London Met Repository

The English wing spinet of the 17th and 18th centuries: with special reference to the extant Haward spinets indtroducing newly discovered evidence for Samuel Pepys' Haward spinet and Queen Anne's Haward spinet

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Wilson, Charles West (2021) The English wing spinet of the 17th and 18th centuries: with special reference to the extant Haward spinets indtroducing newly discovered evidence for Samuel Pepys' Haward spinet and Queen Anne's Haward spinet. Masters thesis, London Metropolitan University.

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Abstract

The wing spinet, evidently introduced to England in 1663 by its acknowledged inventor, Gerolamo Zenti, displaced the virginal in the 1680s and was, in turn, displaced by the square piano a century later. A breakdown of the instrument’s form into four chronological groups is proposed. Prior literature has focused primarily just on two of the spinet’s major makers, Stephen Keene and Thomas Hitchcock, of the middle years and earlier. This study examines in detail the heretofore under-researched surviving spinets of the earliest maker, Charles Haward, and compares his instruments to some of those of the two other early shops of Stephen Keene and John Player.

One of Haward’s six extant spinets is shown to have been largely constructed by the inventive septuagenarian, John Haward, shortly before his death in 1667 and then completed by Charles Haward in 1668. Direct and circumstantial evidence is shown to support this conclusion and also Samuel Pepys’ purchase and ownership of this spinet from July 1668. It is shown to have been a stand-alone instrument and not, as claimed, one of several built speculatively at this early date. A hiatus of, perhaps, 10 to 15 years between the finishing of this spinet and the dawn of commercial spinet production is shown. Newly discovered information about Queen Anne's Haward spinet is introduced. It is shown to have been a spinet, and not a virginal. A case is made that it still exists and it is one of three spinets we are examining here.

Tonal considerations are analyzed — in particular, comparable string lengths and plucking points. Visual aesthetics, particularly important for spinets, are discussed as well as the importance of the English trestle to their design. Spinets from Ireland, Scotland, and America -- all made in ‘England’ - are referenced as well as one by Jacob Kirkman.

The three-section paper begins with an overview of the known surviving spinets and their makers. It ends with a discussion of the spinet’s inherent pluses and its correctable and non- correctable drawbacks. An optimal design is proposed. A case will be made that the spinet's historic advantages are as relevant today as they were three centuries ago.

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