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Join Cesar Hernandez for a one-hour experience in our sumptuous Withdrawing Room, including an overview of the harpsichord, its musical capabilities, tuning, and some of the conservation techniques involved in maintaining this instrument. Cesar will play a couple of pieces, then attendees will have the opportunity to play a short piece themselves, supervised by Cesar. A rare opportunity to play our original Jacob Kirkman harpsichord, c. 1770. Kirkman was one of the finest makers of harpsichords in the world. He became maker to the queen in 1763. There are few instruments that have survived until today, and normally they are not available to the public to play, except for on this special occasion.
Please Note: This ticket includes a glass of white wine or soft drink alternative in the Servants Hall following the event.
Due to the nature of this event and the limited capacity, we are unable to offer refunds with less than 48 hours’ notice.
Cesar Hernandez is a conservator and tuner specialised in early keyboards. He is the curator of the Richard Burnett collection (former Finchcocks collection), in Kent. He has participated in the restoration of the Australian First Fleet piano and some other important instruments for museums and private collections. In the last year he has tuned fortepianos and harpsichords for Bath, Cheltenham, Tetbury and Malta music festivals, and for independent recordings and videos. He was trained by Lucy Coad at her workshop in Bath and by the Finchcocks charity, and he is undertaking a degree in physics at the Open University, UK. He offers general advice on conservation of early keyboards through his website fortepiano.co.uk.