Clavi-harp

Clavi-harp (Fr.: clavi-harpe; Ger.: Klavierharfe), *keyed harp invented by Johann Christian Dietz, Sr., of Paris in 1813, patented Feb. 18, 1814, and made by him, his son Johann Christian, Jr., and his grandson Christian of Brussels. The silk-covered metal strings were controlled from a keyboard by an ingenious system of mechanical plectra that gently plucked the strings with a sideswiping motion. It had a 6-oct. compass, F1–f4; height 2.15 m. (ca. 7 ft.). See also: calderarpa, clavi-arpa…