"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.
Five concertos based on works by Vivaldi and others / Two sonatas and fugue based on works by Reinken
BWV 985-987, 592a, 972a
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 289313
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 648624
(Facsimile)
for: Organ (manuals) [harpsichord]
Item no.: 182559
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 429522
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 989447
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Score
Item no.: 190779
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Spielpartitur, Sammelband, Urtextausgabe
Item no.: 558804
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 298437
composed in conjunction with the Well-Tempered Clavier II
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 217129
Edition Schott
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 736778
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 5749
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 5272
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 3471
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
4 music scores (Urtext)
Item no.: 582227
of the most celebrated lessons from Handel’s “Rinaldo” and other operas by Bononcini, Gasparini, Haym, Handel
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 364821
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score (spiral binding)
Item no.: 489104
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 177107
Sämtliche Werke für Clavierinstrumente Band 1
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 487100
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 140421
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 162932
Embellished Version
Bärenreiter Trtext
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 116761
Vol. II
Urtext – Critical Source Ddition of the Free Organ Works
for: Organ (manuals) [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 817266
for: Instrument [voice]
Book (softcover)
Item no.: 1552208
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 116760
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 963642
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score
Item no.: 177099
for: Organ (manuals) [harpsichord]
Score
Item no.: 213412
Reprint der Auflage, Leipzig 1756
Mit zahlreichen Notenbeispielen
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music lesson book (reprint)
Item no.: 605573
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 5273
from: Il primo libro di Capricci, Rom 1624
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 6447
for: Basso continuo
Faksimile, Hardcover
Item no.: 478887
for Piano (Harpsichord)
Breitkopf Urtext
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 285692
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 351764
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 285833
First Set of 1720: The Eight Great Suites
Revised Edition
Urtext of the Halle Handel Edition
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 116298
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Item no.: 134925
for: 2 horns, string orchestra, harpsichord
Score
Item no.: 370671
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 380959
for: Organ [harmonium/harpsichord/piano]
Music score
Item no.: 430849
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 662232
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 487670
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 4243
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (anthology)
Item no.: 284761
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Item no.: 134919
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 287988
Saggi di contrappunto (S.B.P.K. Landsberg 214)
Regole... per ben accompagnare con il Cembalo (Bc, MS. D 138/2)
Tastata – Opere d'intavolatura d'organo e cimbalo
for: Harpsichord [organ]
Music score
Item no.: 773425
Keyboard Works Part, 3
Preludes, Toccatas, Fugues and Canzonas
for: Organ (manuals) [harpsichord/clavichord]
Music score (hardcover)
Item no.: 765789
Die auf dem Clavier spielende Cæcilia
8 Sonaten
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 696966