"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.
Napoli 1576
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 1011480
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1010259
Sinfonías I–VIII
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 1009176
für Cembalo
for: Harpsichord
Score
Item no.: 1198944
Aus den Quellen zusammengetragen
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 817302
Aus den Quellen zusammengetragen
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 817303
Sacri Concentus Ratisbonenses Band 23
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 817299
Aus den Quellen zusammengetragen
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 817301
per il Clavicordo
Edition Schott
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 817216
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 796775
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 796109
Interpretazione e ricostruzione di antichi strumenti a tastiera
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Book
Item no.: 780790
overo dell'istromento musico perfetto - Con annotazioni critiche manoscritte di Scipione Stella
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 780799
Essercizi per gravicembalo
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 779029
Jedes Tier zeigt dir seinen Rhythmus
Für jeglichen musikalischen Basisunterricht in Musikschule, Grundschule und Kindergarten
for: Instrument [voice]
Music score
Item no.: 778535
Edition without fingering
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 778193
Henle Urtext Editions
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 778190
Transkription für Orgel oder Cembalo
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 777895
Transkription für Orgel oder Cembalo
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 777897
Transkription für Orgel oder Cembalo
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 777899
Transkription für Orgel oder Cembalo
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 777894
Transkription für Orgel oder Cembalo
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 777900
Transkription für Orgel oder Cembalo
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 777893
Transkription für Orgel oder Cembalo
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 777898
Transkription für Orgel oder Cembalo
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 777902
Transkription für Orgel oder Cembalo
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 777896
Transkription für Orgel oder Cembalo
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 777892
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 777877
Prassi cembalo-organistica del basso continuo italiano dalle origini all'inizio del XVIII sec
for: Harpsichord [organ]
Book
Item no.: 777887
Complete Edition with critical report, clothbound, Reihe XV, Band 1
for: Organ [harpsichord], orchestra
Score (with critical report)
Item no.: 776825
Complete Edition with critical report, paperbound, Reihe XV, Band 1
for: Organ [harpsichord], orchestra
Score (with critical report)
Item no.: 776826
Reihe Print on demand
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 775742
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score
Item no.: 1198980
Gegenwartsmusik
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 1193606
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 1087218
Gegenwartsmusik
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 1163783
Gegenwartsmusik
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 1163779
Storia, estetica e prassi esecutive
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Book
Item no.: 773592
S.B.P.K. Landsberg 215 – Parte I
Tastature – Musiche intavolate per strumenti da tasto
for: Harpsichord [organ]
Music score
Item no.: 773423
London, B1 Bs. Add. 31501, II-III
Tastata – Opere d'intavolatura d'organo e cimbalo
for: Harpsichord [organ]
Music score
Item no.: 773422
Saggi di contrappunto (S.B.P.K. Landsberg 214)
Regole... per ben accompagnare con il Cembalo (Bc, MS. D 138/2)
Tastata – Opere d'intavolatura d'organo e cimbalo
for: Harpsichord [organ]
Music score
Item no.: 773425
S.B.P.K. Landsberg 215 – Parte III
Tastata – Opere d'intavolatura d'organo e cimbalo
for: Harpsichord [organ]
Music score
Item no.: 773420
S.B.P.K. Landsberg 215 – Parte II
Tastata – Opere d'intavolatura d'organo e cimbalo
for: Harpsichord [organ]
Music score
Item no.: 773419
Bologna, Arch. Prov. di Cristo Re
Tastata – Opere d'intavolatura d'organo e cimbalo
for: Harpsichord [organ]
Music score
Item no.: 773418
S.B.P.K. Landsberg 215 – Parte IV
Tastature – Musiche intavolate per strumenti da tasto
for: Harpsichord [organ]
Music score
Item no.: 773424
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (anthology)
Item no.: 773113
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 773078
Napoli, Biblioteca del Conservatorio «S. Pietro a Majella», Ms. 46.1.29; Montecassino, Biblioteca dell’Abbazia, Ms. 126 D. 3; altre fonti (Berlino, Firenze, Londra, Roma, Vienna)
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 771745
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