"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
Music score
Item no.: 1690130
Amsterdam, E.Roger
for: Harpsichord
Music score (reprint)
Item no.: 1687834
22 composizioni
for: Organ (manuals) [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 1678288
for: Harpsichord, violin, cello
Score
Item no.: 1677385
on the chorale "Vor deinenThron tret ich hiermit"
by Johann Sebastian Bach (BWV 668)
for: 2 violins, viola, cello, double bass, harpsichord
Score
Item no.: 1668822
per clavicembalo
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 1653408
Rom 1598
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1651361
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 1651043
(Six canonic inventions for two voices)
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 1650971
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1646261
30 Werke
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 1646161
Edition without fingering
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1559395
Klassik
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Buch
Item no.: 1635282
Edition without fingering
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1559396
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1559399
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1559398
Edition without fingering
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1559394
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1559397
A collection
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 1613186
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 1584443
for harpsicord, op. 1
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 1584456
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 1584442
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 1584457
for harpsichord (or piano)
for: Harpsichord
Single edition
Item no.: 1565956
for: Harpsichord, flute, violin, strings, basso continuo
Score
Item no.: 1198822
3 Concerti, Serenata, Sinfonia
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 999189
8 Concerti & 1 Sonata
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 999191
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 999223
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 999225
10 Concerti
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 999190
9 Concerti & 2 Ouvertures
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 999192
Harmonie et contrepoint au clavier
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 1136877
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 1559113
Urtext Edition without fingering
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1558302
Edition without fingering
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1558295
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1558306
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Hardcover, Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1558293
Urtext Edition without fingering
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1558308
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1558303
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1558298
Urtext Edition without fingering
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1558305
per Clavicembalo
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 1557383
(IP 55)
for: Harpsichord, strings
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1557382
per clavicembalo e archi, IP 53
for: Harpsichord, strings
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1557410
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 1557384
Chordal schemes for the introduction to the practice of accompaniment in the 17th and 18th centuries on Lute, Theorbo, Guitar, Harp and Keyboard instruments
for: Basso continuo
Music lesson book
Item no.: 1557090
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1556857
Orgel-, Cembalo- und Orchesterwerke
in leicht spielbarer Manualiter-Bearbeitung
for: Organ (manuals) [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 1556703
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