
Year of Music
Join Mount Vernon throughout the 2019 and 2020 season for performances, specialty tours, and academic symposia to experience 18th-century music.
Dr. Joyce Lindorff was one of the first to play Nelly’s New Harpsichord.
Below is a transcript of only part of Dr. Joyce Lindorff’s interview with librarian Samantha Snyder. You can hear the full interview in this episode of Conversations at the Washington Library.
Learn More About the Harpsichord
I came to Mount Vernon specifically to work with the new reproduction of Nelly Custis's harpsichord, which is so special and which is so unique, not only for itself but also because her music resides here in the Library. It's very exciting to be here. The way it started for me was John Watson, who is the recently retired Conservator and Curator of Musical Instruments at Colonial Williamsburg and built this new harpsichord, is a very long-standing colleague of mine. We've had a chance to work together before and recently I had a similar fellowship at Williamsburg, which allowed me to work in their library with items that matched some of the instruments that are there.
This [Washington Library Fellowship] offered another opportunity to do something similar but maybe even more specifically related, of course, because it was Nelly Custis's harpsichord, and Nelly Custis's music. The way I found out about the fellowship was John alerted me that there was such a thing available. I was so thrilled and excited about it. I immediately looked it up and learned that I could apply for the Library fellowship, which I did. It was just really thrilling to be admitted for this very special month, which is just, unfortunately, coming to an end.
We have several volumes of Nelly's hand-copied musical exercises, popular songs, and technical notes in the Mount Vernon collection. Dr. Joyce Lindorff studied these documents as part of her fellowship project.
A selection of George Frideric Handel's Water Music, as performed by Dr. Joyce Lindorff on a unique reproduction harpsichord at George Washington's Mount Vernon.