"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.
(1–44)
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 265340
for: Organ (manuals) [harpsichord]
Item no.: 348610
Bärenreiter Urtext
with Fingerings
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 172511
Edizione critica
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 189530
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 214205
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 767231
Ordres 20-27
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 770870
Collection of First Editions
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score (anthology)
Item no.: 425763
20 Barock-Stücke
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score
Item no.: 331370
for: Violin, harpsichord, string orchestra
Score
Item no.: 155815
Johann Jacob Froberger. Neue Ausgabe sämtlicher Werke 6,1 | BÄRENREITER URTEXT
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Gesamtausgabe, Sammelband, Spielpartitur, Urtextausgabe
Item no.: 580466
per clavicembalo o organo
for: Harpsichord [organ manuals]
Music score
Item no.: 129264
für Orgel
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Item no.: 578151
16 Barock-Stücke
for: Organ [harmonium/harpsichord/piano]
Music score
Item no.: 430852
Milano, Biblioteca del Conservatorio “Giuseppe Verdi”, Fondo Noseda, [Ms. 8802], L 22 / 1-9 e L 24-35; brani desunti da varie fonti
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 549995
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 459448
Five concertos based on works by Vivaldi and others / Two sonatas and fugue based on works by Reinken
BWV 985-987, 592a, 972a
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 289313
Miscellaneous Suites and Pieces. First Part
Urtext of the Halle Handel Edition
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 116296
d'intavolatura di cembalo e organo (1627-1637)
Girolamo Frescobaldi – Opere Complete III
Monumenti Musicali Italiani V
for: Harpsichord [organ]
Music score
Item no.: 694476
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 686609
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 469218
Chaconne
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 352896
Livre 1
Le Pupitre 21
Collection de musique ancienne publiée sous la direction de François Lesure
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 177100
with Fingerings
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 426089
Complete Harpsichord Works 2
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music score
Item no.: 326233
Cembalodarabok
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 255216
Meredith Music Resource
for: Instrument [voice]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 428809
Parte quarta (No. 151-200)
EMB Urtext
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 197563
Libero Quarto
Monumenti Musicali Italiani X
Girolamo Frescobaldi Opere complete
for: Harpsichord [organ]
2 music scores
Item no.: 744998
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 605717
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 932313
For Harpsichord
for: Harpsichord
Solostimme
Item no.: 1626544
Klassik
for: Harpsichord
Score
Item no.: 1109804
BWV 772–786
Fingerings and articulations by Ottavio Dantone
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 693101
Nos. 1, 3, 5 and 7
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 931133
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 999109
(IP 55)
for: Harpsichord, strings
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1557382
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 998983
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 1203316
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 998931
for: Harpsichord
Book (reprint)
Item no.: 998661
for: Harpsichord; violin ad lib.
Music score
Item no.: 1660593
for: Harpsichord, strings
Score
Item no.: 690373
Serie: Organistica
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 641555
(London, British Library Ms. Add.31501/I)
for: 2 harpsichords
Music score
Item no.: 1670330
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 638187
für Cembalo oder Orgel
for: Harpsichord [organ]
Music score
Item no.: 648703
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 999088
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