Eileen and I took the entire day yesterday and drove to Detroit and back to bring my harpsichord back to Holland. Weirdly, Christopher Brodersen did not have the instrument entirely ready to put in my rented van. This was after he had requested that I come before  noon to pick it up.

However, It was helpful for him to walk me through the adjustments in the jacks that will probably be necessary as I use the instrument.

His disdain for my old harpsichord was palpable. In reassembling some of the instrument as we watched, I’m not sure he wasn’t doing a small bit of damage as  he drilled new holes for screws to hold the board that lays just below the keyboard. This did not hold. This little strip came off as Eileen and I were lugging the harpsichord into the church.

He also had to re-secure the keyboard itself to the instrument, again drilling new holes. I’m pretty sure he put it back in a slightly different place than it was originally. I also noticed a crack in the wood under the keyboard.

This clunky old Zuckerman is almost fifty years old so any use I can get out of it is a small miracle. I have always liked the sound of it. But Brodersen with a smirk as we were leaving offered to take me into the basement of his home so I could hear a historic instrument. I thanked him but declined replying that I knew what they sounded like, I just couldn’t afford one.

It remains to be seen how usable my instrument will be. Brodersen “voiced” all the plectrum and also weighted the keys, removed some felts to allow a deeper dip (which I thought was a bit odd). I have hopes I can play some literature on it as well as use it in ensembles. Time will tell.