"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: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 606734
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 606733
Part 2 Nos. 31–46
Studj per cembalo con partimenti diversi
Monuments of Partimento Realizations Volume 1B
for: Organ (manuals) [harpsichord]
Music score (spiral binding)
Item no.: 798230
E.B. Marks
for: Harpsichord
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1107901
for: Harpsichord [piano], chamber orchestra
Horn 1, 2 (orchestral part)
Item no.: 1355233
Klassik
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 858754
Gegenwartsmusik
for: Harpsichord
Score
Item no.: 833146
De la mémoire à l'improvisation – Vol 1
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 833992
Vol. II
Urtext – Critical Source Ddition of the Free Organ Works
for: Organ (manuals) [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 817266
Volume 1: Concertos 1–3
for: Organ (manuals) [harpsichord], string orchestra, basso continuo
Score
Item no.: 1549873
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 989447
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 1148911
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 893020
Henle Urtext Editions
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1696654
Ed. A. Longo - Sonate 401-450
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 1658386
for harpsichord
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 748307
Concerto grosso A Minor
for: Violin, harpsichord, string orchestra
Single part Viola
Item no.: 729360
Eulenburg Miniature Scores
for: Harpsichord, strings
Study score
Item no.: 749235
New Reconstruction by Jan Devlieger
for: 2 harpsichords [2 pianos]
2 Scores
Item no.: 1009388
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 999107
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 999156
"Triple Concerto"
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Harpsichord, flute, violin, strings, basso continuo
Single part (Violin solo)
Item no.: 817359
Claviertranskriptionen aus den Opern von J.B. Lully und Agostino Steffani
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 781023
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 999121
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score (reprint)
Item no.: 1013357
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 1026583
Edition Schott
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 726549
for: Harpsichord [piano], chamber orchestra
Score
Item no.: 1351877
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 963642
For Harpsichord
for: Harpsichord
Solostimme
Item no.: 1625071
For Harpsichord
for: Harpsichord
Solostimme
Item no.: 1625068
Cembalo
Solostimme
for: Harpsichord
Solostimme
Item no.: 1625065
Klassik
for: Harpsichord
Solostimme
Item no.: 1626543
For Harpsichord
for: Harpsichord
Solostimme
Item no.: 1627255
No. 7 Bb Major
for: Violin, harpsichord, string orchestra
Score
Item no.: 740655
for: Organ (manuals) [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 1678186
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music score
Item no.: 733726
Ed. A. Longo - Sonate 1 - 50
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 1681148
Klassik
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 1177993
for: Harpsichord
Score
Item no.: 1327298
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 1660585
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 999112
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 998930
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 999110
Musica Britannica 102
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music score (hardcover, anthology)
Item no.: 929320
aus: "6 Pariser Quartette"
for: Basso continuo
Single part Basso continuo
Item no.: 1642681
for: Harpsichord, piano, orchestra
Set of parts
Item no.: 1215685
Easier Piano Pieces 58
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 1043573
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