Bartolomeo Cristofori Essay Example

This précis summarizes pages 7 through 16 and 27 through 30 of James Parakilas' Piano Roles. 

The piano was completed in 1700 by Bartolomeo Cristofori, but stringed keyboard instruments were not a new concept. The piano had many predecessors, including but not limited to spinets, virginals, clavichords, and harpsichords. 

Despite not having a patent on his design, Cristofori turned to Scipione Maffei to publish detailed descriptions of the construction of the instrument so instrument makers far and wide could recreate it. In 1711,  Scipione Maffei published extensive and favourable writings on the piano, specifically a detailed comparison of the piano to the harpsichord, which would be translated to German and republished in 1725. Although the piano wasn’t a new concept, this iteration of it offered superior musicality to its predecessors; being capable of layering phrases and offering dynamic variation as could string instruments or a vocalist might. This also allowed the piano to meet the demands of the “great stylistic revolution” of the time which is now known as baroque music. To emphasize the piano’s greatness, Maffei compared the harpsichord to the piano because it could not compare. 

Being fortunate enough to be in the service of a rich and music-loving prince,  Cristofori had the luxury to build more pianos, adapting and developing his original design as he proceeded. He trained assistants, some of whom would carry on his project in their own workshops. His connection to a prominent royal patron enabled him to sell a few of his pianos to distant monarchs, although his capacity to make a profit off the piano was severely limited because of the time period in which he lived. 

Cristofori gave the musical world a keyboard instrument with a hammer action that was reliable and offered variety to  the volume of sound produced. The weight of the player’s finger on the piano key sent the hammer to strike the string with corresponding speed. The depressing of the key raises the jack to push up the lip under the intermediate lever, the left end of which touches the hammer shank, pivoted at the left. The lever pushes the hammer shank hard enough to send the hammer flying to the string. As the key rises, the spring on the jack and the key’s motion combine to move the jack sideways so that it misses the lip’s return to rest. When the key is released, the spring returns the jack to its usual position under the lip. The check catches the hammer as it falls back from the string, releasing it when the key is released. The right end of the key as it rises pushes up the damper from the string and gravity makes the hammer bounce away from the string after striking it, as needed to allow the string to keep vibrating. With less weight on the key, the hammer will move slower and produce a softer sound after striking the string and similarly a heavier strike would result in the hammer moving faster, hitting harder and ultimately producing a louder sound enabling a performer to make subtle gradations (with practice and sensitivity) as could a singer or violinist. Although the harpsichord could not produce such differences in volume, the clavichord could, making it better suited for solo performance and accompanying soft singing (so as to not be drowned out by the singer). As did the clavichord, Cristofori’s pianos too struggled with softness, according to detractors. Cristofori’s use of hammers posed unique design challenges. After making numerous adjustments to the design including modifying string strength and tension, the case, inserting an inner lining, a rail to support the outer strings, a bridge and a stout block, the Cristofori’s piano truly resembled the image Maffei painted of it.