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2007 Rosamond Harding -- author and musicologist
2006 Transition from Harpsichord to Pianoforte - the Important Role of Women An examination of the crucial role played women musicians in the latter half of the eighteenth century when the square piano became so popular, working from primary sources to show that at least eighty per cent of active keyboard players (both harpsichord and pianoforte) were female. This paper was given by Michael Cole at the conference at Michaelstein in 2002 and is now published in Geschichte und Bauweise des Tafelklaviers at 34.80 Euros. About half the texts are in German and half in English. See www.kloster-michaelstein.de for further details of contents etc.
2004 The PANTALON -- and what it tells us This paper, given at the Conservatoire, Lausanne in 2002, traces the origins of the keyboard instruments commonly seen in eighteenth century German-speaking regions, that were similar to pianos, but tonally and conceptually very distinct. Made with hard wooden hammers and usually fitted with a harp stop and a moderator (sourdine) but no dampers in the ordinary sense, they gave rise to a distinct manner of performance, with tonal parameters that resulted in a very different style of performance from anything we are acquainted with today, and impossible to achieve on the ubiquitous Walter-style fortepianos of the Viennese school. Published in Instruments à claviers - expresivité et flexibilité sonore info@hamoniques.ch |
The identity of Rosamond Harding, author of
a ground-breaking book on the history of the piano (1933), was an intriguing mystery
which Michael Cole has recently resolved with an extensive account of
her life and work, published in the
Galpin Society Journal,
2007, pages 71-84. |
2001
Exhibition Catalogue:
SQUARE PIANOS in RURAL
PENNSYLVANIA This is a commentary on ten square pianos exhibited at Moravian College, Bethlehem, PA in October 2000, made or used in Pennsylvania before 1840. This exhibition, the first of its kind, was organised by Dr Paul Larson, and the catalogue was edited by Dr Carol Trautmann-Carr. An essay by Laurence Libin, Curator at the Metropolitan Museum, New York, gives copious information about the social and cultural background in which the pianos were produced. 2000 What is a Pianoforte? A paper given at the 'Piano 300' conference at National Music Museum, South Dakota, to mark the 300th anniversary of Cristofori's invention. As the proceedings of this conference have remained unpublished for ten years, Michael Cole plans to put a shortened version of his contribution on this website sometime soon. |
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2000 The Pianoforte in England and France. Two new entries, completely rewritten by Michael Cole are now published in the New Grove Dictionary 2000.The first covers the early piano developments up to1800, and the following section takes the story on to the mid nineteenth century. These new entries correct numerous errors in earlier editions. |
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2000
The Twelve Apostles? [An inquiry into the origins of the English Pianoforte] Published in the Early Keyboard Journal Vol. 18 by the Southeastern Historical Keyboard Society, this forty-page essay had its origins in a paper given at Edinburgh in 1995. It re-examines the basis of various myths and legends that have grown up around this subject over the last 150 years and exposes their many errors. The principal findings are that there is no evidence whatsoever to support the oft-stated theory the English piano trade was dependant on the earlier work of Gottfried Silbermann in Saxony; nor is there any evidence to show that a party of craftsmen associated with his workshop migrated to London as a consequence of the Seven Years' War. A wealth of new information [i.e. new at that time] reveals the true origins of the craftsmen who were prominent in London between 1750 and 1800. www.ekjournal.org |
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1997
Tafelklaviere in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum In the absence of any catalogue or accurate checklist from Nuremberg this 25-page essay is the only available description of the holdings of this museum's vast collection of square pianos and related instruments. Published in the Galpin Society Journal this paper was intended as a preliminary report on this much neglected aspect of musical heritage in Germany, using data collected personally by Michael Cole during a six-day visit in 1995. Briefly the study is limited to the origins of four types of German square piano, which apparently arose quite independently in different geographical areas, but all around 1760-1770. |
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1995 Adam Beyer, Pianoforte Maker. This paper originally published in the Galpin Society Journal 1995 is now available to read on this website [click here]. Adam Beyer's superbly crafted instruments and their numerous innovations are fully described in this paper, intended for a specialist readership. It also gives copious biographical information which seems to disprove the frequently stated but unsupported assertion that Beyer was a Saxon immigrant who arrived in London in 1760, in a mythical party of twelve piano makers. He was certainly working as an organ builder in London in the 1750s, only later founding his own piano-making workshop in 1768. A Handel Harpsichord |
| 1993 Published in Early Music Vol. XXI, no.1, this paper examines the harpsichord by William Smith, presented to the Bate Collection in 1990 showing how uniquely it corresponds with the instrument shown in the most authentic surviving portrait of Handel [by Philip Mercier, c.1728]. The article also examines Handel's connection, real or supposed, with other harpsichords, and concludes that this simple instrument shows us that whatever else Handel owned or used at various times, he did not have a large double manual Ruckers harpsichord, and that on the evidence of Mercier's painting the William Smith instrument could be the composer's own working keyboard, used for everyday composition. |