Harpsichord

The harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. Like a pipe organ, a harpsichord may have more than one keyboard manual and harpsichords may have stop buttons which add or remove additional octaves. Some harpsichords may have a lute stop, which simulates the sound of a plucked lute. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism that plucks one or more strings with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic. The strings are under tension on a soundboard, which is mounted in a wooden case; the soundboard amplifies the vibrations from the strings so that the listeners can hear it.

The thing about the harpsichord is, the harpsichord is known as the instrument of death because the notes die, right? You pluck them once, there's no sustainment at all. It also was adorned often so that it looked like a coffin. ~ Brian Reitzell

Quotes

• Hannibal Lecter: I prefer the sound and feel of the harpsichord. More alive, the music arrives like experience, sudden and entire. The piano has the quality of a memory.

• "Contorno" (2 July 2015), written by Bryan Fuller, Thomas Harris, Tom de Ville, and Steve Lightfoot, Hannibal, California: Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation

• The thing about the harpsichord is, the harpsichord is known as the instrument of death because the notes die, right? You pluck them once, there's no sustainment at all. It also was adorned often so that it looked like a coffin. Whereas the instrument of life is the organ, because the organ has got this nonstop flow of air. The very first meeting I had for Hannibal, and I only had two, up in Toronto, they asked me, ‘Brian, what instrument would you put with Hannibal Lecter?’ and I said, "The harpsichord".
  • Brian Reitzell, as quoted in "Hiatus Helper: Composer Brian Reitzell Talks the Music of NBC’s Hannibal" (29 August 2014), by Mary Powers, TV Goodness

External links

• Encyclopedic article on Harpsichord on Wikipedia