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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.
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.
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
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 ...
John Challis is probably the only man in the world who, despite war, continues to manufacture the instrument.* Like most people interested in harpsichords, he is irritated by the lay notion that the instrument is a sort of Pleistocene piano.
The collection documents the Challis Harpsichord business, and the lives of Mr. Challis and his partner, Ephraim Truesdale. The collection contains correspondence, both personal and business; business records, including ledgers and journals; drawings, including design drawings for harpsichord decorations and elements; client files; subject ...
