"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.
Johann Jacob Froberger. Neue Ausgabe sämtlicher Werke 3,1 (Gesamtausgabe, Sammelband, Urtextausgabe) (Complete edition, Collection, Urtext)
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Performance scores
Item no.: 328937
Johann Jacob Froberger. Neue Ausgabe sämtlicher Werke 4,1 (Gesamtausgabe, Sammelband, Urtextausgabe) (Complete edition, Collection, Urtext)
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 339709
Thematic Catalogue (ASOT)
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Book (softcover)
Item no.: 771697
mit über 200 Notenbeispielen und 24 Abbildungen
zweite Auflage 2013
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Book (Hardcover)
Item no.: 586864
Kontexte – Strukturen – Didaktik
Studien der Stiftung Händel-Haus 3
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Book (softcover)
Item no.: 662449
His figured bass exercises
Early Music Series vol.12
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 586877
Ricercars
Volume 2
Corpus Of Early Keyboard Music 36
Bound copy temporarily out of stock!
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 290330
Ed. A. Longo - Sonate 1 - 50
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 389086
Ed. A. Longo - Sonate 451-500
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 389116
Ed. A. Longo - Sonate 201-250
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 389110
Gegenwartsmusik
for: Harpsichord
Score
Item no.: 390656
Ed. A. Longo
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 389117
Ed. A. Longo - Sonate 51-100
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 389087
Sonate 151–200
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 389101
Ed. A. Longo - Sonate 101-150
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 389088
Ed. A. Longo - Sonate 351-400
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 389113
Sonate 401–450
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 389114
for: Harpsichord
Music score (hardcover)
Item no.: 625771
Biblioteca Geral da Universidade de Coimbra, Secção dos Reservados, Ms. MM 60
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 474880
for: Harpsichord
Single part Harpsichord
Item no.: 627477
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score (reprint)
Item no.: 1013357
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
New Haven, Yale University, Misc. Ms. 164 [Ms. «Higgs»] e Biblioteca del Conservatorio “S. Pietro a Majella” di Napoli, Ms. 74
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 549575
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 365502
for: Harpsichord [organ manuals]
Item no.: 583253
Corpus Of Early Keyboard Music 30/1
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 227404
No. 7 B flat Major
for: Violin, harpsichord, string orchestra
Stimmensatz 5 Violinen I; 5 Violinen II; 3 Violen; 5 Violoncelli/Kontrabässe
Item no.: 721677
Faksimile
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 632966
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
3 Teile und Anhang in 1 Band
Reprint Berlin 1755-60
for: Harpsichord [organ]
Book (reprint)
Item no.: 302032
per organo o clavicembalo
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 997410
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
d'intavolatura di cembalo e organo (1615-1637)
Girolamo Frescobaldi – Opere Complete 2
Monumenti Musicali Italiani
for: Harpsichord [organ]
Music score
Item no.: 694475
An Introduction
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Book (softcover)
Item no.: 123390
for: Basso continuo
[französisch]
Item no.: 374501
Corpus of Early Keyboard Music 20
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music score
Item no.: 290333
Players and practices in his vocal works
Studies in the History of Music 3
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 350969
103 composizioni di musica organistica inedita o poco nota del '700 Veneziano
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score (anthology)
Item no.: 763949
for: Harpsichord, piano, orchestra
Set of parts
Item no.: 1215685
Corpus Of Early Keyboard Music 7
for: Harpsichord [organ manuals]
Item no.: 367707
The Art Of The Keyboard 6
for: Harpsichord
2 Bände
Item no.: 369159
Its Style, Significance and Influence
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Book (Hardcover)
Item no.: 227700
Corpus Of Early Keyboard Musik 36
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 301395
Libero Quarto
Monumenti Musicali Italiani X
Girolamo Frescobaldi Opere complete
for: Harpsichord [organ]
2 music scores
Item no.: 744998
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
fatte sopra diversi oblighi in partitura
Monumenti Musicali Italiani
Girolamo Frescobaldi Opere complete XII
for: Harpsichord [organ]
2 music scores
Item no.: 695021
H 43.4 Wq 474
for: Harpsichord (solo), 2 flutes, 2 horns, string orchestra
Set of parts
Item no.: 745689
France 1660-1720
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 446712
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