"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.
Miscellaneous Suites and Pieces. First Part
Urtext of the Halle Handel Edition
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 116296
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 459448
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 469218
aus: VIII Sonate per cembalo, op. 1
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 5749
Edition Schott
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 736778
aus: "Tabulatura / Darinnen Etzliche Präludia, Toccaten und Couranten uff das Clavir gesetzt"
Leipzig, 1645
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 5272
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 989447
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 648624
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 298437
Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck. Sämtliche Orgel- und Clavierwerke 1-4 | BÄRENREITER URTEXT
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Spielpartitur, Sammelband, Urtextausgabe
Item no.: 558804
aus "Toccate, Canzoni, ed altre Sonate, ..."
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 3471
Vol. II
Urtext – Critical Source Ddition of the Free Organ Works
for: Organ (manuals) [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 817266
Ein Leitfaden zum lösungsorientierten Üben in Prävention und Therapie
Forum Musikpädagogik Band 155
for: Instrument [voice]
Book (softcover)
Item no.: 1552208
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Score
Item no.: 190779
Sämtliche Werke für Clavierinstrumente Band 1
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 487100
le pupitre 57
Tome 1 – Volume 2
Livres de 1656 et 1658
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 177107
(Facsimile)
for: Organ (manuals) [harpsichord]
Item no.: 182559
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
4 music scores (Urtext)
Item no.: 582227
of the most celebrated lessons from Handel’s “Rinaldo” and other operas by Bononcini, Gasparini, Haym, Handel
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 364821
Le Pupitre - Heugel
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 140421
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 116760
Embellished Version
Bärenreiter Trtext
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 116761
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 429522
Bläsermusik für Orgel (Klavier, Cembalo)
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score (spiral binding)
Item no.: 489104
from: Il primo libro di Capricci, Rom 1624
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 6447
an introduction to contemporary harpsichordist music from around the world (part II)
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 662232
aus: "Tabulatura / Darinnen Etzliche Präludia, Toccaten und Couranten uff das Clavir gesetzt"
Leipzig, 1645
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 5273
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 963642
für Cembalo
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 351764
15 Barock-Stücke
for: Organ [harmonium/harpsichord/piano]
Music score
Item no.: 430849
(Suiten 1–6)
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 487670
for: Basso continuo
Faksimile, Hardcover
Item no.: 478887
for Piano (Harpsichord)
Breitkopf Urtext
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 285692
Le pupitre vol. 52
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score
Item no.: 177099
für Cembalo solo
Jan Wallgren gewidmet
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 380959
Dover Piano And Keyboard Editions
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (anthology)
Item no.: 284761
15 Präludien, Präambeln und Toccaten in den Kirchentonarten, 22 Suitensätze für Orgel oder Cembalo
1. Hälfte 17. Jahrhundert
for: Organ (manuals) [harpsichord]
Score
Item no.: 213412
First Set of 1720: The Eight Great Suites
Revised Edition
Urtext of the Halle Handel Edition
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 116298
for: 2 horns, string orchestra, harpsichord
Score
Item no.: 370671
Schott Piano Classics
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 287988
Saggi di contrappunto (S.B.P.K. Landsberg 214)
Regole... per ben accompagnare con il Cembalo (Bc, MS. D 138/2)
Tastata – Opere d'intavolatura d'organo e cimbalo
for: Harpsichord [organ]
Music score
Item no.: 773425
Vol. I: Le musiche
Tastata – Opere d'intavolatura d'organo e cimbalo
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Item no.: 764562
from "Ye Tuneful Muses"
Z. T681
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 4117
Napoli, Biblioteca del Conservatorio «S. Pietro a Majella», Ms. 46.1.29; Montecassino, Biblioteca dell’Abbazia, Ms. 126 D. 3; altre fonti (Berlino, Firenze, Londra, Roma, Vienna)
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 771745
Die auf dem Clavier spielende Cæcilia
8 Sonaten
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 696966
Keyboard Works Part, 3
Preludes, Toccatas, Fugues and Canzonas
for: Organ (manuals) [harpsichord/clavichord]
Music score (hardcover)
Item no.: 765789
Basso continuo ausgesetzt
Harmonia coelestis Band 11 / Auserlesene Barockmusik
for: Harpsichord solo, 2 violins, basso continuo
Score, Parts
Item no.: 642429
Trascrizione per Organo
for: Harpsichord [organ]
Music score
Item no.: 618616
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