"Brightly the keys, all twinkling, linked, all harpsichording, called to a voice to sing the strain of dewy morn..." James Joyce
The harpsichord is widely seen as the forerunner of the modern day piano, the main difference being its plucking mechanism, rather than hammers, which gives it its distinct sound, the sound of the Renaissance and the Baroque, signalling in a new dawn for early music.
Concert pitch at the time was 415 Hz, approximately a semitone lower than today, which is 440 Hz. The harpsichord it very sensitive to fluctuations in temperature and humidity, and needs to be tuned at least once a day. The tuning process only takes about 20 minutes on average, so it is a small price to pay, for a beautiful, clean tone.
Not only is the harpsichord an excellent solo instrument, for which many works (such as sonatas, suites, toccatas, variations and many more) were written by composers such as B. Sweelinck, J. S. Bach, his son C. P. E. Bach, D. Scarlatti, Handel and F. Couperin, but the harpsichord, alongside the Organ, Theorbo and Lute, plays a central role in the basso continuo in most Baroque ensembles.
The harpsichord forms the harmonic bridge between melody and bass, and its central role within the basso continuo is comparable to the modern keyboard’s function in a rock, pop or jazz band.
One of the main features of the Baroque style for harpsichord is ornamentation, such as trills, mordents, turns and tremolo, which are particularly prominent in the French Baroque with composers such as Francois Couperin and Rameau. Many such ornaments can also be found in the famous Well-Tempered Clavier (1722) by J. S. Bach.
As a favoured instrument of the bourgeoisie and royalty, the untimely end of the harpsichord was brought about by the people’s revolts of the French Revolution (1789 to 1799), harpsichords and clavichords were thrown out of the windows onto the streets of Paris in anger and burned!
With the revival of early music in the 1970s, more and more new harpsichords were built. Pioneers such as B. Gustav Leonhardt, Ton Koopman and Nikolaus Harnoncourt reinvented Renaissance and Baroque style, and the harpsichord grew in popularity, and was once again seen on concert stages, and in chamber venues all around the world.
Today you can find harpsichords built in Flemish, French, Italian, Austrian and German styles all over the world. They all have their own individual character and tone. Historical performance practice has now become second nature for harpsichord players, and has influenced the way we approach modern keyboard instruments, and most importantly how we view the piano.
Based on historical sources
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 671934
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 214205
Musica per la tastiera
Tastenmusik aus dem 16. und 17. Jahrhundert
Német billentyűs muzsika
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music score (anthology)
Item no.: 266335
The Art of playing the Harpsichord
for: Harpsichord
Music lesson book
Item no.: 284706
Special edition for the Handel memorial year 2009
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Piano [harpsichord]
4 music scores (Urtext)
Item no.: 483531
Un choix d'exercices et de pièces pour débutants en deux volumes
for: Harpsichord
Music lesson book, demo CD
Item no.: 466494
en deux volumes : Volume 1
Texte français, anglais, allemand et espagnol
for: Harpsichord
Music score (anthology)
Item no.: 584815
HWV 348-351
Keyboard fireworks
for: Harpsichord [organ]; Flute [oboe/violin], basso continuo ad lib.
Ensemble score, solo parts
Item no.: 634734
Fingerübungen und Etüden 1571-1760
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 282917
Le Pupitre - Heugel
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 239776
Corpus Mensurabilis Musicae 57
for: Harpsichord
Music score (anthology)
Item no.: 580927
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Harpsichord
3 music scores
Item no.: 142410
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (anthology)
Item no.: 770916
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 138800
Alfred masterwork edition
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 637038
for: Harpsichord
Book (lexicon)
Item no.: 246233
Edizione critica
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 388953
für Violoncello oder Cembalo
enthält auch die wiederentdeckte Violinstimme
for: Cello [harpsichord]; violin ad lib.
Score, part
Item no.: 625843
for: Instrument [voice]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 695669
Its Style, Significance and Influence
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Book (Hardcover)
Item no.: 227700
Cembalodarabok
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 255216
The Cambridge Companion to Music
for: Harpsichord
Book (softcover)
Item no.: 979274
di diversi composizioni toccate, kyrie, canzoni, capricci e recercari in partitura a quattro
Monumenti Musicali Italiani XII (2 volumes)
Girolamo Frescobaldi Opere complete XII
for: Harpsichord [organ]
2 music scores
Item no.: 697801
Facsimile British Library MS Mus. 1591
Documenta musicologica II/44 / Bärenreiter Facsimile (Faksimile) (Facsimile)
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score (reprint, hardcover)
Item no.: 610741
Essercizi per gravicembalo
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 779029
fatte sopra diversi oblighi in partitura
Monumenti Musicali Italiani
Girolamo Frescobaldi Opere complete XII
for: Harpsichord [organ]
2 music scores
Item no.: 695021
An Introduction
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Book (softcover)
Item no.: 123390
France 1660-1720
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 446712
Ricordi Instrumental Library
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 619978
Harpsichord Part
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 320742
A Performer`s Discourse of Method
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Book (softcover)
Item no.: 297282
Song Cycle
for: Voice (baritone), 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet), piano
Score
Item no.: 929050
Chordal schemes for the introduction to the practice of accompaniment in the 17th and 18th centuries on Lute, Theorbo, Guitar, Harp and Keyboard instruments
for: Basso continuo
Music lesson book
Item no.: 1557090
Gegenwartsmusik
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 1193606
Le Pupitre - Heugel
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 993554
Grades 4-8
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 1163314
A guide to the development of the symphony through the 18th and 19th centuries
for: Instrument [voice]
Book
Item no.: 1192864
E.B. Marks
for: Harpsichord
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1107901
Sudien und Übungen
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Book
Item no.: 1005085
Harpsichords – Spinets – Clavichords – Virginals
Portrait of a Collection. The Beurmann Collection in the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg and at the estate of Hasselburg in East Holstein
for: Harpsichord
Book (softcover)
Item no.: 1478461
Libero Quarto
Monumenti Musicali Italiani X
Girolamo Frescobaldi Opere complete
for: Harpsichord [organ]
2 music scores
Item no.: 744998
Koncertáló darabok
EMB Musica Rinata 5
for: Organ [harpsichord], orchestra
Score
Item no.: 255187
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 967791
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Buch
Item no.: 838962
Part 1: BWV 846-869
Henle Urtext Edition
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 401105
Henle Urtext Editions
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 401124
als Anleitung zum Continuospiel und freien Improvisieren in drei Lehrgängen
Mit 43 Originalsätzen der Generalbassliteratur
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 408255
© 2004–2023 by Stretta Music. Order and buy sheet music online.
Your specialist for all kinds of sheet music. Online shop, sheet music, music scores and play along for download, books, music stands, music stand lights, accessories.
Germany
Austria
Switzerland
Netherlands
Belgium
France
Spain
Poland
Italy
Sweden
Portugal
Czech Republic
International (worldwide)
