"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.
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 551796
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 999017
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 999070
Klassik
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 993022
per violino, orchestra d'archi e clavicembalo
for: Violin, harpsichord, string orchestra
Piano reduction
Item no.: 776029
Gegenwartsmusik
for: Harpsichord
Score
Item no.: 833357
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 1016903
Klassik
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Score
Item no.: 992973
Ein Lese-, Spiel- und Nachschlagebuch zur Interpretation der Klaviermusik des Barock
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 1690838
9 suites
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 736288
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 1664190
Edition Schott
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 749825
for Harpsichord
for: Harpsichord
Score
Item no.: 1616986
Volume 1: Sonatas 1–3
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 1552254
sopra li tuoni a quattro
Vierstimmige Ricercare in den acht Kirchentonarten
für Tasteninstrument oder beliebige Einzelinstrumente
Antiqua
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Score
Item no.: 1689132
(Set for the ABRSM Syllabus 2019–2020)
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 776394
Cembalo
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 1619149
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 990155
Edizioni Anastatica Con Commento e Note Biografiche
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 997470
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 998980
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 999086
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 999099
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 999102
"Triple Concerto"
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Harpsichord, flute, violin, strings, basso continuo
Viola (orchestral part)
Item no.: 817358
Novello Handel Edition
for: Harpsichord
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 864122
Suite Per Cembalo
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 999096
for: harpsichord [organ/piano]
Music score
Item no.: 1015463
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 999066
For Harpsichord
for: Harpsichord
Solostimme
Item no.: 1625066
for: Harpsichord, organ
Music score (reprint)
Item no.: 1013299
Aus den Quellen zusammengetragen
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 817300
Lyre Series
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1547344
Pièces pour le clavecin ou l'orgue
for: Harpsichord [organ]
Music score
Item no.: 1646164
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 1103040
Volume 2: Sonatas 4–6
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 1552469
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 1162648
(Nr. 4–6)
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 796154
12 pieces for keybaord from the Lynar A Mansucript
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (anthology)
Item no.: 930034
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 930505
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 1541347
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 1565626
for: 2 horns, string orchestra, harpsichord
Violin 1 (orchestral part)
Item no.: 1355192
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 999055
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 999083
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 999119
Schott Piano Classics
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 754313
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 999068
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