"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: Organ (manuals) [harpsichord]
Item no.: 120797
from: Six Voluntaries
London, 1780
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 5565
Advent – Christmas – New Year
for Organ
Urtext
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 472454
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Item no.: 429523
für Orgel oder Cembalo
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Item no.: 685683
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 616173
Weihnachtskantate
for: Basso continuo
Single part Basso continuo
Item no.: 234570
for: Basso continuo
Single part Basso continuo
Item no.: 232624
Weihnachtskantate
for: Basso continuo
Single part Basso continuo
Item no.: 231047
Geistliche Kantate
BÄRENREITER URTEXT
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Stimme, Urtextausgabe
Item no.: 643774
Weihnachtskonzert
for: Harpsichord
Single part(n)
Item no.: 421460
BuxWV 52
Einzelstimme B.c.
for: Basso continuo
Single part Basso continuo
Item no.: 234321
for: Basso continuo
Single part Basso continuo
Item no.: 230976
for: Basso continuo
Single part Basso continuo
Item no.: 231612
for: Basso continuo
Single part Basso continuo
Item no.: 229783
for: Basso continuo
Single part Basso continuo
Item no.: 247591
for: Harpsichord
Single part Harpsichord
Item no.: 126835
aus: Magnificat (Fassung in Es-Dur)
Originale Besetzung durch zwei Querflöten, Orgel und Bc
for: Basso continuo
Single part Basso continuo
Item no.: 231104
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
Georg Friedrich Händels Übungen zur Satzlehre
Praxis und Theorie des Partimentospiels 2
Quellenkataloge zur Musikgeschichte 45
for: Harpsichord [organ]
Study book
Item no.: 331865
Dernière œuvre de Bach pour le clavecin – Argumentation
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Book (softcover)
Item no.: 247715
als Anleitung zum Continuospiel und freien Improvisieren in drei Lehrgängen
Mit 43 Originalsätzen der Generalbassliteratur
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 408255
das verrückte Klappbuch mit unbegrenzten Ideen zum Improvisieren
Mit gezielten Hinweisen für Klavier, Bläser, Streicher und Gesang
Ways – Music Pedagogical Series 24
for: Instrument [voice]
BookScore (spiral binding)
Item no.: 563920
Ein Lehrwerk auf der Basis von Quellen des 16. bis 19. Jahrhunderts
Notenband separat erhältlich
for: Harpsichord
Study book
Item no.: 678026
Prassi cembalo-organistica del basso continuo italiano dalle origini all'inizio del XVIII sec
for: Harpsichord [organ]
Book
Item no.: 777887
Grundlagen der Musik Band 5
Laaber Musikwissen
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Study book
Item no.: 636265
Première Année
Vol. 1 – Semaines 1 à 16
for: Harpsichord
Music lesson book
Item no.: 767769
Übungen im Generalbass-Spiel und in gebundener Improvisation
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 284778
Ein aufführungspraktisches Handbuch nach den Quellen
Studienbuch Musik
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Study book
Item no.: 223622
Jedes Tier zeigt dir seinen Rhythmus
Für jeglichen musikalischen Basisunterricht in Musikschule, Grundschule und Kindergarten
for: Instrument [voice]
Music score
Item no.: 778535
99 Songs, Arias, Rectatives, Chorals and Instrumental Pieces with Figured Bass
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 285106
for: Harpsichord
Music lesson book
Item no.: 275507
o sia il basso fondamentale sopra il Cembalo
Theorie und Praxis des Partimentospiels – Manuskript, Transkription und Übersetzung
Quellenkataloge zur Musikgeschichte Band 43
for: Harpsichord [organ]
Study book
Item no.: 562360
Erster und zweiter Teil. Reprint der 1. Auflage Berlin 1753 und 1762 (Reprint)
for: harpsichord [organ/piano]
Music lesson book (reprint)
Item no.: 149105
Première Année
Vol. 2 – Semaines 17 à 32
for: Harpsichord
Music lesson book
Item no.: 767771
Eleven pieces by Bull, Byrd, Gibbons and others with contemporary fingerings
for: Virginal [harpsichord]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 344524
Eine praktische Musiklehre
Heft 4b
Bausteine - Werkreihe (Praxishilfe) (Lehrmaterial) (Teaching material)
for: Instrument [voice]
Study book
Item no.: 103254
Eine praktische Musiklehre
Heft 1 – Lehrheft
for: Instrument [voice]
Study book
Item no.: 103239
Das Rhythmus-Erfolgsprogramm für Instrumentalisten, Sänger und Tänzer
für Selbststudium und kreativen Rhythmusunterricht
for: Instrument [voice]
Music lesson book, DVD
Item no.: 1022537
Einführung auf Grund zeitgenössischer Generalbaß-Schulen und systematische Übungen nach klassischen Beispielen (Lehrmaterial) (Teaching material)
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 385937
Ein Grundlehrgang für das Spiel auf dem Cembalo oder Spinett
unter Verwendung von Literatur aus dem 16. bis 18. Jahrhundert
for: Harpsichord
Music lesson book
Item no.: 352978
Eine praktische Musiklehre
Übungsheft
for: Instrument [voice]
Study book
Item no.: 103242
Eine praktische Musiklehre
Heft 1 – Übungsheft
for: Instrument [voice]
Study book
Item no.: 103240
Grundlagen – Tipps – Übungen – Hörbeispiele
for: Instrument [voice]
Lesson book (with online media)
Item no.: 1550479
Graduali applicazioni teorico pratiche
for: Harpsichord [organ]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 1014367
Storia, estetica e prassi esecutive
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Book
Item no.: 773592
Systeme der Harmonielehre und der Akkord-Bezifferung
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 268606
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![DL: J. Beckwith: Voluntary I, Orgel [Cembalo]](https://www.stretta-music.com/media/images2/65/55/5565.jpg)
