Size Comparison between French and Flemish doubles
As you can see, the Flemish Double on the right is not as large as the French, but it easily holds its own in volume and carrying power when used in concert with the larger instrument. An empirical observation could be made that as far as harpsichords are concerned, size does not equate with loudness. What gives a harpsichord its ability to be heard well is its combination of accoustic properties: the harmonic structure, the case "fundamental", and so on.
The larger instrument has more keys; hence, it is longer (to accommodate the longer stringes in the bass) and wider (more keys, strings, jacks). It is also heavier than the Flemish double, by about 25%.
The photos above and at right were taken during a concert tour of Nova Scotia undertaken by my wife Janet Scott and her duo partner. Above, they are rehearsing before an evening concert at the Fortress of Louisbourg, an authentic reconstruction of the original 17th century settlement on the north-east coast of Cape Breton Island. At right is the setting for the concert: the Chapel Royale. No electricity, so all the candles. Also 100% north Atlantic zero-visibility fog just outside the open doors. I had to wipe down the keyboards at intermission. It was nonetheless a great concert with a full house. Yes, the harpsichords did go out of tune, but they went out of tune together and uniformly, so few would have noticed.
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