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John Challis (1907–1974) was an American builder of harpsichords and clavichords, at one time the only such maker of harpsichords in the United States. His father Charles was a jeweler and watchmaker who moved his family from South Lyon, Michigan to Ypsilanti, Michigan in 1919.
The instrument included, in addition to the standard manual keyboards, an independent harpsichord operated by a pedal-board similar to an organ. No early pedal harpsichords survive. Born in South Lyon, Michigan, John Challis was American's first native-born harpsichord maker.
John Challis makes his harpsichords in a two-floor studio above an Ypsilanti dress shop. Two assistants, who have been with him for years, help him fit together the intricate combination of...
Mar 21, 2017 · In 1960, the organist E. Power Biggs approached the American harpsichord maker John Challis and engaged him to build a pedal harpsichord. After years of experimentation and research, Challis constructed such an instrument for the famed performer, who recorded an entire album of Bach's music on the instrument.
The work of John Challis (1907–1974) is discussed on pp92–99 of Wolfgang Zuckermann’s 1969 classic The Modern Harpsichord. Following four years of study with early music pioneer Arnold Dolmetsch, Challis returned to the United States in 1930 and established himself as the first American harpsichord maker, predating the Hubbard/Dowd ...
ica’s other mid-century harpsichord maker, John Challis, was based in Detroit; his instruments too were priced out of Zuckermann’s market, particularly when one figured in shipping costs. Unable to purchase a harpsichord, Zuckermann decided to build one. He studied instruments in books and museums and made a prototype
Wiry, black-haired John Chain's had vastly enjoyed a holiday season of harpsichordery in Manhattan. But he was anxious to get to work. The U.S. enthusiasts for harpsichord music are a...
