Music Lane

Posted by Bambi B (A) on March 23, 2007 at 01:45:31

In Reply to: I used to Work at Hubbard Harpsichords back in the day.... posted by Bung on March 22, 2007 at 19:02:59:

Bung,

I had no idea you were in the cembalo whittling biz- that's an increasingly rare occupation. - And yes, the hourly wage of even the best builders is quite low, even with the much higher prices now- it's just so labour intensive. There's a lot of parts!

I met Frank Hubbard once in the shop on Tremont St.(?) in Boston (1976 I think it was)- a brilliant fellow. What kind of person was he to work with and how long were you there? Did you continue with any kind of instrument making?

Go, Go - "go-bars" !

I have several friends- well three- which is a lot in the harpsichord world- who are all Dowd fanatics. Another friend has a "William Hyman" French double, which in reality was done by the Hubbard shop to satisfy orders for Hyman after he died. Hyman you may know was the designer of the Zuckeramnn French double. I spent a day in his Hoboken shop on the same trip to the US as when I met Frank Hubbard. He was the most demanding builder I ever met and was actually buyiung up his early instruments and destroying them! He made onlt 6 French doublees per year and whe I was there he was building one for Albert Fuller. Rapheal Puyana was another Hyman devotee. It was a pity and a loss to music when Hyman died so young- and needlessly really. He neglected to take medication for a kidney ailment and went unconscious while driving in Connecticut.

I used to pester harpsichord builders whenever I could- all over the place- Adlam and Burnett in England, David Rubio and so on. I saw Derek Adlam in Italy in 1993 and he is no longer building- too bad too. And he's a very fine clavichordist as well.

Yes,and I agree, "Three Centuries of Harpsichord Making" by Hubbard is still, I feel, the best overall book on harpsichord building. Benefits of a Harvard education,...

Cheers,

Bambi B