"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.
The Books of 1705-6 and 1724
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 131798
May 2018 (A and B Papers)
for: Instrument [voice]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 681362
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Book
Item no.: 1005085
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (anthology)
Item no.: 770916
for: Harpsichord [organ]
2 music scores
Item no.: 695021
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 1037878
Eulenburg Miniature Scores
for: Harpsichord, strings
Study score
Item no.: 749242
Sonate 2 aus: Sechs Sonaten für Cembalo, mit Begleitung einer Violine, op. 2
for: Harpsichord, violin
Score, part
Item no.: 626734
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 999117
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 1667686
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 998981
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 999115
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 999116
3 Concerti, Serenata, Sinfonia
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 999189
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Item no.: 179359
für Orgel
für Cembalo
Frutti Musicali
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Organ score
Item no.: 582994
Toccaten für Orgel (oder Cembalo) verschiedener Komponisten
Frutti Musicali
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Organ score
Item no.: 577801
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 578948
Faksimile der Ausgabe von 1728 Dresden
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music lesson book (reprint)
Item no.: 557890
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 999124
Peters East German Library 1949-1990
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 1665007
Klassik
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 1109785
Faksimile des Erstdrucks Halle 1767
Quellenkataloge zur Musikgeschichte 38
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music lesson book (reprint, hardcover)
Item no.: 430630
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Spielpartitur, Sammelband
Item no.: 115163
Band II
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Spielpartitur, Sammelband
Item no.: 115126
per Clavicembalo
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 1557383
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 777877
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 1329335
Johann Sebastian Bach. Neue Ausgabe sämtlicher Werke (NBA) V/12
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score (Hardcover, Urtext edition)
Item no.: 476066
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music score
Item no.: 276260
France 1650-1700
for: Harpsichord
Book (softcover)
Item no.: 122457
Fantasy
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 302665
Prague Spring
for: Harpsichord
Ensemble score
Item no.: 347379
Nr. 2 der "Vier Versuche für Tasteninstrumente"
for: Harpsichord
Ensemble score
Item no.: 117632
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 420102
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Item no.: 289775
(Roma 1727)
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 369821
(Parable Xxiv)
for: Harpsichord
Solostimme
Item no.: 1626546
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 1031476
22 composizioni
for: Organ (manuals) [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 1678288
Tre Partite per clavicembalo op. IV
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 1557402
Contemporary Pieces Harpsichord 4 Hands
for: Harpsichord four hand
Music score
Item no.: 1550115
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score
Item no.: 1198980
For Harpsichord
for: Harpsichord
Solostimme
Item no.: 1625067
Klassik
for: Harpsichord
Solostimme
Item no.: 1625061
Klassik
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 1625059
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 930906
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