Construction of 4 prototype Neapolitan harpsichords
The completed
rosette with its upper rings in place in the soundboard of the instrument.
All four rosettes were made by Willie Hendry.
The style of the roses in most Neapolitan and Sicilian harpsichords seems to be fairly standard. There is a part of the rose glued to the top of the soundboard and this is either in several layers of parchment dyed different colours or, as here in only two layers of the same colour. Onto the top surface of these layers are glued one, two or three rings.
There is also then a part glued to the underside of the soundboard, and this is often of a deep, layered, 'birthday cake' type of construction. This kind of rose is often found, for example, in the instruments of Onofrio Guarracino.
Sometimes, however, these lower layers are made of extremely thin layers of wood glued onto a layer of parchment as support. The lower central layers are glued to the bottom surface of the soundboard. In the roseettes in our instruments this is the type that Willie Hendry has made for us.
For both the part glued to the top of the soundboard and the part glued to the lower surface fo the soundboard, the top layer in each case is extremely fragile and delicate and, once cut out is glued onto the next layer. The lowest layer of the central wooden section contains the most detail, and requires some of the finest cutting.