"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
Score
Item no.: 833146
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 858754
for: Harpsichord, strings, basso continuo
Violin 1 (orchestral part)
Item no.: 491613
for: Basso continuo
Single part Basso continuo
Item no.: 631319
for: 2 harpsichords, strings, basso continuo
Viola (orchestral part)
Item no.: 640897
for: 3 harpsichords, strings, basso continuo
Single part harpsichord 3
Item no.: 289770
for: Harpsichord, flute, violin, strings, basso continuo
Single part (Flute solo)
Item no.: 205413
for: Harpsichord, strings, basso continuo
Cello, double bass (orchestral part)
Item no.: 191468
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score (reprint)
Item no.: 1013357
Klassik
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 1162872
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 648615
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 648634
Corpus Of Early Keyboard Musik 45
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 301394
für Orgel oder Cembalo
London, ca. 1785
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Single part Organ
Item no.: 646507
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 603875
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 1026583
Performers' Facsimiles 57 (Faksimile) (Facsimile)
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 340877
"Triple Concerto"
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Harpsichord, flute, violin, strings, basso continuo
Single part (Violin solo)
Item no.: 817359
a-Moll BR-WFB C 14
for: Harpsichord, strings
Set of parts
Item no.: 640909
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 385385
aus "Das Alexanderfest"
for: Harpsichord
Single part Harpsichord
Item no.: 421708
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 1162879
for: Basso continuo
Item no.: 145169
Corpus Of Early Keyboard Music 36/1
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Item no.: 290329
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 1200944
Corpus Of Early Keyboard Music 36/4
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 369344
Performers' Facsimiles 167
for: Harpsichord
Music score (reprint)
Item no.: 376701
for: Harpsichord, flute, violin, strings, basso continuo
Cello (orchestral part)
Item no.: 329676
for: Basso continuo
Item no.: 116490
Kantate zum 1. Weihnachtsfeiertag
for: Basso continuo
Single part Basso continuo
Item no.: 234668
17 Composizioni rare per clavicembalo
Erstausgabe
Frutti Musicale
for: Harpsichord [organ manuals]
Single part Harpsichord
Item no.: 694031
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 305564
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 207200
for: Basso continuo
Score
Item no.: 232028
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 461716
for: 2 harpsichords
2 single parts
Item no.: 687419
for: Harpsichord, strings, basso continuo
Viola (orchestral part)
Item no.: 491615
for: Harpsichord
Single part Harpsichord
Item no.: 421684
for: 4 harpsichords, strings, basso continuo
Cello, double bass (orchestral part)
Item no.: 328047
for: 3 harpsichords, strings, basso continuo
Violin 2 (orchestral part)
Item no.: 290451
for: Harpsichord, strings, basso continuo
Single part Harpsichord
Item no.: 191474
for: 2 harpsichords, strings, basso continuo
Single part harpsichord 2
Item no.: 188135
for: Organ (manuals) [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 1678186
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 1660585
Klassik
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 1177993
for: Harpsichord
Single part
Item no.: 605985
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 999110
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