The instrument which belonged, once upon a time, to Mary Queen of Scots was not quite so gorgeous. Its case was of oak inlaid with cedar, but it was ornamented with gold and had rare paintings on the case. It was customary to employ the best artists to decorate these instruments, as this greatly enhanced their value. There is a story that Salvatore Rosa, on a wager, made his almost valueless harpsichord worth a thousand scudi by painting a landscape with figures upon the lid.
In July of the year 1701 the London Post had an article relating to virginals which reads: "This week a most curious pair of virginals, reckoned to be the finest in England, was shipped off for the Grand Seigneur's seraglio."
Old Pepys, in his diary, gives a description of the great fire in London which occurred in 1666, in which he says: "The river was full of lighters and boats, taking in goods, good goods swimming in the water; and only I observed that hardly one lighter or boat but that there was a pair of virginals on it." The word "pair" as it is used then had no more meaning than when we now say "a pair of scissors." This extract shows that the instrument must have been almost as commonly used as the piano of our day. In Shakespeare's time it was customary to have a virginal in a barber shop for the entertainment of customers, probably to beguile the weary moments while they waited for the barber to say "next."
Clavichord made by John Christopher Jesse, Germany, 1765
In shape the spinet resembled the harp placed horizontally in the framework. A very good example may be seen at the South Kensington Museum in London. It was made by Rossi, a celebrated manufacturer. The Metropolitan Museum in New York has rare specimens of the harp which were given by the late Mr. Drexel, of Philadelphia, who purchased them in Europe. There are two theories as to the origin of the name "spinet." One is, that it was taken from Spinetti, a Venetian who invented the oblong form of the case. The other is that the strings were made to vibrate by the points of a quill, and that the word "spinet" came from thorn or point.
In tone the spinet was usually a fifth higher than that of the harpsichord, which came into favor during the eighteenth century. The latter was almost exactly like our grand piano, only very much smaller. To Italy has been accorded the honor of its origin, also, away back in the fifteenth century. It was not commonly used, however, until about 1702. A harpsichord on exhibition at the South Kensington Museum in London bears the date of 1521. A step towards the present-day construction of the piano is shown by the fact that there were always two wire strings to each note and sometimes three or four, and that it had a keyboard covering five octaves. It was like an organ in that it had register stops and sometimes a double keyboard.
Hans Ruckers, of Antwerp, was the most celebrated maker of the harpsichord in those days. One of his best specimens belongs to the Drexel collection in New York. Handel delighted in his Ruckers harpsichord and gave it preference over all others, which is adequate proof of its superiority. It was his pleasure to play upon it long after his failing eyesight forbade the use of notes. He had to improvise entirely, but was so expert that the orchestra with whom he played was often diverted by his wonderful accompaniments. This partiality was resented by the soloists and one of them told Handel that if he ever played him such a trick while he was singing, he would jump down on his harpsichord and smash it. This amused Handel immensely and he exclaimed, "You vill jump, vill you? Varey well, sare. Be so kind und tell me ven you vill jump, und I vill advertise it in der bills." We are told that every key of Handel's instrument was hollowed like the bowl of a spoon, so incessant was his practice. One very lovely harpsichord still in existence has its history veiled in mystery, but the supposition is that it once belonged to Marie Antoinette.