"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: 3 harpsichords, strings, basso continuo
Viola (orchestral part)
Item no.: 290452
for: Harpsichord, orchestra
Single part Harpsichord
Item no.: 227301
for: Harpsichord, orchestra
Violin 2 (orchestral part)
Item no.: 158340
Corpus Of Early Keyboard Music 40/1
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 605408
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
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Item no.: 629786
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 1162877
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 1015474
Corpus Of Early Keyboard Music 33
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 290325
Fk 41
Einzelstimme Va.
for: Harpsichord, strings
Viola (orchestral part)
Item no.: 348790
for: Harpsichord, strings
Item no.: 103561
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 1651043
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 270121
ars instrumentalis 026
for: Harpsichord
Single part Harpsichord
Item no.: 1664276
Coll. Of Contemp. Pieces For Harpsichord
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 1058715
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 154835
Faksimile
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 632966
Praeclassica
for: Basso continuo
Single part Basso continuo
Item no.: 421735
Praeclassica
for: Harpsichord
Single part(n)
Item no.: 421665
Praeclassica
for: Harpsichord
Single part Harpsichord
Item no.: 421480
for: Harpsichord, flute, violin, strings, basso continuo
Violin ripieno / tutti (orchestral part)
Item no.: 302004
Cembalo
Spielpartitur
for: Harpsichord
Ensemble score
Item no.: 1624922
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 282918
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 879310
for: Harpsichord, strings, basso continuo
Score
Item no.: 379009
for: Harpsichord
Score
Item no.: 239796
for: Harpsichord, strings
Score
Item no.: 141615
for: Harpsichord
Score
Item no.: 420099
for: 2 harpsichords
Score
Item no.: 390364
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 977471
for: Harpsichord, strings, basso continuo
Violin 2 (orchestral part)
Item no.: 191466
for: 2 harpsichords, strings, basso continuo
Violin 2 (orchestral part)
Item no.: 157200
Concerto grosso in A Minor
for: Violin, harpsichord, string orchestra
Single part Harpsichord
Item no.: 734044
Oboen-Konzert
for: Harpsichord
Single part Harpsichord
Item no.: 421562
Die deutsche Litanei
Komposition von Anon., durch Bruno Grusnick Schütz zugeschrieben
for: Basso continuo
Single part Basso continuo
Item no.: 232154
Geistliches Konzert
for: Basso continuo
Single part Basso continuo
Item no.: 232075
Die Worte der Einsetzung des heiligen Abendmahls. Aus: Zwölf geistliche Gesänge
for: Basso continuo
Single part Basso continuo
Item no.: 231991
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