The Blue Harpsichord

There are some historical keyboard instruments that immediately attract attention because of their decoration. The 1741 harpsichord by Christian Zell, now preserved at the Organeum, is one of them.

It is blue.

That may sound like an unimportant observation, but the colour is actually part of the instrument's history. The blue exterior is not a modern museum makeover or an eccentric twentieth-century choice. The surviving documentary evidence shows that the harpsichord was already described as blue in 1749, only eight years after Zell made it.

The instrument therefore gives us a wonderful glimpse into a world in which an expensive harpsichord could be not merely a musical instrument, but also a highly decorative object.

Christian Zell and the Hamburg tradition

Christian Zell was one of the most important harpsichord makers working in eighteenth-century Hamburg. He is believed to have been born around 1683 and was established in Hamburg by 1722, when he took over the workshop of Carl Conrad Fleischer.

Only three harpsichords by Zell survive today: one from 1728 in Hamburg, one from 1737 in Barcelona, and this instrument of 1741 in Weener.

The survival of three instruments from the workshop of a maker active over several decades is remarkable. More remarkable still is the condition of the Weener instrument. The Organeum describes it as the oldest instrument in its collection and as an important example of Baroque harpsichord making.

Made for an East Frisian prince

The 1741 harpsichord was made in Hamburg for Carl Edzard, the last prince of East Frisia, whose reign lasted from 1734 until his death in 1744.

It was therefore a court instrument, made for an aristocratic environment in which music, architecture, furniture and visual decoration were closely connected.

After Carl Edzard's death, the harpsichord remained in Aurich. Remarkably, it stayed there for approximately 220 years, helping to explain why so much of its original material survives.

This is one of those rare cases where an instrument's history has helped preserve it.

Rather than passing through numerous owners who might have modernised, redecorated or rebuilt it, the Zell remained in East Frisia for generations.

And then there is the blue

Look at the photographs and the first thing that catches the eye is the colour.

The case and its stand are painted a striking blue, contrasting with the warm natural wood of the keyboard area and the red-painted interior. The legs and architectural mouldings continue the blue scheme, with decorative gilding providing an additional layer of visual richness.

But we don't have to speculate about whether this colour is historically appropriate.

A remarkable advertisement from 1749 in an Aurich advertisement, preserved in connection with the instrument's history, describes it only a few years after it was made.

It describes the instrument and its stand as ‘blau lackieret’, with the mouldings, sides and hooks finely gilded, and the interior painted red.”

So the blue is not simply decorative. It is documented history.

A fashionable eighteenth-century object

The colour tells us something about the way harpsichords were perceived.

We can easily imagine an eighteenth-century keyboard instrument as a piece of furniture made from beautifully figured wood, perhaps decorated with marquetry or painted scenes. But lacquered and brightly coloured instruments were an important part of the visual culture of the period.

Hamburg harpsichords in particular could be lavishly decorated. Zell's famous 1728 instrument in Hamburg is covered with elaborate lacquer decoration influenced by the European fascination with East Asian art. The original ground colour of that instrument was also apparently a brilliant blue, although later changes to the lacquer have altered its appearance.

The Weener harpsichord is therefore part of a much wider tradition in which the keyboard instrument was expected to be visually impressive as well as musically sophisticated.

A surprisingly complete survivor

The real importance of the Weener Zell, however, lies beneath its striking exterior.

The instrument is a single-manual harpsichord with a compass from C to d³. It has two 8-foot registers, a 4-foot register and a lute stop.

Even more excitingly, many of its components remain original.

The original soundboard has survived and, according to the available documentation, has never been removed. The jacks, jack rails, tuning pins, keys and register mechanism are also original. The jacks of the 4-foot register occupy the unusual position between the two 8-foot registers.

For anyone interested in how an eighteenth-century harpsichord was actually constructed, this makes the instrument exceptionally valuable.

It is not simply an old case containing modern mechanisms. It preserves a substantial amount of the original working instrument.

A painted soundboard

There is another unusual feature: the soundboard itself is painted.

This is particularly interesting because the soundboard is not merely a structural component. It is one of the most acoustically important parts of a harpsichord. Here, however, it was also part of the instrument's decorative conception.

The soundboard has survived in its original condition. Its surface treatment has led to speculation that Zell may have been responding to the relatively harsh climate of East Frisia.

Whether or not that was the reason, it demonstrates how closely construction, decoration and environment could be intertwined in historical instrument making.

What did it sound like?

The 1749 advertisement gives us an unusually tantalising description: the instrument was said to have a “very strong and pleasant tone.” 

Modern recordings and sampling of the instrument suggest a rather different quality from the stereotype of a thin, brittle harpsichord. The instrument has been described as having a singing, graceful and playful tone, with considerable colour available from its different register combinations.

That is an important point.

Zell's instruments are famous not simply because they survive, but because of the quality of their sound. His 1728 harpsichord in Hamburg has long been regarded as an important model for modern makers, particularly because of its rich and singing tonal character.

The Weener instrument allows us to hear that tradition in another, slightly later example.

A rare glimpse of eighteenth-century taste

Perhaps the most fascinating thing about the blue Zell harpsichord is the way it brings together several different aspects of eighteenth-century culture.

It was:

• a sophisticated musical instrument;

• a luxury object made for a princely court;

• a piece of furniture;

• an object of visual display;

• an example of Hamburg craftsmanship;

• and, eventually, an extraordinary survivor of East Frisian history.

The blue paint is therefore much more than a colour.

It tells us that eighteenth-century musicians did not necessarily expect their instruments to disappear visually into the furniture. A harpsichord could be an object of colour and spectacle, just as much as a cabinet, painting or piece of court furniture.

And standing today in the Organeum in Weener, the blue case makes the instrument remarkably easy to imagine in its original setting.

Eight years after Zell completed it, someone in Aurich was advertising this very instrument as a beautiful, well-maintained harpsichord with a strong and pleasant sound — blue on the outside, red within, and finely gilded.

Nearly three centuries later, it is still blue.

And that may be one of the most charming things about it.

Christian Zell, Hamburg, 1741One manual, C–d³Two 8′ registers, 4′ register and lute stopOriginally made for Carl Edzard, Prince of East FrisiaNow in the collection of the Organeum, Weener

The Organeum's own catalogue entry for the instrument is particularly useful for anyone wanting to explore the instrument further.