"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 [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 638198
for: Harpsichord, orchestra
Score
Item no.: 335593
Fantasias and Toccatas
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 177669
Corpus Of Early Keyboard Music 6/2
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Item no.: 290319
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1640111
Corpus Of Early Keyboard Music 40/2
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 605409
a-Moll BR-WFB C 14
for: Harpsichord, strings
Set of parts
Item no.: 640909
(Facsimile)
for: Harpsichord
Music score (reprint)
Item no.: 578654
Johann und Johann Philipp Krieger. Sämtliche Orgel- und Clavierwerke 2
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 289267
New Edition of the Complete Works Vol. V.2
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 632308
Dover Piano And Keyboard Editions
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (anthology)
Item no.: 144300
für Tasteninstrumente
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Item no.: 334100
Urtextausgabe
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 609150
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 561752
for: Harpsichord
Music score (reprint, hardcover)
Item no.: 561727
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 550005
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 648663
Sinfonías I–VIII
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 1009176
Gli strumenti musicali
Storia della loro evoluzione tecnica e artistica
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 254227
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music score
Item no.: 285939
Corpus Of Early Keyboard Music 6/3
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Item no.: 290318
Ed. A. Longo - Sonate 401-450
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 1658386
Ed. A. Longo - Sonate 1 - 50
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 1681148
Ed. A. Longo - Sonate 151-200
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 1659751
Laaber Reprint 6
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score (reprint)
Item no.: 225551
Pian & Forte Vol. 143
for: Harpsichord
Music score (hardcover)
Item no.: 1163518
Pian & Forte Vol. 142
for: Harpsichord
Music score (hardcover)
Item no.: 1163519
Pian & Forte Vol. 144
for: Harpsichord
Music score (hardcover)
Item no.: 1163517
Harmonie et contrepoint au clavier
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 1136877
Opera Omnia Per Strumento A Tastiera 2~Complete Works For Keyboard (Urtextausgabe) (Urtext)
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 368324
Fantasias SwWV 254-275,277-281
Breitkopf Urtext
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 455888
Johann Jacob Froberger. Neue Ausgabe sämtlicher Werke 3,1 (Gesamtausgabe, Sammelband, Urtextausgabe) (Complete edition, Collection, Urtext)
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Performance scores
Item no.: 328937
Johann Jacob Froberger. Neue Ausgabe sämtlicher Werke 4,1 (Gesamtausgabe, Sammelband, Urtextausgabe) (Complete edition, Collection, Urtext)
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 339709
Thematic Catalogue (ASOT)
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Book (softcover)
Item no.: 771697
mit über 200 Notenbeispielen und 24 Abbildungen
zweite Auflage 2013
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Book (Hardcover)
Item no.: 586864
Kontexte – Strukturen – Didaktik
Studien der Stiftung Händel-Haus 3
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Book (softcover)
Item no.: 662449
His figured bass exercises
Early Music Series vol.12
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 586877
Ricercars
Volume 2
Corpus Of Early Keyboard Music 36
Bound copy temporarily out of stock!
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 290330
Ed. A. Longo - Sonate 1 - 50
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 389086
Ed. A. Longo - Sonate 451-500
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 389116
Ed. A. Longo - Sonate 201-250
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 389110
Gegenwartsmusik
for: Harpsichord
Score
Item no.: 390656
Ed. A. Longo
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 389117
Ed. A. Longo - Sonate 51-100
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 389087
Sonate 151–200
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 389101
Ed. A. Longo - Sonate 101-150
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 389088
Ed. A. Longo - Sonate 351-400
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 389113
Sonate 401–450
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 389114
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