On May 9,
2019, the book “The Zumpe & Buntebart square piano of the Museu de la
Música de Barcelona” was presented at the Museu de la Música de
Barcelona.
This
publication aims to provide to the specialists and all people in general one of
the most complete and serious studies of the history and meaning of one of the
builders that could be considered as the more revolutionary within the context
of the history of the piano. The book is coordinated by Pablo Gómez Ábalos, who
contributes whit his articles El
pianoforte Zumpe from the keyboard. A study of sources, organological and
biomechanical and An annotated bibliography of Zumpe and his pianoforte. Michael Cole, recognised researcher
and constructor of pianofortes and harpsichords, brings the article Johannes
Zumpe, Gabriel Buntebart and their small pianoforte in context and the piano
restorer, Kerstin Schwarz, describe in detail the restoration in The
restoration of the square piano by Johannes Zumpe & Gabriel Buntebart,
London 1776, Museu de la Música de Barcelona. The book is introduced by an
article by the curator of the museum, Marisa Ruiz Magaldi, which reviews the
history of the museum and the origin of the model Zumpe that concerns us in the
article The Zumpe & Buntebart square piano (1776) of the Museu de la Música de Barcelona. Finally, Gómez Ábalos elaborates a technical sheet of the different
Zumpe pianos mentioned in the book and closes the publication with a
specialized bibliography.
The book is
presented in a careful edition of 276 pages, in 21 x 21 cm. format, which
includes three languages, Catalan, Spanish and English, and black and white
illustrations. The publication is edited by the Museum of Music of Barcelona
and Documenta Universitaria. An electronic version is available on the page of
this publisher.
About the
texts, I would like to highlight some details that I consider specially important. First, it must be said
that they are written with clarity and scientific accuracy, both in terms of
content and references. It may present some difficulties for the
non-specialized reader in piano mechanics issues, since details and lexicon are
very specialized in the descriptions. These descriptions, however, are
essential to contextualize the Zumpe piano within the evolution of the piano.
An
interesting concept that is proposed is the independence of the square piano
between the different types of piano, not simply as one of many historical
experiments or as a temporary model. The square piano is a differentiated
instrument that has its own sound and mechanical characteristics. I want to
remember that, from the first experiments of Zumpe in the decade of the 1760s,
the square piano evolved in parallel to the grand piano and the upright piano
and was made until the end of the 19th century, although sharing technical
innovations with the rest of the pianos. One hundred and forty years of
existence! The current rescue of the square pianos of the late eighteenth and
early nineteenth centuries is recovering for us
some sonorities that had been lost but had been in the minds of many
composers.
The idea
that the piano deserves a differentiated treatment also is linked with the
false theory of the German school derived from Silbermann and exiled in England
due to the Seven Years' War, the romantic myth of the "twelve
apostles". Zumpe was not a disciple of Silbermann and his piano derives
rather from mechanical concepts of his own, closer to the Pantalon and
clavichord. The simple action of a jack directly
on the hammer base simplifies to the maximum a mechanism that Cristofori, Silbermann
and others developed, in which there was an intermediate lever, an escapement and a backcheck. None
of this is found in Zumpe's piano which, however, responds with delicacy to the
dynamic and articulation demands. With a big difference with the modern piano,
of course! The recovery of the escapement and of the intermediate lever, would
derive a few decades later in the double action English mechanism that so much
success would contribute the pianos of Broadwood, Clementi and others. But this
is another business.
Another
idea that emerges is the social element of the Zumpe piano. The simplicity and
size of his instrument made it relatively cheap and appropriate for the middle
classes. It was cheaper than a harpsichord and could be put in a small
space. Thus, their social influence was very high and immediately many builders
get on board to create one of the most important industries of the turn of the
century England. All this corresponds to the social changes of the revolutions
and the pre-eminence of the British Empire in the commercial fields of the
time.
The
restoration of the model of the museum, carried out by Kerstin Schwarz, brings
a lot of additional information to the history of this Zumpe and brings to
light very interesting details. For example, the analysis of some later
modifications indicates that this piano was part of an "organized
piano", that is, a piano mounted on a small organ that could sound
simultaneously or independently. Other things discovered by the restorer are
the interventions and modifications made later to "modernize" the
piano. In its restoration, the original features have been recovered to the
maximum, taking as a model different specimens from other museums in the world.
In summary,
I would say that the reading of this book gives us a broader vision of the
history of the piano and the revision of some topics installed in it. A
recommended publication for all students of music. The next obligatory activity
is to go to the Museum of Music of Barcelona and watch the instrument and
listen to it on the occasions when it is played.
Joan Josep
Gutiérrez, 2019
The book
can be found in specialized bookstores, in the Museum of Music of Barcelona or
on the page www.documentauniversitaria.com
El piano de taula Zumpe & Buntebart del Museu de la Música de Barcelona
El piano de mesa Zumpe & Buntebart del Museo de la Música de Barcelona
The Zumpe & Buntebart square piano of the Museu de la Música de Barcelona
El piano de mesa Zumpe & Buntebart del Museo de la Música de Barcelona
The Zumpe & Buntebart square piano of the Museu de la Música de Barcelona
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