‘Ravalement’, a French word meaning ‘Restoration’, has a specific musical & technical importance in the harpsichord history. The harpsichord, keyboard music instrument which was most likely invented in the late Middle Ages, was widely used in the Renaissance and Baroque eras (from the early 16th century to the late 17th century) until its successor Fortepiano and then Piano took over its popularity in the 18th century. The dynasty of harpsichord maker the Ruckers family in Flanders contributed and influenced technical development of the harpsichord in the 16th century, and in the 17th century French harpsichord builders started the practice of ‘Ravalement’ i.e. updating and rebuilding Ruckers Flemish harpsichords to suit modern (well, at that time) taste. In the 19th century, the harpsichord was almost replaced by the piano, but fortunately in the 20th century some composers returned to the harpsichord for the modern use and then the movement of HIP (Historically Informed Performance) emerged and matured in the Netherlands. Given no sound recordings exist before the late 19th century, music performers pursuing HIP rely on musicological analysis of original text, as well as on historical instrument makers that build musical instruments to closely match how they were originally built.

To avoid the disappearance of wisdom and loss of knowledge of historical keyboards, RAVALEMENT is established to provide community engagement and educational opportunities by connecting instrument builders/technicians, music educators, and music performers.

The motto of RAVALEMENT is

Sapientia et Scientia Historica Claviaturae Instrumenta

(Wisdom and Knowledge of Historical Keyboard Instruments)