"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, strings, basso continuo
Violin 1 (orchestral part)
Item no.: 191465
"Triple Concerto"
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Harpsichord, flute, violin, strings, basso continuo
Single part (Harpsichord solo)
Item no.: 817357
aus "Das Alexanderfest"
for: Harpsichord
Single part Harpsichord
Item no.: 1658870
"Triple Concerto"
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Harpsichord, flute, violin, strings, basso continuo
Viola (orchestral part)
Item no.: 817358
for: Harpsichord
Single part Harpsichord
Item no.: 430333
für zwei Cembali, Streicher und Basso continuo
for: 2 harpsichords, strings, basso continuo
Single part harpsichord 2
Item no.: 294071
für zwei Cembali, Streicher und Basso continuo
for: 2 harpsichords, strings, basso continuo
Single part harpsichord 1
Item no.: 294070
for: Harpsichord, flute, violin, strings, basso continuo
Single part Violone [Double bass]
Item no.: 341084
ars instrumentalis 026
for: Harpsichord
Single part Harpsichord
Item no.: 1664276
"Triple Concerto"
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Harpsichord, flute, violin, strings, basso continuo
Single part Cello (Double bass/Violone)
Item no.: 817352
for: Harpsichord, strings, basso continuo
Violin 2 (orchestral part)
Item no.: 191466
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
für Orgel (Cembalo)
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Item no.: 336182
für Orgel oder Cembalo
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Item no.: 685683
Dernière œuvre de Bach pour le clavecin – Argumentation
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Book (softcover)
Item no.: 247715
Übungen im Generalbass-Spiel und in gebundener Improvisation
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 284778
Jedes Tier zeigt dir seinen Rhythmus
Für jeglichen musikalischen Basisunterricht in Musikschule, Grundschule und Kindergarten
for: Instrument [voice]
Music score
Item no.: 778535
Grundlagen – Tipps – Übungen – Hörbeispiele
for: Instrument [voice]
Lesson book (with online media)
Item no.: 1550479
Eine praktische Musiklehre
Heft 1 – Übungsheft
for: Instrument [voice]
Study book
Item no.: 103240
Eine praktische Anleitung fur Pianisten, Organisten und Cembalisten
for: Harpsichord
Music lesson book
Item no.: 615003
72 nicht ausgesetzte Kirchenlieder des 17. Jh. (Melodie und Bass) für Klavier (Orgel) als Übungsstücke zum Basso-continuo-Spiel
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 348924
Praktischer Teil 1
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 351356
Ein Lese-, Spiel- und Nachschlagebuch zur Interpretation der Klaviermusik des Barock
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 151508