"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: Violin, harpsichord, string orchestra
Violin 1 (orchestral part)
Item no.: 116119
Claviertranskriptionen aus den Opern von J.B. Lully und Agostino Steffani
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 781023
Corpus Of Early Keyboard Music 6
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Item no.: 290317
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 648636
for: Harpsichord, strings, basso continuo
Violin 1 (orchestral part)
Item no.: 173890
for: Violin, harpsichord, string orchestra
Violin 2 (orchestral part)
Item no.: 116120
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 1026605
for: Harpsichord, strings, basso continuo
Viola (orchestral part)
Item no.: 173892
"Triple Concerto"
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Harpsichord, flute, violin, strings, basso continuo
Single part (Flute solo)
Item no.: 817355
for: Harpsichord, strings, basso continuo
Cello, double bass (orchestral part)
Item no.: 173893
for: Harpsichord, flute, violin, strings, basso continuo
Single part Harpsichord
Item no.: 162760
(Urtext)
for: Harpsichord, strings
Violin 2 (orchestral part)
Item no.: 191470
for: 4 harpsichords, strings, basso continuo
Single part harpsichord 2
Item no.: 328041
for: Basso continuo
Single part
Item no.: 156720
Corpus Of Early Keyboard Music 6/3
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Item no.: 290318
Corpus Of Early Keyboard Music 37/1
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 168306
for: 4 harpsichords, strings, basso continuo
Single part harpsichord 1
Item no.: 328040
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 648635
Pièces pour le clavecin ou l'orgue
for: Harpsichord [organ]
Music score
Item no.: 1646164
(Urtext)
for: Harpsichord, strings
Violin 1 (orchestral part)
Item no.: 191469
for: Harpsichord, strings, basso continuo
Violin 2 (orchestral part)
Item no.: 173891
for: Violin, harpsichord, string orchestra
Viola (orchestral part)
Item no.: 116122
(Urtext)
for: Harpsichord, strings
Cello, double bass (orchestral part)
Item no.: 191472
Corpus Of Early Keyboard Music 30/3
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Item no.: 290336
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 647339
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Item no.: 581744
for: Violin, harpsichord, string orchestra
Single part Harpsichord
Item no.: 497266
for: 4 harpsichords, strings, basso continuo
Single part harpsichord 3
Item no.: 328042
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Buch
Item no.: 838962
Players and practices in his vocal works
Studies in the History of Music 3
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 350969
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 617618
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 773078
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 1667741
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 648631
Versetti
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 646744
per Cembalo (Organo)
for: Harpsichord [organ manuals]
Music score
Item no.: 648648
for: Harpsichord [organ manuals]
Item no.: 583253
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 419818
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 999125
Orgelwerke Nuernberger Sebaldusorganisten
for: Organ (manuals) [harpsichord]
Item no.: 361555
für Cembalo, Flöte, Violine, Streicher und Basso continuo
BWV 1044
for: Harpsichord, flute, violin, strings, basso continuo
Single part Violin 1
Item no.: 342219
for: Harpsichord, piano, orchestra
Harpsichord [piano] (orchestral part)
Item no.: 1215684
(Six canonic inventions for two voices)
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 1650971
sopra li tuoni a quattro
Vierstimmige Ricercare in den acht Kirchentonarten
Antiqua
for: 4 melodic instruments [keyboard instrument]
Single part 2
Item no.: 1544675
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Stimmen-Set
Item no.: 310657
Concerto grosso A Minor
for: Violin, harpsichord, string orchestra
Einzelstimme Bassi
Item no.: 729366
for: Harpsichord
Single part Harpsichord
Item no.: 633717
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