Clavecin électrique
Encyclopedia
The clavecin électrique (or clavessin électrique) was a musical instrument
invented in 1759 by Jean-Baptiste Thillaie Delaborde
, a French
Jesuit priest. It is the earliest surviving electric-powered
musical instrument, pre-dated only by the Denis d'or
, which is only known from written accounts.
Delaborde described the instrument in his 1761 publication, Le clavessin électrique. The mechanism was based on a contemporary warning-bell device, and the instrument is essentially an electric carillon
. A number of bells, two for each pitch, hang from iron bars along with their clappers (one for each pair). A globe generator charges the prime conductor
and the iron bars. The musician presses a key and one of the bells of the corresponding pair is grounded, cut off from the charge source. The clapper then oscillates between the grounded and the charged bells, producing the desired tone.
The somewhat inappropriate choice of the instrument's name was defended by Delaborde, who claimed that it was far superior to a carillon. He also mentioned that during a performance in a dark room the listener's "eyes are agreeably surprised by the brilliant sparks" that were produced by the instrument. The press and the public admired the innovative machine, but it wasn't developed further. The model Delaborde himself built survives and is kept at the Bibliothèque nationale de France
in Paris
.
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
invented in 1759 by Jean-Baptiste Thillaie Delaborde
Jean-Baptiste Thillaie Delaborde
Jean-Baptiste Thillais Delaborde was a French physical scientist, mathematician and Jesuit priest. He was born in Nevers and began his novitiate in the Society of Jesus on 26 September 1745. Around 1755 he was teaching rhetoric in Amiens...
, a French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
Jesuit priest. It is the earliest surviving electric-powered
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
musical instrument, pre-dated only by the Denis d'or
Denis d'or
The Denis d'or is, in the broadest sense, the first electric musical instrument in history.It was invented and constructed by the Czech theologian Václav Prokop Diviš — his surname is pronounced "Deevish" and often spelled "Divisch" — at his parish in the Moravian town Přímětice near...
, which is only known from written accounts.
Delaborde described the instrument in his 1761 publication, Le clavessin électrique. The mechanism was based on a contemporary warning-bell device, and the instrument is essentially an electric carillon
Carillon
A carillon is a musical instrument that is typically housed in a free-standing bell tower, or the belfry of a church or other municipal building. The instrument consists of at least 23 cast bronze, cup-shaped bells, which are played serially to play a melody, or sounded together to play a chord...
. A number of bells, two for each pitch, hang from iron bars along with their clappers (one for each pair). A globe generator charges the prime conductor
Electrical conductor
In physics and electrical engineering, a conductor is a material which contains movable electric charges. In metallic conductors such as copper or aluminum, the movable charged particles are electrons...
and the iron bars. The musician presses a key and one of the bells of the corresponding pair is grounded, cut off from the charge source. The clapper then oscillates between the grounded and the charged bells, producing the desired tone.
The somewhat inappropriate choice of the instrument's name was defended by Delaborde, who claimed that it was far superior to a carillon. He also mentioned that during a performance in a dark room the listener's "eyes are agreeably surprised by the brilliant sparks" that were produced by the instrument. The press and the public admired the innovative machine, but it wasn't developed further. The model Delaborde himself built survives and is kept at the Bibliothèque nationale de France
Bibliothèque nationale de France
The is the National Library of France, located in Paris. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in France. The current president of the library is Bruno Racine.-History:...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.