The clavisimbalum is a small keyboard, with wire strings, whose mechanism works like a harpsichord. Medieval music specialist Corina Marti says there are no surviving original instruments, but luckily, a 15th century Dutch instrument maker wrote down instructions for how to make one, and musicologists were able to use medieval artwork to help recreate the instrument.
At the Gilmore International Keyboard Festival on May 14, Marti will perform works for clavisimbalum as well as recorder. She talks to Cara Lieurance about the combination of research and imagination required to perform music of sparsely documented traditions. Her Gilmore program will reflect her 2013 release, I dilettosi fiori.
More information about Corina Marti's Gilmore performance, co-presented with the WMU Medieval Institute, can be found here.
