Tyrolean instrument maker Herbert Kuen donated an exquisite selection of his historical keyboard instruments to the Tyrolean State Museum in 2023. He has been building organs, harpsichords and clavichords based on historical models for decades, but always with a very personal touch, and has achieved mastery and international renown in this field. His creative urge is unbroken.
In keeping with tradition, we present Herbert Kuen’s latest instruments: The first is a clavisimbalum, a free replica based on the construction drawings in Arnault de Zwolle’s treatise from 1440. The clavisimbalum is an early precursor of the harpsichord from the Gothic period, in a sense the ancestor and progenitor of this type. Secondly, we present a new polygonal Italian spinet, a replica of a 17th century instrument in the Leipzig Museum of Musical Instruments from the workshop of an unknown master.
The Tyrolean keyboard master Michael Schöch will play these two instruments as part of the presentation, supported by the baroque violinist Annelie Gahl and Alexandra Lechner on the violone.