"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 harpsicord, op. 1
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 1584456
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 1162874
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Item no.: 335463
Performers' Facsimiles (Faksimile) (Facsimile)
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 340876
Corpus of Early Keyboard Music 13
Ricercar Tabulatura 1624
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 349348
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 648618
Edition Vieweg (Musikschätze vergangener Zeiten)
for: Harpsichord, orchestra
Set of parts
Item no.: 492569
for: Basso continuo
Item no.: 167018
for: Harpsichord, piano, orchestra
Set of parts
Item no.: 1215685
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 485060
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 377242
Performers' Facsimile 12
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 376699
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 305573
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 1018336
for: Harpsichord, flute, violin, strings, basso continuo
Viola (orchestral part)
Item no.: 329675
Praeclassica
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 421383
Praeclassica
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 421281
Praeclassica
for: Harpsichord
Single part Harpsichord
Item no.: 104268
Praeclassica
for: Harpsichord
Single part Harpsichord
Item no.: 421610
einger. von Johann Sonnleitner
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 305570
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 305563
Cekm Corpus Of Early Music 26
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Item no.: 290323
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 1582523
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Single part Organ
Item no.: 282948
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 305387
for: Harpsichord
Score
Item no.: 1327298
for: Harpsichord, strings
Score
Item no.: 160206
for: Harpsichord, strings
Score
Item no.: 357738
for: Harpsichord, strings
Score
Item no.: 638371
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 819006
for: Harpsichord
Single part(n)
Item no.: 163732
for: 2 harpsichords, strings, basso continuo
Violin 1 (orchestral part)
Item no.: 328048
for: 3 harpsichords, strings, basso continuo
Cello, double bass (orchestral part)
Item no.: 290453
for: Harpsichord, strings, basso continuo
Viola (orchestral part)
Item no.: 191467
for: Harpsichord, strings, basso continuo
Violin 1 (orchestral part)
Item no.: 191465
for: 2 harpsichords, strings, basso continuo
Cello, double bass (orchestral part)
Item no.: 188137
for: Harpsichord, flute, violin, strings, basso continuo
Single part (Harpsichord solo)
Item no.: 186636
for: Harpsichord, flute, violin, strings, basso continuo
Single part (Violin solo)
Item no.: 189711
Oboen-Konzert
for: Harpsichord
Single part Harpsichord
Item no.: 421573
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 1545466
for: Harpsichord, orchestra
Viola (orchestral part)
Item no.: 158333
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 1162666
Gegenwartsmusik
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 1163898
"Triple Concerto"
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Harpsichord, flute, violin, strings, basso continuo
Single part (Harpsichord solo)
Item no.: 817357
Fk 41
Einzelstimme Cemb.
for: Harpsichord, strings
Single part Harpsichord
Item no.: 348792
Fk 41
Einzelstimme Vc. (Kb.)
for: Harpsichord, strings
Cello, double bass (orchestral part)
Item no.: 348791
Fk 41
Einzelstimme Vl. 2
for: Harpsichord, strings
Violin 2 (orchestral part)
Item no.: 348789
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