"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.
Erstausgabe
Harmonia Coelestis Band 9
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 623725
for: Organ (manuals) [harpsichord/clavichord]
Music score (anthology)
Item no.: 775705
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 553157
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 3307
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 3193
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 3010
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1864
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 2270
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 2238
for: Harpsichord [piano], 2 violins, cello
Score, parts (pdf download)
Item no.: 1873
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1285
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1126
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 3941
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 3914
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 3598
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 3536
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 3531
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 4527
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 4442
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 4263
for: Harpsichord [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 6008
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 2805
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 2729
for: Organ (manuals) [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 5651
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 5518
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 5311
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 346017
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 241413
corpus of Early Keyboard Music 5/5
Toccatas
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 368148
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 315138
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 388727
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 999119
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 481893
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 181512
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (anthology)
Item no.: 930034
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 1552693
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 577802
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Hardcover, Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1558293
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 570607
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1558303
Urtext Edition without fingering
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1558302
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 1552469
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 177113
Johann Jacob Froberger. Neue Ausgabe sämtlicher Werke 4,1 (Gesamtausgabe, Sammelband, Urtextausgabe) (Complete edition, Collection, Urtext)
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 339709
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Spielpartitur, Sammelband, Urtextausgabe
Item no.: 482119
for: Harpsichord, strings, basso continuo
Piano reduction
Item no.: 296591
Six Concertos after Vivaldi and Others
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 262345
New Edition of the Complete Works Vol. V.2
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 632308
© 2004–2024 by Stretta Music. Order and buy sheet music online.
Your specialist for all kinds of sheet music. Online shop, sheet music, music scores and play along for download, books, music stands, music stand lights, accessories.
There is a separate Stretta website for the country Worldwide. If your order is to be delivered to this country, you can switch, so that delivery times and shipping conditions are displayed correctly. Your shopping cart and your customer account will remain the same.
switch to Stretta Music Worldwide
stay on Stretta Music Finland
Germany
Austria
Switzerland
Netherlands
Belgium
France
Luxembourg
Italy
Spain
Portugal
Denmark
Sweden
Poland
Czech Republic
United Kingdom
