"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.
Part 1: BWV 846-869
Henle Urtext Edition
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 401105
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 239769
Part 2: BWV 870-BWV 893
Edition without fingering
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 401228
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 692282
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Item no.: 134917
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 265340
Bärenreiter Urtext
with Fingerings
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 172511
Henle Urtext Editions
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 401124
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 265341
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 134915
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score
Item no.: 255852
for: Harpsichord
Score
Item no.: 276211
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 401125
for: Organ [harmonium/harpsichord/piano]
Music score
Item no.: 1317242
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 1193606
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 257377
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 282917
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 767495
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 214205
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 189530
for: Harpsichord [organ manuals]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 565277
for: Harpsichord
Music score (anthology)
Item no.: 580927
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 138800
for: Instrument [voice]
Book (softcover)
Item no.: 681777
Based on 16th to 18th-century sources
for: Harpsichord
Music lesson book
Item no.: 355053
for: Harpsichord
Music lesson book
Item no.: 466495
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 779029
Critical Edition
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 191140
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 160070
for: Instrument [voice]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 493356
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 257378
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 637038
Special edition for the Handel memorial year 2009
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Piano [harpsichord]
4 music scores (Urtext)
Item no.: 483531
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 239776
for: Harpsichord
Music lesson book, demo CD
Item no.: 466494
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 191368
for: Instrument [voice]
Cards (teaching material)
Item no.: 668968
120 cards for any late elementary music student
for: Instrument [voice]
Cards (teaching material)
Item no.: 474560
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 257379
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Harpsichord
3 music scores
Item no.: 142410
for: Harpsichord
Music score (anthology)
Item no.: 584815
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Book (Hardcover)
Item no.: 227700
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 446712
for: Harpsichord
Music lesson book
Item no.: 154075
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 155243
Based on historical sources
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 671934
for: Basso continuo
Music lesson book
Item no.: 1557090
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 388953
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