player a far more interesting variety of timbre than one might expect: it can be found in Italy, France, and in the Netherlands, where the ‘mother and child’ virginal was quite common.

Italian harpsichords had from the start been at the heart of my harpsichord-making, and I quickly decided to build a close copy of the Nuremberg instrument. I incorporated a coupler, and the resulting varieties of tone were even more startling. These are exploited on two CDs:

Frescobaldi- keyboard music SBCD201, and Peter Philips, the English Exile SBCD992.

The sonority was deep and majestic when more than one register was employed, and beautiful and intimate on solo stops. The unique elegance of the instrument was itself highly satisfying.

In 2008, following the sale of the copy, I produced an enlarged version. The compass was extended to the common later 17th century GG/BB short octave to c3, and the keyboards transposed to give A415 / A440 / and A466. (If preferred, the pitch can be lowered by a semitone, to offer A392 instead of the high pitch A466). A lightweight lid system proved adequate as protection, and a full dismantleable table stand seemed justified by the splendid character of this instrument. The nobiliity of tone which was a feature of the copy, was more than equalled in this larger version.

I have recently ended my harpsichord-making, and no longer have a spacious workshop in which to house instruments which are not in immediate use. Hence the need to reluctantly part with what was part of my ‘core collection’. The harpsichord has only rarely been used for concerts, and is in almost entirely perfect and unmarked condition. It is mature, but plectra and strings are almost new.

Italian Harpsichord by Colin Booth, 2018.

This stunning harpsichord is new, and has only been used once - for a hiring with 'The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment'.
Brass Strung, 2 x 8' stops with GG-d3 compass which is transposing 415/440, and to 466 with loss of the top note.
The case measures 218cm long, 86cm wide and 20cm deep and the stand can be taken apart so that it can be laid flat on the instrument for transport. There is a padded cover for the harpsichord and the turned legs.
The case is decorated with marbled paintwork and there is a very decorative rose.

The asking price for this instrument was £11,500.
Sold on Easter Sunday 2020.


French Bentside Spinet by William Groom 1986. Now Sold.

This spinet has fine wooden jacks, registers and keyboard with Bone and Ebony key facings. 
The compass is GG-e3, with iron and brass strings tunable to A=440 or 415. 
It has a solid, turned oak stand, music desk and casework veneered in Maple. 
The case is 180cm long, 68cm deep at the widest point and 27cm high. The stand is 62cm high.
This spinet is in good playing order, but there is some sun damage to the external veneer. 

The asking price is £2,500.
On special offer for 14 days from 13.3.2020: £2,300. Now Sold.
Virginals by Mark Stevenson, 1972, after Ruckers 1598 and 1611.

These virginals are in good playing and decorative order and decorated in dark green with marbled papers. The compass is C-e3 with iron and brass strings. They are currently tuned to A=440 but can also be tuned to A=415. The lid and fall board have removable hinge pins. They sit on a turned beech stand based on the paintings of Vermeere. 

The Virginals are 170cm long, 65cm wide and 22cm high. The stand is 66cm high and has been made in one unit. There is a lightweight cover included with this instrument.

Now sold.

Single Manual Harpsichord after Donzelague by Douglas Hollick 1990.

This harpsichord has blue paintwork, with gold bands and a cream interior and is in very good condition. Owned by a professional musician and recently serviced by Douglas Hollick, this instrument has two 8' stops with a buff. 
The compass is five octaves, FF-f3 which transposes A=440/415(with the loss of the top note at A=440).It has traditional, wooden jacks and registers, pearwood bridge and nut, a decorated soundboard and is strung in brass and iron wire.
The harpsichord is 228cm long, 94cm wide and 30cm high and sits on a stand that is 65cm high. This stand takes apart into three sections for transport.

Now sold.
Clavichord after Anon c.1740 by 

Double-fretted clavichord C-e3 with solid Maple case, lid and stand. In good playing condition. Now sold.

Clavichord by John Morley.
Five octave clavichord, tuned and in full playing order. Rests on four turned legs. Can be seen with owner in Bath, Somerset. Sold.
 Part-made Bentside spinet.

This spinet kit is made in American Walnut with Cedar wood marquetry nameboard and cross banded capping. It is a close copy of an original spinet made by Keene and Brackley in c.1715. (Please see my page keene-and-brackley-spinet-c1715.php for photographs of the original instrument.) 

It can be tuned to A=415/440 and could probably be made into a transposing instrument.

The case measures 180cm x 65cm x 19cm (70" x 25" x 8") and the stand is 65cm  (25 1/2") high and can be easily taken apart into three pieces for transport. The instrument weighs about 25kg.

The photographs below show the kit parts and a spinet made from the same set of parts by myself in 2002. The kit dates from around this time and was made by the Renaissance Workshop Company in Bradford, Yorkshire. It is complete except for hinges and strings. Now sold.
Photograph of spinet made from the same parts:
Photographs of all parts of spinet, showing part made case and part made keyboard:
Details of a finished spinet made from the same parts:
Spinet by John Storrs.

A conveniently small spinet in full working order, suitable for a small Early Music ensemble. C-f3 compass which can be tuned to a=415/440. 
The light, Poplar case measures 116cm long, 61cm at the widest point and 17cm deep. the stand takes apart for transportation. (A previous customer took one of these popular spinets home with her on the train!) 

Sold for £1,150.