Johannes Zumpe
Encyclopedia
Johannes Zumpe ' onMouseout='HidePop("4090")' href="/topics/Fürth">Fürth
, Free Imperial City of Nuremberg
, modern Germany, buried 05 Dec 1790, London
, UK) was a leading maker of early English square piano
s, a form of rectangular piano
with a compass of about five octave
s. The pianos sounded like mellow harpsichord
s, and had a damper stop in the left cheek of the case.
. He was one of the “twelve Apostles”, German makers of keyboard instruments who fled to London at the time of the Seven Years War. He worked briefly for Burkat Shudi
, before setting up his own shop “at the sign of the Golden Guittar” in Princes Street, Hanover Square, in 1761.
From 1769 until 24 September 1778, Zumpe was in partnership with Gabriel Buntebart. Meincke Meyer joined Zumpe in 1778. The business was taken over in 1783 by Frederick Schoene, who advertised his piano-making firm as "Successors to Johannes Zumpe".
Zumpe married Elizabeth Beeston on 3 December 1760. His will, dated 1784, gives his address a Queen Charlotte Row in the parish of St Mary-le-Bow.
from its formerly predominant position.
Johann Christian Bach
performed on a Zumpe instrument, and possibly acted as a sales agent for Zumpe pianos. Although most famous for his square pianos, other Zumpe instruments survive, including full-sized pianos, harpsichords, an English guitar of 1762, and a mandora of 1764.
Action parts:
Fürth
The city of Fürth is located in northern Bavaria, Germany in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the two cities being only 7 km apart....
, Free Imperial City of Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
, modern Germany, buried 05 Dec 1790, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, UK) was a leading maker of early English square piano
Square piano
The square piano is a piano that has horizontal strings arranged diagonally across the rectangular case above the hammers and with the keyboard set in the long side. It is variously attributed to Silbermann and Frederici and was improved by Petzold and Babcock...
s, a form of rectangular piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
with a compass of about five octave
Octave
In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...
s. The pianos sounded like mellow harpsichord
Harpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
s, and had a damper stop in the left cheek of the case.
Biography
Of German/Saxon origin, Zumpe trained with the Gottfried SilbermannGottfried Silbermann
Gottfried Silbermann was an influential German constructor of keyboard instruments. He built harpsichords, clavichords, organs, and fortepianos; his modern reputation rests mainly on the latter two.-Life:...
. He was one of the “twelve Apostles”, German makers of keyboard instruments who fled to London at the time of the Seven Years War. He worked briefly for Burkat Shudi
Burkat Shudi
Burkat Shudi was an English harpsichord maker of Swiss origin.-Biography:...
, before setting up his own shop “at the sign of the Golden Guittar” in Princes Street, Hanover Square, in 1761.
From 1769 until 24 September 1778, Zumpe was in partnership with Gabriel Buntebart. Meincke Meyer joined Zumpe in 1778. The business was taken over in 1783 by Frederick Schoene, who advertised his piano-making firm as "Successors to Johannes Zumpe".
Zumpe married Elizabeth Beeston on 3 December 1760. His will, dated 1784, gives his address a Queen Charlotte Row in the parish of St Mary-le-Bow.
Pianos
The pianos in Zumpe's style were built from about 1760 to 1800. In Zumpe's day they played a role not unlike the upright piano of today: they were more compact and affordable thant the full-size wing-shaped instrument. As such, they played an important role in the spread of the piano among musicians, particularly amateurs. By the time the last Zumpe pianos were made, the piano had essentially displaced the harpsichordHarpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
from its formerly predominant position.
Johann Christian Bach
Johann Christian Bach
Johann Christian Bach was a composer of the Classical era, the eleventh and youngest son of Johann Sebastian Bach. He is sometimes referred to as 'the London Bach' or 'the English Bach', due to his time spent living in the British capital...
performed on a Zumpe instrument, and possibly acted as a sales agent for Zumpe pianos. Although most famous for his square pianos, other Zumpe instruments survive, including full-sized pianos, harpsichords, an English guitar of 1762, and a mandora of 1764.
Action
The action of these small instruments is known as the "English single" and is unusually simple (for instance, it is far simpler than the original piano action as invented by Bartolomeo Cristofori.) It consists of a small "sticker" simply pushing up on a hammer, while a rod passing through the hitch pin plank lifted up a damper lever hinged from a rail attached to the spine. The action is illustrated below.- key; the portion pressed by the player is on the far right
- jack; a wire with leather stud on top, known by the workmen as the "old man's head"
- whalebone rear guide, projects from the end of the key, works in a groove to keep the key steady
- hammer; strikes the string to produce sound
- whalebone jack, called the mopstick
- damper; when in lowered position stops the sound of the string
- whalebone damper spring