"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
Music score
Item no.: 1163518
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 908732
for: Harpsichord, strings
Score
Item no.: 549550
for: Harpsichord [piano], 2 violins, cello
Score
Item no.: 338115
for: 2 harpsichords [2 pianos]
Score
Item no.: 352438
for: 2 horns, string orchestra, harpsichord
Score
Item no.: 1657374
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Item no.: 472415
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 352078
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Item no.: 288932
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 5233
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 5867
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 5782
for: Organ (manuals) [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 5645
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 1551570
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 315147
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 636659
for: 2 horns, string orchestra, harpsichord
Score
Item no.: 262682
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 229384
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 4230
for: 4 harpsichords, strings, basso continuo
Score, parts (pdf download)
Item no.: 3994
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 2898
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 2742
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 2545
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 6081
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 4560
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 4444
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 4385
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 3228
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Item no.: 185310
Part 1: BWV 846-869
Edition without fingering
Henle Studien-Edition
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Study score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 155692
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 769914
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 1625059
Collection of First Editions
German Organ and Keyboard Music of the 17th Century, Volume II
Bärenreiter
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score (Urtext edition, anthology)
Item no.: 134890
(Urtext)
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 458645
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 356084
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 353023
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 1329335
for: 2 horns, string orchestra, harpsichord
Score
Item no.: 262586
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 389086
Urtext Edition,
Study score (pocket score)
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Study score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 166942
Includes six harpsichord concertos in full score.
for: 2 harpsichords, orchestra
Score
Item no.: 416718
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 296552
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score (Hardcover, Urtext edition)
Item no.: 476066
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 431040
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Score
Item no.: 176934
Revidierte Interpretationsausgabe
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 418152
for: Organ (manuals) [harpsichord]
Item no.: 167997
for: Harpsichord, strings, basso continuo
Score
Item no.: 191464
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