Calgary musician’s 50-year labour of love strikes final chord

Susan Rod spent 50 years handcrafting a harpsichord. Now in her 80s, the instrument is finally complete and ready for its next chapter.

Perseverance is often measured in years. For Calgary artist and instrument-maker Susan Rod, it was measured in nearly 50 of them.

Rod has completed a handcrafted harpsichord she began building in 1976 after deciding the Renaissance quartet she played viola in needed a more authentic sound than a piano could provide.

“So I thought, ‘I’ll build one,’” Rod said.

What followed was decades of painstaking craftsmanship involving thousands of intricate parts, finely measured wooden mechanisms, strings, plectra — the tiny picks inside the instrument that pluck the strings to create sound — and hand-painted artwork.

The retired violin repair specialist ordered a harpsichord kit in the 1970s, then spent years cutting, shaping and assembling the instrument’s delicate internal mechanisms by hand.

“The tolerances are very small,” Rod said. “There are many, many more parts in this, you can’t even believe it.”

Rod said the most difficult part was building the action, the complex plectra movement which by plucking the strings gives the harpsichord its unique sound.

“It’s just so particular,” she said. “Getting that all in the right place at the right time … that was difficult.”

When asked whether she had any idea, at age 34, the project would take 50 years to complete, Rod laughed.

“No, I had no idea,” she said. “I just went along with it.”

The harpsichord moved with her through several homes, workshops and garages over the decades as life interrupted the project and later allowed her to return to it.

What never happened, Rod said, was giving up.

The finished instrument is a work of art, decorated with painted Alberta landscapes, birds and plants hand painted by Rod, who is also an award-winning artist and bird carver. Those final touches emulate the decorative artwork and embossing that was common during the Renaissance among wealthy owners.

Friend and artist Mary-Leigh Doyle said she quickly recognized Rod’s talent when the two met more than 25 years ago in painting classes.

“She was one of the most talented people I was ever going to have the pleasure of working with,” Doyle said.

Doyle said Rod spent years practicing designs for the harpsichord’s soundboard before settling on artwork she felt was good enough for the final instrument.

“I was blown away at her incredible attention to detail and persistence,” Doyle said.

The harpsichord, a predecessor to the modern piano, produces sound by plucking strings rather than striking them with hammers. Calgary musician and teacher Han Ding said many composers now closely associated with piano music, including Johann Sebastian Bach, originally wrote their keyboard works for the harpsichord.

“If you’re playing a lot of repertoire by people like Bach … primarily, you would think of them as harpsichord composers,” Ding said. “But most people have a piano and you know you play your keyboard repertoire on whatever instrument you have at your disposal.”

Ding said building one requires extraordinary precision and craftsmanship.

“You need to be a master craftsman or have the dedication and the tenacity and the guts to undertake a project like this,” Ding said.

Ding, who owns three harpsichords, said he once considered building one himself before deciding the task was too difficult.

“I thought this is far too difficult, and I commend anyone who can build a harpsichord on their own,” he said.

Rod will donate the finished instrument to Calgary harpsichord player Justin Luchinski, who said the instrument’s sound inspired a change the direction of his musical career.

“I was blown away,” Luchinski said of hearing a harpsichord in a Bach recording for the first time.

“I heard all these violins and the blend of the harpsichord with the cellos, and it was just this warm sound.”

Luchinski said many listeners may not immediately recognize the instrument because it often serves as an accompaniment in orchestras and smaller ensembles.

“It tends to be sort of like a sparkle in the sound,” he said. “It’s there, but it blends really well.”

Luchinski plans to use the instrument in performances, concerts and teaching, and has hopes it will continue to be seen and heard by audiences for years to come.

“I’m incredibly grateful,” Luchinski said. “I’m going to take very good care of it.”

“I’ll get it out there a lot so it’s seen by as many people as possible.”

Rod said completing the instrument has left her with a mix of relief and accomplishment.

“I feel a lot (of pride)” she said. “But mostly feeling of … almost relief that it’s actually finished.”