Maker: Alec Hodsdon

Type: Harpsichord

Date: 1939

Serial No.: n/a

Measurements: n/a

Details:

It has a mahogany case and a fully wooden frame. The range is 5 octaves (FF to g’’’ / 63 notes) and there are five choirs comprising one 16-foot stop, three 8-foot stops and one 4-foot stop.

The 16-foot stop is an addition by Hodsdon perhaps to extend the variety of tone colours as well as the power beyond that of an original Kirckman harpsichord. It has four machine stops – an invention of the late 18th century – that facilitate the player to change registers more quickly together with hand stops.

Led by the French-born musician and instrument maker Arnold Dolmetsch in England, the dawn of the 20th century saw a revived interest in early musical instruments alongside the emergence of period performances, thus opening the door for modern makers to replicate historical instruments and to innovate modern features for the harpsichord.

This two-manual harpsichord made by Alec Hodsdon in 1939 is possibly the earliest extant non-Dolmetsch English “revival period” keyboard. The inscription on the nameboard reads “Alec Hodsdon Lavenham ᐧ Suffolk fecit anno 1939”. It is most likely modelled after designs of Jacob Kirckman – one of England’s most important harpsichord makers from 1750 to the 1800s.

Whilst we find characteristics of Dolmetsch-period instruments in this harpsichord, there are also unusual features, such as a 16-foot stop, that lend to instruments constructed later in the century in the post-war period.

An advert for Hodsdon harpsichords in The Musical Times in 1945 describes their keyboards as “made to balance with modern string-tone”.

This unique instrument was generously gifted by Daniel Flew and Cesar Hernandez in June 2025 for the purpose of being restored.

Unrestored; in need of restoration.