"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: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 1565626
for: Harpsichord
Score
Item no.: 239441
for: Harpsichord, strings, basso continuo
String parts 3/3/2/2/1
Item no.: 648601
for: Harpsichord, strings, basso continuo
Cello, violone [double bass] (orchestral part)
Item no.: 491616
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 819180
(Urtext)
for: Harpsichord, strings
Single part Harpsichord
Item no.: 191473
Klassik
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 1194077
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 643518
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 280673
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 313372
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 999092
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Item no.: 294866
Performers' Facsimiles New York
for: Harpsichord [organ manuals]
Item no.: 301425
Musicalady 6~Komponistinnen Des 18. Und 19. Jahrhunderts
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 298814
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 1584457
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 153213
for: Harpsichord, flute, violin, strings, basso continuo
Single part Violone [Double bass]
Item no.: 341084
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 385393
Performers' Facsimile 137 (Faksimile) (Facsimile)
for: Organ (manuals) [harpsichord]
Music score (reprint)
Item no.: 296181
30 Werke
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 1646161
Praeclassica
for: Harpsichord
Single part Harpsichord
Item no.: 421752
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 684436
Praeclassica
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Single part(n)
Item no.: 421849
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Book
Item no.: 846698
for: Basso continuo
Single part Basso continuo
Item no.: 557729
C-Dur
for: Harpsichord
Solostimme
Item no.: 1199460
Concerto grosso in A Minor
for: Violin, harpsichord, string orchestra
Einzelstimme ripieno
Item no.: 729354
for: Harpsichord
Score
Item no.: 992996
for: Harpsichord, strings
Score
Item no.: 378011
for: Harpsichord
Score
Item no.: 1197244
for: Harpsichord [organ]
Score
Item no.: 1044061
for: Harpsichord, orchestra
Violin 2 (orchestral part)
Item no.: 158340
Corpus Of Early Keyboard Music 40/1
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 605408
for: Basso continuo
Single part(n)
Item no.: 491753
for: 3 harpsichords, strings, basso continuo
Viola (orchestral part)
Item no.: 290452
for: Harpsichord, orchestra
Single part Harpsichord
Item no.: 227301
Corpus Of Early Keyboard Music 30/1
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 227404
Sacri Concentus Ratisbonenses Band 23
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 817299
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 999118
"Triple Concerto"
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Harpsichord, flute, violin, strings, basso continuo
Single part Cello (Double bass/Violone)
Item no.: 817352
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 1115019
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 144567
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 330570
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 583078
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Item no.: 294864
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 242726
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 648614
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 648641
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