Anne Geisendorf, patron of the Cappella Mediterranea ensemble, wishes to establish a collection of instruments of the highest quality to support Leonardo García-Alarcón’s artistic projects.
In 2024, a fund-raising campaign was launched to acquire a Bruce Kennedy harpsichord for Cappella Mediterranea’s instrument collection.
The fundraising campaign was successfully concluded before the summer of 2024 thanks to the tireless efforts of our patron, Anne Geisendorf, and has proudly contributed to the Cappella Mediterranea instrument fund. The instrument was delivered in the spring of 2024. The names of the major contributors are inscribed on a parchment inside the instrument case.
The end of the campaign was celebrated with the opening of Cappella Mediterranea’s new headquarters in Olliet, where the harpsichord is now housed.
A German harpsichord with double keyboards, inspired after M. Mietke (1702–4), by Kennedy Harpsichords.
Bruce Kennedy is a maker of world-renowned harpsichords, famous for their extraordinary sound; these instruments are used in concerts at the most prestigious concert halls and are owned by prominent musicians and leading musical institutions.
The harpsichord commissioned for Cappella Mediterranea is a German harpsichord with double keyboards, inspired after M. Mietke (1702–04), with a range of FF–f”’, a disposition of 2×8′, 1×4′, a buff stop (chamois register), and a pitch of 415 Hz, with a transposing keyboard at 392, 415, and 440 Hz.
The case is finished with a solid cherry wood interior; the exterior is painted black, and the inside of the lid is painted Chinese red. The instrument rests on seven black-painted and gilded trestles.
