"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.
Der reiche Mann und der arme Lazarus. Evangeliendialog
for: Basso continuo
Single part Basso continuo
Item no.: 232133
aus: Geistliche Chormusik
mit singbarer englischer Übersetzung
for: Basso continuo
Single part Basso continuo
Item no.: 231842
for: Basso continuo
Single part Basso continuo
Item no.: 229999
Erstdruck
Edition Vieweg (Musikschätze vergangener Zeiten)
for: Harpsichord, strings
Score
Item no.: 125281
aus: Octi-Tonium novum organicum
Augsburg, 1696
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 5705
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 1203397
Variationen über Französische Weihnachtslieder
for: Organ (manuals) [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 145299
aus "Nouveau Livre de Noels pour l’Orgue et le Clavecin"
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 3220
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 3545
Neun Choral-Partiten des Weihnachts-Festkreises für Tasteninstrumente
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score
Item no.: 557030
Diletto Musicale
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 164593
for: Organ (manuals) [harpsichord]
Item no.: 241626
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Item no.: 177743
Thema und sechs Variationen für Orgel (Cembalo/Klavier)
auf die Melodie von Alfred Hans Zoller
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score
Item no.: 682549
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 3253
12 Stücke für die Weihnachtszeit
Archives des Maitres de l'orgue
for: Organ (manuals) [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 287771
aus dem Tabulaturbuch des Henricus Beginiker
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 154112
(Facsimile)
for: Organ (manuals) [harpsichord]
Item no.: 289460
for Organ
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 658343
aus "Nouveau Livre de Noels pour l’Orgue et le Clavecin"
Paris, 1757
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 4111
für Orgel (Cembalo)
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Item no.: 336182
Fantasie über das Weihnachtslied "Stille Nacht" von Franz Xaver Gruber
für Cembalo solo
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 675543
aus dem "Musikalischen Zeitvertreib"
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music score
Item no.: 662727
for: Basso continuo
Item no.: 464613
Sacri Concentus Ratisbonenses
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Item no.: 579777
aus "Nouveau Livre de Noels pour l’Orgue et le Clavecin"
Paris, 1757
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 4104
Variationen über Weihnachtslieder
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score
Item no.: 382816
Weihnachtskonzert
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score
Item no.: 280785
for: Organ (manuals) [harpsichord]
Item no.: 120797
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 382442
from: Six Voluntaries
London, 1780
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 5565
Advent – Christmas – New Year
for Organ
Urtext
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 472454
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Item no.: 429523
für Orgel oder Cembalo
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Item no.: 685683
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 616173
Weihnachtskantate
for: Basso continuo
Single part Basso continuo
Item no.: 234570
for: Basso continuo
Single part Basso continuo
Item no.: 232624
Weihnachtskantate
for: Basso continuo
Single part Basso continuo
Item no.: 231047
Geistliche Kantate
BÄRENREITER URTEXT
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Stimme, Urtextausgabe
Item no.: 643774
Weihnachtskonzert
for: Harpsichord
Single part(n)
Item no.: 421460
BuxWV 52
Einzelstimme B.c.
for: Basso continuo
Single part Basso continuo
Item no.: 234321
for: Basso continuo
Single part Basso continuo
Item no.: 230976
for: Basso continuo
Single part Basso continuo
Item no.: 231612
for: Basso continuo
Single part Basso continuo
Item no.: 229783
for: Basso continuo
Single part Basso continuo
Item no.: 247591
for: Harpsichord
Single part Harpsichord
Item no.: 126835
aus: Magnificat (Fassung in Es-Dur)
Originale Besetzung durch zwei Querflöten, Orgel und Bc
for: Basso continuo
Single part Basso continuo
Item no.: 231104
pro pulsandis organis, spinettis, manuchordis etc.
Spiridionis a Monte Carmelo
Tastata – Opere d'intavolatuta d'organo e cimbalo
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 691940
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![DL: J. Beckwith: Voluntary I, Orgel [Cembalo]](https://www.stretta-music.com/media/images2/65/55/5565.jpg)
