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Maker: Shudi, Burkat
Single-manual harpsichord, compass F-F, 5 octaves, with 2 x 8’ (unison) stops, no. 260. The underside of the soundboard is inscribed: ‘Burkat Shudi No. 260 Fecit Londini 1751’.
History note: Professor Robin Orr, Cambridge; his widow Doris Orr
Accepted in Lieu of Inheritance Tax by HM Government from the estate of Doris Orr in memory of Robin Orr, Composer, Emeritus Professor and holder of the Chair of Music in the University of Cambridge from 1965-1976, and previously holder of the Gardiner Chair of Music in the University of Glasgow, and allocated to the Fitzwilliam Museum, 2016
Method of acquisition: Allocated (2017-01-21) by H.M. Government
18th Century, Mid
Production date:
AD 1751
This rare instrument, which is signed, dated and numbered ‘260’, is representative of the smaller type of single-manual English harpsichords with which the Museum’s Founder, Viscount Fitzwilliam, would have been familiar. Swiss-born but London-based Shudi was one of the two most prestigious harpsichord builders working in Georgian England. It does not have the swell ‘shutters’ that Shudi patented later on in 1769, nor a second (upper) manual, nor 4 foot stop that larger Shudi (and Shudi / Broadwood) harpsichords have.
Accession number: M.1-2017
Primary reference Number: 214018
Instrument number: 260
Old loan number: AAL.2-2016
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Applied Arts
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Harpsichord" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/214018 Accessed: 2024-11-08 11:37:48
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/214018
|title=Harpsichord
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-08 11:37:48|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
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https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/api/v1/objects/object-214018
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<div class="text-center"> <figure class="figure"> <img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/aa/aa36/large_M_1_2017_201702_adn21_dc2.jpg" alt="Harpsichord" class="img-fluid" /> <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Harpsichord</figcaption> </figure> </div>
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