Famous Instruments in History: The "Arpicembalo" by Bartolomeo Cristofori

Blogger: Amber Lemus

Today in our series on famous instruments in history, we come to the "Arpicembalo" by Bartolomeo Cristofori, otherwise known as the first piano ever invented. 

Bartolomeo Cristofori
Public Domain

Bartolomeo Cristofori was born in Padua in the Republic of Venice on May 4, 1655. His early life is a mystery, although we do know that he was recorded as a member of the household of Nicola Amati in the1680 census, which has led some to believe that he was apprenticed under this famous Violin maker. 

Bartolomeo's story really begins in 1688 at the age of thirty-three. Prince Ferdenando de Medici was searching for a new technician to maintain his many instruments. His previous technician had recently died, and the prince was well-known as a lover and patron of music. How he came across Bartolomeo is quite unknown and not recorded in any history. However, he recruited Cristofori as his new technician, persuading him to take the job with a high salary. According to an interview for a journal at the time, which is one of the only insights we have into Cristofori's life, he really didn't want the job, but Prince Ferdenando de Medici was insistent on wanting no one else but him. Circumstantial evidence indicates that the Prince must have known him as not only a skilled musical technician, but also as a tinkerer and inventor. 

At any rate, Cristofori did accept the job and moved to Florence a month or two later to begin his work. While there, he maintained, transported instruments, kept them in tune, did restoration work on older harpsichords, and on top of all that, experimented with his own instruments. 

The first official record we have of what is known today as the Piano was from an inventory list of the Medici in 1700 which stated: 

An "Arpicembalo" by Bartolomeo Cristofori, of new invention that produces soft and loud, with two sets of strings at unison pitch, with soundboard of cypress without rose..."

Another document referring to this instrument had a note in the margins from the musicians of the Medici court:

 These are the ways in which it is possible to play the Arpicimbalo del piano e forte, invented by Master Bartolomeo Christofani [sic] of Padua in the year 1700, harpsichord maker to the Most Serene Grand Prince Ferdinand of Tuscany. (transl. Stewart Pollens)

It is from this longer reference to the instrument, the Arpicimbalo del piano e forte, that we took "piano forte" and later just "piano" for this instrument. Cristofori went on to make many pianos, selling some of them to high-profile patrons such as the king of Portugal.  Cristofori outlived Prince Ferdenando de Medici but continued working for the Medici court for some time afterward. He also apprenticed a young man by the name of Giovanni Ferrini, who went on to become a famous instrument maker himself, continuing his master's legacy. However, Cristofori and his apprentice must have had a bit of a falling out before his death, because rather than Ferrini assisting him in his sickness and end-of-life care, it was a group of sisters he referred to as the "Dal Mela sisters". He changed his will from bequeathing all his tools to Ferrini and instead left almost everything to the sisters and only a small sum for his apprentice. 

Cristofori died at the age of seventy-five on January 27, 1731, in Florence. 

We don't know how many instruments Cristofori crafted during his lifetime, but three of his pianos still survive today, including this one from the Metropolitan Museum in New York which was made in 1720.

The 1720 Cristofori piano in the Metropolitan Museum in New York
By Shriram Rajagopalan
 - Flickr: Met-32, CC BY 2.0, 

As a lover of piano music and an amateur player myself, I am grateful to Barolomeo Cristofori for his contribution to the world of music through the invention of this beautiful instrument.

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Two-time winner of the Christian Indie Award for historical fiction, Amber Lemus inspires hearts through enthralling tales She has a passion for travel, history, books and her Savior. This combination results in what her readers call "historical fiction at its finest".  

She lives near the Ozarks in her "casita" with her prince charming. Between enjoying life as a boy mom, and spinning stories out of soap bubbles, Amber loves to connect with readers and hang out on Goodreads with other bookish peoples.

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