"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.
Its Style, Significance and Influence
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Book (Hardcover)
Item no.: 227700
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 446712
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 155243
for: Basso continuo
Music lesson book
Item no.: 1557090
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 388953
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 648620
Keyboard Woks Part, 4
Suites and Variations
for: Harpsichord
Music score (hardcover)
Item no.: 765791
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music score (anthology)
Item no.: 367708
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music score (anthology)
Item no.: 365753
Dances, Polish Songs, Untitled, and Unidentified Works
Volume 5
Corpus Of Early Keyboard Music 6
Bound copy temporarily out of stock!
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score
Item no.: 625996
from Op. 1, Op. 2, Op. 5
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 743943
Edition Schott
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music score
Item no.: 728629
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 2900
for: Organ [harpsichord/ piano] four hand
Ensemble score
Item no.: 160973
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 687152
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 487671
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 418879
for: harpsichord [organ/piano]
Book
Item no.: 583679
for: Harpsichord [organ]
Music score
Item no.: 773423
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 609150
Ricercar à 3 und Ricercar à 6 für Cembalo (Urtextausgabe) (Urtext)
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Piano score
Item no.: 116750
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 286099
Four and Four for Organ 1
for: Organ [harpsichord/ piano] four hand
Ensemble score
Item no.: 160919
Cravistas Portuguezes
Volume 1
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (anthology)
Item no.: 288012
Sämtliche Werke für Clavierinstrumente Band 2
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 487101
Cravistas Portuguezes
Volume 2
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (anthology)
Item no.: 288886
for: Harpsichord [organ]
Music score
Item no.: 694476
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 770870
16 Barock-Stücke
for: Organ [harmonium/harpsichord/piano]
Music score
Item no.: 430852
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 459448
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 3270
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score
Item no.: 331370
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music score
Item no.: 326233
for: Harpsichord [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1154
for: Organ (manuals) [harpsichord]
Item no.: 348610
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 177100
for: Harpsichord [organ manuals]
Music score
Item no.: 129264
for: Violin, harpsichord, string orchestra
Score
Item no.: 155815
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Item no.: 578151
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 [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 549995
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 686609
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Gesamtausgabe, Sammelband, Spielpartitur, Urtextausgabe
Item no.: 580466
Collection of First Editions
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score (anthology)
Item no.: 425763
Miscellaneous Suites and Pieces. First Part
Urtext of the Halle Handel Edition
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 116296
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 352896
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 767231
with Fingerings
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 426089