"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: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 433903
for: Basso continuo
Set of parts
Item no.: 370400
for: Harpsichord, strings
Score, Parts
Item no.: 103555
Georg Friedrich Händels Übungen zur Satzlehre
Praxis und Theorie des Partimentospiels Band 2
Quellenkataloge zur Musikgeschichte Band 45
for: Harpsichord [organ]
Book (Hardcover)
Item no.: 583985
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 305568
(Facsimile)
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 340199
Klassik
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 1102954
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 330706
Part 1 Nos. 1–30
Studj per cembalo con partimenti diversi
Monuments of Partimento Realizations Volume 1a
for: Organ (manuals) [harpsichord]
Music score (spiral binding)
Item no.: 798229
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 1202167
for: Harpsichord, flute, violin, strings, basso continuo
Single part (Flute solo)
Item no.: 165467
for: 4 melodic instruments [keyboard instrument]
Single part bass
Item no.: 1545224
for: Harpsichord
Single part Harpsichord
Item no.: 633332
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 210967
for: Harpsichord
Score
Item no.: 833036
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 977368
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 1565283
for: Violin, harpsichord, string orchestra
Single part Harpsichord
Item no.: 1703743
for: Harpsichord, strings, basso continuo
Single part harpsichord 2
Item no.: 228740
for: Harpsichord
Single part Harpsichord
Item no.: 632983
Amsterdam, E.Roger
for: Harpsichord
Music score (reprint)
Item no.: 1687834
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 648617
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 999223
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 137034
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 136944
"Triple Concerto"
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Harpsichord, flute, violin, strings, basso continuo
Violin 1 (orchestral part)
Item no.: 817354
Fk 41
Einzelstimme Vl. 1
for: Harpsichord, strings
Violin 1 (orchestral part)
Item no.: 348788
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Item no.: 132263
for: Basso continuo
Item no.: 167450
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 305565
for: Harpsichord, orchestra
Single part Harpsichord
Item no.: 554343
for: Harpsichord, orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 579014
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 1162859
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Item no.: 294865
Rom 1598
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1651361
Documenta augustana musica Band 6
for: Harpsichord, violin, cello
Parts (2)
Item no.: 687782
for: Harpsichord, piano, orchestra
Harmony parts (complete winds)
Item no.: 497267
aus "Das Alexanderfest"
for: Harpsichord
Single part Harpsichord
Item no.: 1658870
Entstehungsjahr unbekannt
for: Basso continuo
Single part Basso continuo
Item no.: 234097
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 581653
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 484321
Praeclassica
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 421274
Concerto grosso E-Dur
for: Harpsichord
Single part Harpsichord
Item no.: 421353
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 639020
for: Violin, harpsichord, string orchestra
Set of parts
Item no.: 156553
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 834640
for: Harpsichord, orchestra
Score
Item no.: 269138
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