"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
Item no.: 280649
for: Harpsichord, organ
Music score (reprint)
Item no.: 1013299
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 648665
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 367520
for: Harpsichord, strings
Item no.: 103552
Flauto e voce IX Generalbass
for: Basso continuo
Single part Basso continuo
Item no.: 630936
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 1202182
Performers' Facsimiles 136
for: Organ (manuals) [harpsichord/clavichord]
Music score (reprint)
Item no.: 341287
BuxWV 77
Einzelstimme B.c.
for: Basso continuo
Single part Basso continuo
Item no.: 234401
for: Basso continuo
Item no.: 280426
for: Harpsichord
Single part Harpsichord
Item no.: 430333
for: Harpsichord, strings
Score
Item no.: 385726
Corpus Of Early Keyboard Music 40/3
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 605410
Corpus Of Early Keyboard Music 40/2
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 605409
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 686180
for: Organ (manuals) [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 275182
for: Harpsichord
Single part Harpsichord
Item no.: 421436
for: Harpsichord
Stimme, Urtextausgabe
Item no.: 882626
Kantate zum Ratswechsel
for: Basso continuo
Harmony parts (complete winds)
Item no.: 642060
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 1619149
for: Harpsichord
Stimme, Urtextausgabe
Item no.: 488098
for: 2 harpsichords, strings, basso continuo
Single part harpsichord 2
Item no.: 294071
for: 2 harpsichords, strings, basso continuo
Cello, double bass (orchestral part)
Item no.: 328051
for: 2 harpsichords, strings, basso continuo
Violin 2 (orchestral part)
Item no.: 328049
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 1103040
Performers' Facsimiles 122 (Faksimile) (Facsimile)
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 376514
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 242725
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 181512
BuxWV 94
Einzelstimme B.c.
for: Basso continuo
Single part Basso continuo
Item no.: 234437
Performers' Facsimiles 126
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 364990
for: Basso continuo
Item no.: 169141
for: Basso continuo
Item no.: 173677
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 1162648
8 kleine Stücke für Cembalo solo
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 661559
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 648642
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 999055
Geistliches Konzert
for: Basso continuo
Single part Basso continuo
Item no.: 232040
for: Basso continuo
Single part Basso continuo
Item no.: 229865
Corpus Of Early Keyboard Music 5/7
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 302444
for: Harpsichord
Music score (reprint, hardcover)
Item no.: 561727
Corpus Of Early Keyboard Music 27
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Item no.: 290324
Performers' Facsimiles 161
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 364824
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 208922
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 1541347
Praeclassica
for: Harpsichord
Single part(n)
Item no.: 421233
for: Harpsichord, flute, violin, strings, basso continuo
Single part (Violin solo)
Item no.: 329674
for: Harpsichord
Score
Item no.: 832306
for: 2 harpsichords, strings, basso continuo
Single part harpsichord 1
Item no.: 294070
© 2004–2024 by Stretta Music. Order and buy sheet music online.
Your specialist for all kinds of sheet music. Online shop, sheet music, music scores and play along for download, books, music stands, music stand lights, accessories.
Germany
Austria
Switzerland
Netherlands
Belgium
France
Luxembourg
Italy
Spain
Portugal
Denmark
Finland
Sweden
Poland
Czech Republic
Worldwide
