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1761 instrument found stored in Nazareth ** Clavichord believed to be organmaker's earliest work.

Morning Call - Allentown, Pa. Author: Arlene Martnez Of The Morning Call

Copyright Morning Call Jan 12, 2005

It's believed to be the only existing clavichord David Tannenberg made, the first built in the United States and, if authenticated, the earliest-known musical instrument by the famed 18th century Moravian organmaker.

Though the simply constructed keyboard instrument had been at the Moravian Historical Society in Nazareth since 1922, it was only recently, when a visiting research curator stopped by, that the discovery was made.

Comparing a Tannenberg sketch of a clavichord to the wooden keyboard at the Whitefield House, Laurence Libin, of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, noticed similar features that caused him to pause. The placement of screws was identical, the location of small wooden planks matched.

And most telling of all was the finding of the only signature known to appear on the German native's work: "David Tannenberger, June 1761, bey [of] Bethlehem."

"This is really cool," said Sue Dreydoppel, executive director of the Moravian Historical Society. "Tannenberg scholars have been searching for the Tannenberg clavichord for 40 years at least, and it turns out to be here."

The Tannenberg signature is rare. It is common for instrument makers to sign their work, but in closed Moravian societies such identifiers were discouraged as indicating pride, Libin said. The signature, under the soundboard and seen through pinholes with the help of a flashlight, probably was set in place as the instrument was built, he said.

Tannenberg's name appears in various spellings in historical documents, Dreydoppel said. The spelling -- with "er" at the end -- is another indicator the instrument may be authentic. Were someone to have forged it later, he likely would have printed Tannenberg, Dreydoppel said; it was scholars who standardized the spelling.

Tannenberg is best known for organs he created -- 45 throughout his lifetime -- mostly for Moravian churches in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, New York and Maryland.

The size of a clavichord is roughly that of an electric piano, and its music is produced by strings rather than pipes.

Because the music a clavichord produces is delicate and soft in tone, "it was suitable for children to learn on, not to give concerts on," Libin said. Clavichords could be found in classrooms or Moravians' homes, he said.

Jack Peters of Seattle has used Tannenberg's sketches and written instructions to create seven replicas of the clavichord. But Peters, who reconstructs early keyboard instruments, said the instructions have little detail save for the base. What type of wood was used and the type of strings, for example, are not included.

"It's very significant if they authenticate the label," Peters said.

Libin anticipates the construction of a replica of Tannenberg's clavichord that copies the wood types, the structure and even the uneven angles.

"If we could hear it, we could have some idea of what people were listening to back then," he said.

Nearly half of the instrument's strings were missing, and the wood has weakened to a degree that restoration would be impossible, Dreydoppel said.

On Tuesday, 21st century technology converged with 18th century craftsmanship to assist in creating a replica Tannenberg clavichord.

A coordinate measuring machine, by Faro Technologies, uses reverse engineering to produce 3-D replicas of objects, whose measurements are captured within thousandths of an inch.

Within minutes the machine, brought in at Libin's request, had constructed a computerized sketch of the body of the clavichord by recording dozens of spots throughout the body.

The image, shown inside a perfect rectangle, captured the instrument's 89 degree "right" angles and uneven corners, perhaps caused by wood stretched or tightened by age, or by the human hands that constructed it, technology free, 243 years ago.

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