"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: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
2 Books (Hardcover)
Item no.: 295764
Henle Urtext Editions
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 664937
Urtext Edition without fingering
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Hardcover, Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1209881
Erstausgabe
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 468591
Performers' Facsimiles 19 (Faksimile) (Facsimile)
for: Harpsichord
Music score (reprint)
Item no.: 332571
for two harpsichords
set of parts
for: 2 harpsichords
Set of parts
Item no.: 628528
Kontexte – Strukturen – Didaktik
Studien der Stiftung Händel-Haus 3
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Book (softcover)
Item no.: 662449
Transkription für Orgel oder Cembalo
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 777894
Transkription für Orgel oder Cembalo
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 777900
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 999107
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 999156
Quellenkataloge Zur Musikgeschichte 43 (Faksimile) (Facsimile)
for: Harpsichord [organ]
Book (Hardcover)
Item no.: 490801
(Paris Rès. Vmc. 64) Per Organo o Clavicembalo
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 648711
für Cembalo
Frutti musicali Band 30
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 645307
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 999121
Heft 4 - 14 Melodien für Klaver/Cembalo/Orgel
Arrangiert von Annerös Hulliger
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music score
Item no.: 661771
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 564837
(Facsimile)
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 347066
Convivio Musicale 53
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 636232
Documenta augustana musica Band 6
for: Harpsichord, violin, cello
Piano score, parts
Item no.: 687781
Antoinette Vischer gewidmet
for: Harpsichord
Piano score
Item no.: 381942
The Art Of The Keyboard 6
for: Harpsichord
2 Bände
Item no.: 369159
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 459459
Miniatures
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 420359
für Cembalo / Klavier
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 286837
New Reconstruction by Jan Devlieger
for: 2 harpsichords [2 pianos]
2 Scores
Item no.: 1009388
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 459449
Kamiel d'Hooghe und Raymond Schroyens gewidmet
for: Harpsichord, organ
2 Performance scores
Item no.: 381348
für Cembalo solo
for: Harpsichord
Piano score
Item no.: 381255
Six concertos for two organs
or other keyboard instruments
for: 2 pianos [harpsichords/ organs]
Ensemble score
Item no.: 1018338
für Spinett und Zuspiel CD
for: Harpsichord
Music score, Playback-CD
Item no.: 134671
Edition without fingering
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1559395
(I Casi di Sisyphos)op. 75
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 1207983
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 377346
Reihe Print on demand
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 775742
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 689516
for: Harpsichord, flute, violin, strings, basso continuo
Score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 378951
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 248209
Performers' Facsimiles (Faksimile) (Facsimile)
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 337691
(Facsimile)
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 281849
Ein Lehrwerk auf der Basis von Quellen des 16. bis 19. Jahrhunderts
Set mit Buch und Notenband
for: Harpsichord
Book, music score
Item no.: 493072
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 362022
for: Harpsichord
Solostimme
Item no.: 1625065
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music score (hardcover)
Item no.: 470507
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music score (anthology)
Item no.: 365751
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 301106
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music score (hardcover, anthology)
Item no.: 223426
for: Organ (manuals) [harpsichord]
Item no.: 132081
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