Clavichord

The clavichord is a stringed keyboard instrument. The origin of word ’clavichord’ is Latin; clavis means key and chordis means strings. The instrument was invented in Europe around the fourteenth century. It even finds mentions in some poetic works of early fifteenth century. This simple instrument produces sound by striking brass or iron strings with small metal blades. The clavichord was popular from sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries. Predominantly, it was popular in German speaking lands like Scandinavia and the Iberian Peninsula. In fact, much of the music written in the period 1400 - 1800 for harpsichord can be played on clavichord. However by the 1840s, the clavichord went out of use. Arnold Dolmetsch can be credited for the modern revival of the instrument around the 1890s. The modern version however is larger as it measures up to seven feet with a six octave range while before the 1730s they had a length up to four feet and had a range of four octaves.

Many modern musicians still harbour an interest in playing the instrument, especially, those interested in renaissance, Baroque and classical music. Some well-known exponents of the clavichord are Derek Adlam, Christopher Hogwood, and Miklos Sp·nyi. Clavichord is also used in other genres, namely rock, albeit in a different avatar, called the clavinet. Primarily a clavinet is an electronically amplified clavichord.