About Colin Booth

Colin has been a harpsichordist and harpsichord-maker for more than 30 years.

As a maker:

He has sold around 300 instruments worldwide, and can point to an unusually large proportion of these sales, to Early Music professionals, and harpsichordists in particular. The playing qualities of his instruments have an edge over those of many makers, due to his sensitivity as a player, to touch and response.

Customers include :

Recent commissions include a 2-manual harpsichord after the French original of 1681 by Antoine Vaudry, for Trinity College of Music, London (2006) and an Italian harpsichord for harpsichordist Richard Lester.

As a player:

After initial training as a pianist and organist, he studied with Colin Tilney. He has played in countries from Denmark to South Africa, as soloist, continuo-player, and director. He has given live concerts for Denmark Radio, and recorded incidental music for British Independent Television. He also teaches in his own area of South-West England, and is a regular contributor to the Dartington International Summer
School.

In 1991 Colin founded Soundboard Records. The aim of this specialist label was unashamedly to reach a wider audience through his playing. To date, eight CDs of solo harpsichord music have been released.

Classes held at Dartington over a decade, have led to a handbook for all players of  early repertoire. Did Bach Really Mean That? – deceptive notation in Baroque Keyboard Music, is due for publication by Positif Press of Oxford, during 2008