The first
action gave the blow with more direct force than the second, which had
the notch upon what is called the underhammer, but was defective in
the absence of any means to regulate the distance of the "go-off," or
"escapement" from the string. In the second action, a small check before
the hopper is intended to regulate it, but does so imperfectly. The
pianoforte had to wait for fifty years for satisfactory regulation of
the escapement.
In the first action, the hammer rests in a silken fork, dropping the
whole distance of the rise of every blow. The check in the second
action, the "paramartello," is next in importance to the escapement. It
catches the back part of the hammer at different points of the radius,
responding to the amount of force the player has used upon the key. So
that in repeated blows, the rise of the hammer is modified, and the
notch is nearer to the returning hopper in proportionate degree.
I have given the first place in description to Cristofori's actions,
instead of to the "cembalo" or instrument to which they were applied,
because piano and forte, from touch, became possible through them, and
what else was accomplished by Cristofori was due, primarily, to the
dynamic idea.
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