Worel 6 1/2 Octave Fortepiano (SOLD) Click here for a Sound Sample. * This six and one half octave Viennese Fortepiano by Joseph Worel built in 1835 has all the salient qualities which make it ideal for playing the music of Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Schumann, Schubert, Hummel, or any of their contemporaries. Unlike many fortepianos, this instrument is great for playing Bach's music as well. This ability comes from the clear, transparent, and balanced timbre. The action is light and very flexible. The tone is sweet, resonant, focused, intense, colorful in all aspects, and above all powerful overall. The treble and the bass are in a perfect balance. This instrument has been carefully acoustically revived by Keith. The compass is unusual being a CC to g'''' range. Two more notes than is customary for instruments from this same period by other makers. The keys are covered with bone on the naturals and with ebony on pear for the sharps, and are in totally original and perfect condition. The leathers are all original except for the top layer only on the bottom hammer. The leathers are in virtually mint condition so the playing life of this instrument can be expected to be long, assuming reasonable daily use. Since the basic character and color of any piano comes from the leathering, the original vegetable tanned leathers give this instrument an interesting aesthetic acoustical picture typical of the average piano maker in Vienna in 1835...not AT ALL the boring uniform aesthetic so common today in new-made instruments. The Walnut veneer on this instrument is in excellent condition. And nothing has been done to change the original finish to make it appear new. Though repairs to the case and veneer have been done to mend minor damage...something not unexpected in an instrument of this age. The outstanding feature of this fortepiano is its clear, powerful, flexible, and colorful voice. It has a wonderful "ooh" vowel color in the cantible register, a strong toned woody color in the high treble, a lucid and focused but deep full bass, and a colorful baritone voice in the lower middle register. The Alto is usefully plain in color but extremely resonant and solid. These characteristics make this instrument incredibly fun to play because you can create virtually any color you need with this sound. The moderator is original and unaltered. And the instrument comes equipped with five pedals: from left to right are Una Chorda, Bassoon (original), Dampers, Moderator, and Bass Drum with Janissary Bells. *(Here's a trick to hear the sound sample and view the site at the same time. 1.Click on the sound sample to download it. 2.Then, download one of my other sites on your browser, in effect, opening a new window. 3.Click on the SITE button, at that site, relating to this site. 4. Once you have this site accessed from the new page and window, you can to view the site and listen to the downloading sound sample for it.)