"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.
(HH.32 n. 11)
for: 2 horns, string orchestra, harpsichord
Score
Item no.: 692892
Orgelpartita
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score
Item no.: 692673
für die Festtage des Kirchenjahres
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score
Item no.: 692674
Classic Chorale Preludes
Arranged for Keyboard and Any Solo Instrument
for: Melody instrument (C/B-flat/E-flat/F), organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Piano score, Solo part (pdf download)
Item no.: 692671
Classic Chorale Preludes
Arranged for Keyboard and Any Solo Instrument
for: Melody instrument (C/B-flat/E-flat/F), organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Piano score, Solo part (pdf download)
Item no.: 692698
Classic Chorale Preludes
Arranged for Keyboard and Any Solo Instrument
for: Melody instrument (C/B-flat/E-flat/F), organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Piano score, solo part, online media (anthology)
Item no.: 692702
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 692282
Urtext
for: 2 harpsichords [2 pianos]
Piano reduction (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 692285
pro pulsandis organis, spinettis, manuchordis etc.
Spiridionis a Monte Carmelo
Tastata – Opere d'intavolatuta d'organo e cimbalo
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 691940
pro pulsandis organis, spinettis, manuchordis etc.
Spiridionis a Monte Carmelo
Tastata – Opere d'intavolatuta d'organo e cimbalo
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 691942
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 1203397
for: Harpsichord, strings
Score
Item no.: 690373
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 689871
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 689516
for: Harpsichord
Music lesson book
Item no.: 689492
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music score
Item no.: 688315
Six easy Pieces from "Die Zauberflöte"
for: Piano [harpsichord] four hand
Score
Item no.: 688019
Documenta augustana musica Band 6
for: Harpsichord, violin, cello
Piano score, parts
Item no.: 687781
Documenta augustana musica Band 6
for: Harpsichord, violin, cello
Parts (2)
Item no.: 687782
Urtext Stuttgarter Bach-Ausgaben
for: 2 harpsichords
2 single parts
Item no.: 687419
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 687152
Stuttgarter Schütz-Edition Volume 12
29 motets for 5 to 7 voices and basso continuo (SWV 369–397)
for: Basso continuo
Single part Basso continuo
Item no.: 686813
Volume I-IV
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
5 music scores (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 686726
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 686609
Fantasias and Selected Works
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 686617
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score
Item no.: 1203349
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score
Item no.: 1203348
A luxurious folio of celebrated two-part inventions by J. S. Bach, a challenging selection of pieces that will develop awareness of melodic construction and counterpoint
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 686180
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 1203316
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 1203317
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 684436
CD zum Lern-und Übungsbuch
in Vorbereitung!
for: Instrument [voice]
CD
Item no.: 683434
Thema und sechs Variationen für Orgel (Cembalo/Klavier)
auf die Melodie von Alfred Hans Zoller
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score
Item no.: 682549
Klassik
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 1148138
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Book
Item no.: 846698
für Cembalo
organum Band 10
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 682036
The Nuts and Bolts of Music Improvisation
for: Instrument [voice]
Book (softcover)
Item no.: 681777
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
May 2018 (A and B Papers)
for: Instrument [voice]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 681367
May 2018 (A and B Papers)
for: Instrument [voice]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 681366
May 2018 (A and B Papers)
for: Instrument [voice]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 681360
May 2018 (A and B Papers)
for: Instrument [voice]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 681371
May 2018 (A and B Papers)
for: Instrument [voice]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 681362
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
Rekonstruktion nach BWV 1056
BÄRENREITER URTEXT
for: Harpsichord
Stimme, Urtextausgabe
Item no.: 868869
aus "Sei Fughe e Preludie per il Clavicembalo ò Organo", op. 6
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 6364
24 Präludien für Klavier (Orgel/Cembalo)
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music score
Item no.: 677415
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