Kennedy Harpsichords is a small workshop in Tuscany, Italy building harpsichords and clavichords after 17th and 18th Century historical models. Our instruments can be found throughout the world and heard on more than 100 recordings. We make a variety of models based on historical examples. Some are rather strict copies while others are loosely based on a ‘school’ of instruments. While listed here are some examples of instruments that have been ordered in the past, in fact, any other model can be considered as we only make one instrument at a time. All instruments are built using only those materials and methods which were standard practice in the 17th and 18th C. This includes wooden jacks, string material composition reproduced after original samples by Oxford University, and when available, Swiss spruce soundboard wood dating from 1650-1775.
Instruments are normally quilled in delrin but may be bird quilled by request. Any decoration is possible. Some of the world’s best artisans are still at work in nearby Florence.
