"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.
Le Pupitre - Heugel
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 239776
120 cards for any late elementary music student
for: Instrument [voice]
Cards (teaching material)
Item no.: 474560
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Harpsichord
3 music scores
Item no.: 142410
France 1660-1720
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 446712
en deux volumes : Volume 1
Texte français, anglais, allemand et espagnol
for: Harpsichord
Music score (anthology)
Item no.: 584815
A Historical Guide to the Basics
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 155243
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
Edizione critica
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 388953
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 687152
Edition Schott
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music score
Item no.: 728629
S.B.P.K. Landsberg 215 – Parte I
Tastature – Musiche intavolate per strumenti da tasto
for: Harpsichord [organ]
Music score
Item no.: 773423
from Op. 1, Op. 2, Op. 5
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 743943
aus "Il secondo libro di toccate d’intavolatura di cembalo e organo"
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 2900
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 648620
Sämtliche Werke für Clavierinstrumente Band 2
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 487101
Dances, Polish Songs, Untitled, and Unidentified Works
Volume 5
Corpus Of Early Keyboard Music 6
Bound copy temporarily out of stock!
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score
Item no.: 625996
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music score (anthology)
Item no.: 367708
Musica Britannica 55
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music score (anthology)
Item no.: 365753
(Suiten 7–12)
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 487671
for: harpsichord [organ/piano]
Book
Item no.: 583679
Für Klavier oder Cembalo. Erstmalig veröffentlicht von A. Kranz
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 418879
Four and Four for Organ 2
for: Organ [harpsichord/ piano] four hand
Ensemble score
Item no.: 160973
Urtextausgabe
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 609150
Keyboard Woks Part, 4
Suites and Variations
for: Harpsichord
Music score (hardcover)
Item no.: 765791
Ricercar à 3 und Ricercar à 6 für Cembalo (Urtextausgabe) (Urtext)
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Piano score
Item no.: 116750
Four and Four for Organ 1
for: Organ [harpsichord/ piano] four hand
Ensemble score
Item no.: 160919
Breitkopf Urtext Edition
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 286099
Cravistas Portuguezes
Volume 1
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (anthology)
Item no.: 288012
Cravistas Portuguezes
Volume 2
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (anthology)
Item no.: 288886
for: Harpsichord [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1154
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 3270
d'intavolatura di cembalo e organo (1627-1637)
Girolamo Frescobaldi – Opere Complete III
Monumenti Musicali Italiani V
for: Harpsichord [organ]
Music score
Item no.: 694476
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 767231
Ordres 20-27
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 770870
Collection of First Editions
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score (anthology)
Item no.: 425763
20 Barock-Stücke
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score
Item no.: 331370
for: Violin, harpsichord, string orchestra
Score
Item no.: 155815
Livre 1
Le Pupitre 21
Collection de musique ancienne publiée sous la direction de François Lesure
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 177100
Johann Jacob Froberger. Neue Ausgabe sämtlicher Werke 6,1 | BÄRENREITER URTEXT
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Gesamtausgabe, Sammelband, Spielpartitur, Urtextausgabe
Item no.: 580466
Complete Harpsichord Works 2
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music score
Item no.: 326233
per clavicembalo o organo
for: Harpsichord [organ manuals]
Music score
Item no.: 129264
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 686609
with Fingerings
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 426089
für Orgel
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Item no.: 578151
16 Barock-Stücke
for: Organ [harmonium/harpsichord/piano]
Music score
Item no.: 430852
Chaconne
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 352896
Milano, Biblioteca del Conservatorio “Giuseppe Verdi”, Fondo Noseda, [Ms. 8802], L 22 / 1-9 e L 24-35; brani desunti da varie fonti
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 549995
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 459448
© 2004–2024 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
Luxembourg
Italy
Spain
Portugal
Denmark
Finland
Sweden
Poland
Czech Republic
Worldwide
