Polygonal Virginal

A rare early keyboard instrument

The virginal by Ioes Karest (fig.1) occupies a unique place in the history of keyboard instruments. Dated 1548, it is the oldest known Flemish virginal. It is also one of the few polygonal instruments to have been preserved, although several iconographic sources – notably two self-portraits by Catharina de Hemessen and several family portraits signed by Frans Floris and Cornelis de Zeeuw – attest to the use of similar instruments in the mid-sixteenth century.

The instrument bears the signature of Ioes Karest on the board just above the keyboard. Born in Cologne, probably shortly before 1500, the maker is listed as a citizen of the city of Antwerp in 1517. In 1523, he joined the Guild of Saint Luke, a group of Antwerp craftsmen, as a “clavichord maker who carved and painted”. Some thirty years later, in 1558, he was one of ten or so colleagues who signed a petition demanding that keyboard instrument makers be given their own guild and regulations within the Guild.

Construction and materials

From an organological point of view, the Karest virginal straddles the line between German and Italian construction. It prefigures later Flemish virginals, particularly in terms of its internal structure, which could be observed thanks to the X-rays taken by the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (fig.2). In contrast to the solid rectangular virginals built later, its body is made of thin maple walls (5-6 mm) assembled with dovetail joints. These are decorated with Latin inscriptions from Psalm 150 and reinforced at the top and bottom with thick two-tone mouldings. To prevent damage, the virginal was placed in an outer box - which has been miraculously preserved (fig.3).

The range of the instrument is limited, as the keyboard has only 45 keys, or 4 octaves from C/E to c³. Unlike Italian polygonal models, the keyboard is recessed into the body, and the keys are guided by metal points rather than wooden tabs. The natural keys are veneered with boxwood, while the sharps are made of swamp oak.

Decoration and sound

The soundboard is made of softwood. Originally, it was decorated with painted arabesques, traces of which can still be seen (fig.4). Like many keyboard instruments of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, it has two roses - one round, the other ogival - made of gilded parchment cut into cross-shaped motifs.

The strings are missing, but their lengths were relatively short (c²: 292 mm). As in harpsichords, they were plucked by jacks near the left bridge or nut, which would have given the instrument a relatively nasal sound.

Text: Pascale Vandervellen