"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.
May 2018 (A and B Papers)
for: Instrument [voice]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 681362
Sudien und Übungen
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Book
Item no.: 1005085
fatte sopra diversi oblighi in partitura
Monumenti Musicali Italiani
Girolamo Frescobaldi Opere complete XII
for: Harpsichord [organ]
2 music scores
Item no.: 695021
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (anthology)
Item no.: 770916
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 4560
nach Antonio Vivaldi, BWV 1065
für 4 Claviere, 2 Violinen, Viola und Basso continuo
for: 4 harpsichords, strings, basso continuo
Score, parts (pdf download)
Item no.: 3994
aus: Huit Fugues pour le Clavecin ou l'orgue
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 4385
aus: B. Schmid, Tabulatur Buch Von Allerhand außerlesnen Schoenen Lieblichen Praeludijs, Toccaten, Motetten, Canzonetten, Madrigalien vnnd Fugen ...
Straßburg, 1607
for: Organ (manuals) [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 5645
aus: Huit Fugues pour le Clavecin ou l'orgue
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 5782
(HH.32 n. 11)
for: 2 horns, string orchestra, harpsichord
Score
Item no.: 1657374
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 734244
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 1037878
Suite
aus: Musicalischer Parnassus, Augsburg 1738
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 2898
aus: „Six Fugues pour les Orgues ou le Clavecin“
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 5867
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 2545
Eulenburg Miniature Scores
for: Harpsichord, strings
Study score
Item no.: 749242
Sonate 2 aus: Sechs Sonaten für Cembalo, mit Begleitung einer Violine, op. 2
for: Harpsichord, violin
Score, part
Item no.: 626734
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 999117
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 1667686
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 998981
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 999115
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 999116
3 Concerti, Serenata, Sinfonia
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 999189
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Item no.: 179359
für Orgel
für Cembalo
Frutti Musicali
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Organ score
Item no.: 582994
Toccaten für Orgel (oder Cembalo) verschiedener Komponisten
Frutti Musicali
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Organ score
Item no.: 577801
R 539/P 321
for: 2 horns, string orchestra, harpsichord
Score
Item no.: 262682
for: 2 horns, string orchestra, harpsichord
Score
Item no.: 262586
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 578948
Faksimile der Ausgabe von 1728 Dresden
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music lesson book (reprint)
Item no.: 557890
Edition Vieweg (Musikschätze vergangener Zeiten)
for: Harpsichord [piano], 2 violins, cello
Score
Item no.: 338115
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 999124
Klassik
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 315147
für Cembalo, Streicher und Bc
Berliner Klassik, Serie A, Konzerte, Bd. 4
for: Harpsichord, strings, basso continuo
Score
Item no.: 622959
Includes six harpsichord concertos in full score.
for: 2 harpsichords, orchestra
Score
Item no.: 416718
Peters East German Library 1949-1990
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 1665007
Klassik
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 1109785
Faksimile des Erstdrucks Halle 1767
Quellenkataloge zur Musikgeschichte 38
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music lesson book (reprint, hardcover)
Item no.: 430630
for: Harpsichord, strings, basso continuo
Score
Item no.: 191464
sopra li tuoni a quattro
Vierstimmige Ricercare in den acht Kirchentonarten
Antiqua
for: 4 melodic instruments [keyboard instrument]
Choir part Soprano
Item no.: 1549866
Ed. A. Longo - Sonate 1 - 50
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 389086
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Spielpartitur, Sammelband
Item no.: 115163
Band II
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Spielpartitur, Sammelband
Item no.: 115126
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 1689142
per Clavicembalo
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 1557383
6 Partite BWV 825-830
EMB Urtext
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 255857
Oeuvre XIIe
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 353023
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