Steven W. Sørli, Lautenwerk Maker
Table L-4
Sørli with gut-strung clavicytherium (upright harpsichord)
Steven Sørli began his harpsichord-making career in 1971 as an apprentice of the famous Boston harpsichord maker, Frank Hubbard. He quickly became skilled in all facets of the craft and was especially gifted in the art of decoration. Steven set up his own workshop to design, make and adorn harpsichords individually from scratch. His construction process relies on intuition and ingenuity to ensure a serviceable and singular work of art. The sound qualities achieved by Mr. Sorli are often described as having a distinctive antique tone. Innate artistic abilities contribute to a tasteful blend of color and form that add a complimentary balance to the tonal shades. In 1982 he was awarded a craftsman's fellowship grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Over 90 instruments have left his workshop and are scattered throughout the United States and abroad.
Lautenwerke and harpsichords from the Sørli workshop are ingeniously designed to allow a satisfying interpretation of early keyboard music. Many new innovative designs have emerged over the past decade including gut-strung clavicytheria, pedal-board clavicytheria, keyed lyres, 2-choir ottavino lautenwerke and table-top lautenwerke with octave quint (2 2/3’).
On display at BFX:
Two-choir ottavino lautenwerk: 1 x 4', 1 x 2'/4' (bottom 10 notes 2', remainder 4')
