"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.
aus "Das Wohltemperierte Klavier" Teil 1, BWV 846
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1035
Nearly all the Dutch composer's keyboard works including chorale variations, toccatas, fantasies and more
Reprint of Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck: Werken voor Orgel en Clavecimbel, G. Alsbach & Co. 1943
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score
Item no.: 416705
First Part of the Clavier Übung
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 116748
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: 2 harpsichords [2 pianos]
Score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 443930
C-Dur, BWV 772
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1438
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 401329
en 2 volumes
Le Pupitre 18 : Suites 10–15
Collection de musique ancienne publiée sous la direction de François Lesure
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 177105
Edition Schott
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score
Item no.: 752437
"Sonate d'Intavolatura per Organo e Cimbalo"
Domenico Zipoli. Orgel- und Cembalowerke 2
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Spielpartitur, Sammelband
Item no.: 196215
Ricordi Instrumental Library
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 619978
May 2018 (A and B Papers)
for: Instrument [voice]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 681393
May 2018 (A and B Papers)
for: Instrument [voice]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 681356
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (anthology)
Item no.: 770917
The Art of playing the Harpsichord
for: Harpsichord
Music lesson book
Item no.: 284706
Le Pupitre - Heugel
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 993554
Libero Quarto
Monumenti Musicali Italiani X
Girolamo Frescobaldi Opere complete
for: Harpsichord [organ]
2 music scores
Item no.: 744998
Meredith Music Resource
for: Instrument [voice]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 428809
Cembalodarabok
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 255216
Parte quarta (No. 151-200)
EMB Urtext
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 197563
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 605717
E.B. Marks
for: Harpsichord
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1107901
May 2018 (A and B Papers)
for: Instrument [voice]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 681367
Sonate 1 aus: Sechs Sonaten für Cembalo, mit Begleitung einer Violine, op. 2
for: Harpsichord, violin
Score, part
Item no.: 641810
for: Voice (baritone), 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet), piano
Score
Item no.: 929050
An Introduction
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Book (softcover)
Item no.: 123390
Les Indes Galantes. Balet, reduit a quatre grands concerts (1735/36)
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 171930
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
Facsimile British Library MS Mus. 1591
Documenta musicologica II/44 / Bärenreiter Facsimile (Faksimile) (Facsimile)
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score (reprint, hardcover)
Item no.: 610741
for: Instrument [voice]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 157413
A guide to the development of the symphony through the 18th and 19th centuries
for: Instrument [voice]
Book
Item no.: 1192864
May 2018 (A and B Papers)
for: Instrument [voice]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 681366
Book D
Bastien's Invitation to Music
for: Instrument [voice]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 175467
Harpsichords – Spinets – Clavichords – Virginals
Portrait of a Collection. The Beurmann Collection in the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg and at the estate of Hasselburg in East Holstein
for: Harpsichord
Book (softcover)
Item no.: 1478461
en deux volumes : Volume 2
Texte français, anglais, allemand et espagnol
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 616387
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 981189
May 2018 (A and B Papers)
for: Instrument [voice]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 681360
Musica per la tastiera
Tastenmusik aus dem 16. und 17. Jahrhundert
Német billentyűs muzsika
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music score (anthology)
Item no.: 266335
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 320742
Grades 4-8
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 1163314
Sonate 334-397
Edizione critica
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 257379
His figured bass exercises
Early Music Series vol.12
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 586877
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 605716
for: Harpsichord
Book (lexicon)
Item no.: 246233
May 2018 (A and B Papers)
for: Instrument [voice]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 681371
HWV 348-351
Keyboard fireworks
for: Harpsichord [organ]; Flute [oboe/violin], basso continuo ad lib.
Ensemble score, solo parts
Item no.: 634734
Koncertáló darabok
EMB Musica Rinata 5
for: Organ [harpsichord], orchestra
Score
Item no.: 255187
für Violoncello oder Cembalo
enthält auch die wiederentdeckte Violinstimme
for: Cello [harpsichord]; violin ad lib.
Score, part
Item no.: 625843
The Books of 1705-6 and 1724
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 131798
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