"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.
17 Barock-Stücke
for: Organ [harmonium/harpsichord/piano]
Music score
Item no.: 430850
Für Klavier oder Cembalo
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 138953
for: 2 horns, string orchestra, harpsichord
Piano reduction, solo parts
Item no.: 139356
Variations on Songs and Dances
Breitkopf Urtext
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 304381
inspired by Johann Sebastian Bach
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 1479679
Trascrizione per Organo
for: Harpsichord [organ]
Music score
Item no.: 618616
le pupitre 58
Tome 2 – Volume 2
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 239858
Livre 3
Le Pupitre 23
Collection de musique ancienne publiée sous la direction de François Lesure
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 177102
for: Organ (manuals) [harpsichord]
Item no.: 289754
Vol. I: Le musiche
Tastata – Opere d'intavolatura d'organo e cimbalo
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Item no.: 764562
Dover Piano And Keyboard Editions
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 136169
24 Präludien für Klavier (Orgel/Cembalo)
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music score
Item no.: 677415
Aus den Quellen zusammengetragen
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 817302
aus: Sonate per Gravicembalo
London 1739
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 6183
Edition Schott
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 748846
Fantasias and Toccatas
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 177669
S.B.P.K. Landsberg 215 – Parte III
Tastata – Opere d'intavolatura d'organo e cimbalo
for: Harpsichord [organ]
Music score
Item no.: 773420
per cembalo
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 1670683
Pian & Forte Vol. 142
for: Harpsichord
Music score (hardcover)
Item no.: 1163519
für Cembalo und kleines Orchester
Cembalokonzerte des 18. Jahrhunderts
for: Harpsichord, orchestra
Score
Item no.: 163964
für Orgel (Cembalo)
SSWV 139-158
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 227077
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 148801
BWV 870–893
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 142396
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 284814
Band 2: Sonaten 7-12
Klaviermusik der Vorklassik
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 352406
17 Barock-Stücke
for: Organ [harmonium/harpsichord/piano]
Music score
Item no.: 430851
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 370720
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 341775
of the most celebrated lessons from Handel’s “Rinaldo” and other operas by Bononcini, Gasparini, Haym, Handel
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 364819
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Harpsichord
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 659382
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 483970
Miscellabeous Suites and Pieces. Second Part
Urtext of the Halle Handel Edition
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 116297
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 695374
Musica per la tastiera 3
Tastenmusik aus dem 16. und 17. Jahrhundert
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score
Item no.: 255852
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Score
Item no.: 419198
für ein Tasteninstrument
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 207598
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Item no.: 605580
with 8 Préludes and 1 Allemande from "L'Art de toucher le clavecin" (1716–1717)
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Harpsichord
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 677377
Part 1: BWV 846-869
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Hardcover, Urtext edition)
Item no.: 401116
Part 2: BWV 870-BWV 893
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Hardcover, Urtext edition)
Item no.: 401136
"Alternative versions, ammendments and addtions included in appendix / with the supplement "Mirror Fugues for two Harpsichords"
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 229398
BWV 902
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1052
aus: „Four Lessons and two Voluntaries for the Harpsichord or Organ“
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 5446
aus: "Recueil des differentes pièces pour clavecin"
Mannheim, 1787
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 6444
Edition Schott
for: Violin, harpsichord, string orchestra
Piano reduction, solo part
Item no.: 726652
from "Pièces de clavecin", Vol. 2, Ordre No. 6
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 755921
Nr. 1–104
Lüneburg Ratsbücherei
for: harpsichord [organ/piano]
2 music scores
Item no.: 695952
Convivio musicale vol. 86
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 648706
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