"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.
aus: Huit Fugues pour le Clavecin ou l'orgue
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 3839
C-Dur, BWV 772
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1438
aus: Six Fugues pour L’Orgue ou Le Clavecin, op. 6
Paris, 1777
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 5815
faist sur ma Mort future la quelle se jove avec discretion
for: Harpsichord
Sheet music
Item no.: 1124
aus: Huit Fugues pour le Clavecin ou l'orgue
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 5782
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 3228
Rondeau
aus: "Pièces de Clavecin, Troisième Suite"
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 4444
K. 13 (Longo 486)
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 5554
K. 420 (Longo S. 2)
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 2537
for: Harpsichord [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1154
aus dem Klavierbüchlein für Anna Magdalena Bach
BWV Anh. 114-116
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 2102
BWV 901
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1048
aus "XXVII Sonatas Para Clave"
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 2161
aus "Sei Fughe e Preludie per il Clavicembalo ò Organo", op. 6
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 4590
aus "Toccate, Canzoni, ed altre Sonate, ..."
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 3471
aus "Pièces de Clavecin, Dix-Huitième Ordre"
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 4243
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 4250
g-Moll, HWV 574
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 3807
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 2350
K. 461 (Longo 8)
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1144
K. 487 (Longo 205)
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 4372
aus "Sei Fughe e Preludie per il Clavicembalo ò Organo", op. 6
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 6363
Hob. XVI:7
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1472
BWV 902
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1052
From "The Sufferings of the Queen of France" (No. 9/10)
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 3672
aus: Libro secondo di Toccate, Fantasie, Canzone...
Wien, 1649
for: Harpsichord [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 3003
aus "Toccate e partite d’intavolatura di cimbalo e organo, libro primo"
for: Harpsichord [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1663
TWV 33:7
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 3937
C-Dur, HWV 577
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 4453
aus: VIII Sonate per cembalo, op. 1
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 5480
aus: VIII Sonate per cembalo, op. 1
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 5866
aus "Toccate, Canzoni, ed altre Sonate, ..."
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 5392
aus: "Six Fugues pour L'Orgue ou Le Clavecin", op. 6
Paris, 1777
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 5450
aus: "Toccate e Corenti d’Intavolatura d’Organo e Cimbalo..."
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 2725
K. 491 (Longo 164)
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 2486
in C, Z 666
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 2069
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 2238
aus "Divertimento Cembalo Solo oder monatliche Belustigungen des Claviers, bestehend aus Sonaten, Sonatinen, Mourquien, Menuetten und Trios &c."
(Kopenhagen, 1765)
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 2805
aus der Suite in B-Dur, HWV 434
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 3536
aus "Sei Fughe e Preludie per il Clavicembalo ò Organo", op. 6
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 4263
aus: "Twelve Pieces for the Harpsichord or Piano", op. 10
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 4527
alla Duodecima in Contrapunto alla Quinta
aus "Die Kunst der Fuge", BWV 1080
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1864
K. 403 (Longo 470)
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 2270
aus "Toccate, Canzoni, ed altre Sonate, ..."
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 3198
K. 141 (Longo 413)
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 3307
K. 545 / Longo 500
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1285
K. 55 (Longo 355)
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 4614
aus: Pieces de Clavessin
Paris 1705
for: 2 harpsichords [2 pianos]
Score, parts (pdf download)
Item no.: 6127
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