"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, violin, cello
Score
Item no.: 1677385
(Six canonic inventions for two voices)
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 1650971
A collection
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 1613186
for harpsichord (or piano)
for: Harpsichord
Single edition
Item no.: 1565956
Erstausgabe
Urtext
for: Harpsichord
Urtextausgabe, Digitalartikel (AODP)
Item no.: 1639969
TWV 41:C2, aus: Nouvelles sonatines à clavessin ou violon
ou traversière, dont 2 sont accomodés pour la flûte à bec
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 6461
aus "Sei Fughe e Preludie per il Clavicembalo ò Organo", op. 6
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 6364
from: Il primo libro di Capricci, Rom 1624
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 6447
aus: "Recueil des differentes pièces pour clavecin"
Mannheim, 1787
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 6444
aus "Sei Fughe e Preludie per il Clavicembalo ò Organo", op. 6
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 6363
aus: Sonate per Gravicembalo
London 1739
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 6183
für zwei Cembali oder Cembalo und Diskantinstrument
aus: Troisiéme Livre de piéces de Clavecin, Paris 1722
for: 2 harpsichords [flute/violin, harpsichord]
Score, parts (pdf download)
Item no.: 6126
aus: Collectaneorum musicorum, Wien 1718
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Score, parts (pdf download)
Item no.: 6167
g-Moll, BWV 782
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 6189
c-Moll, BWV 773
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1439
aus: Clavierübungen – Erste Sammlung
Berlin, 1761
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 5496
Fk 10 / BR-WFB A 12
for: 2 harpsichords [2 pianos]
Score, parts (pdf download)
Item no.: 6123
aus: Pieces de Clavessin
Paris 1705
for: 2 harpsichords [2 pianos]
Score, parts (pdf download)
Item no.: 6127
aus: Second Livre de piéces de Clavecin, Neuviême Ordre
Paris 1717
for: 2 harpsichords [2 pianos]
Score, parts (pdf download)
Item no.: 6128
aus: VIII Sonate per cembalo, op. 1
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 5866
aus: VIII Sonate per cembalo, op. 1
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 6479
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 734244
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 756273
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 726493
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 756274
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 726492
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 734243
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 726494
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 756271
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 756272
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 726495
Versuch einer Rekonstruktion der verlorenen Autographe
for: Harpsichord
Sheet music
Item no.: 1640058
Die Kunst das Clavecin zu spielen
for: Harpsichord
Sheet music
Item no.: 1640305
for: Harpsichord
Sheet music
Item no.: 1640259
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1640111
aus: VI Ouverturen nebst zween Folgesätzen
Nürnberg, c. 1745
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 5233
from "The Old Bachelor"
Z. T685
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 4230
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: 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
BWV 935
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 6081
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
aus: Huit Fugues pour le Clavecin ou l'orgue
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 4385
aus "Il secondo libro di toccate d’intavolatura di cembalo e organo"
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 2900
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 3228
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