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Clavichords linked to state notable ** Nazareth instrument, two others may be tied to organmaker.

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

Copyright Morning Call Apr 12, 2005

Now that he has seen all three instruments, research curator Laurence Libin believes the only known existing early American clavichords likely have some relationship to famed Pennsylvania organmaker David Tannenberg.

Last fall, Libin, of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, made a significant find: the clavichord that since 1922 had been in Nazareth was almost certainly a Tannenberg. The instrument's construction closely matched that of the only known sketch Tannenberg made of the clavichord, a copy of which Libin had picked up from Winston-Salem, N.C.

More telling, Tannenberg's signature appeared under the soundboard.

Tannenberg, a German immigrant, is best known for the approximately 45 organs he made throughout his life, mostly for Moravian churches.

The discovery prompted Libin to look at the other two known clavichords.

On Friday, Libin examined the clavichord housed at the Schubert Club in St. Paul, Minn. Several weeks earlier, he inspected one housed at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

In both cases, there was no signature or anything to indicate definitively that Tannenberg built the clavichord. But both were more similar to Tannenberg's sketch than the instrument at the Moravian Historical Society in Nazareth, said Libin.

All three appear to have been made from American Black Walnut, a wood native to the Pennsylvania area. While unique in their own ways, "all three share the same fundamental conceptions that I certainly assign to Tannenberg," said Libin.

The clavichord is roughly the size of an electric piano, and uses strings, rather than pipes, to produce a sweet, soft tone. Because of its small size, it was favored by Moravians to practice music in homes or schools.

Libin spent eight hours painstakingly taking much of the instrument apart, measuring and photographing it, said Holly Windle, director of museum education at the Schubert Club.

The Schubert Club purchased the clavichord in 1973 from a local harpsichord-maker.

Though the instruments in Washington and St. Paul have significant differences in dimensions, proportions and length of strings, it's possible Tannenberg made the clavichords at different stages in his life, said Libin.

He hopes to have a symposium next year in which the three clavichords could be brought to a single location, and he and other experts could opine on the Tannenberg issue.

Regardless of the outcome, Windle said the museum considers the instrument a jewel.

"I'm happy to think we have one of three early American clavichords," she said. There's "an excitement to having this part of the early days of America."

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