"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.
BWV 870–893
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 142396
Part 2: BWV 870-BWV 893
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Hardcover, Urtext edition)
Item no.: 401136
Part 1: BWV 846-869
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Hardcover, Urtext edition)
Item no.: 401116
über "Maria durch ein Dornwald ging" op. 45
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music score
Item no.: 485145
Biblioteca Geral da Universidade de Coimbra, Secção dos Reservados, Ms. MM 60
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 474880
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1559399
Fassung: Carl Friedrich Rellstab, 1788-1790
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Ensemble score
Item no.: 145103
Motette
for: Basso continuo
Set of parts
Item no.: 341758
Biblioteca del Conservatorio di Napoli ms. 9478
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 331185
aus Wq 193
for: Organ [harp/harpsichord/piano]
Music score
Item no.: 130428
arranged for harpsichord (piano)
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 285085
BWV 846–869
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 116786
Adapted for the Organ by Edward Miller
London 1785
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score
Item no.: 280771
"Triple Concerto"
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Harpsichord, flute, violin, strings, basso continuo
Score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 817353
Nos. 1–56
Vol. 1
zen-on piano library
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 243223
Edited from the sources
Wiener Urtext Edition
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 223746
Arrangement for Piano
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 279815
K 206-255
Oeuvres complètes pour clavier, volume 5
Le Pupitre 35
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 177112
BWV 904, 906, 923/951, 951a, 944, 946, 948-950, 952, 959, 961, 967
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 296586
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score
Item no.: 583653
Dover Piano And Keyboard Editions
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 187657
9 Suiten für Cembalo
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 352452
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 352398
Symposium im Rahmen der 24. Tage Alter Musik in Herne 1999
for: Harpsichord
Book (softcover)
Item no.: 314449
Settings of secular melodies and dances - Works for lute
Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck - Opera Omnia (SWE)
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 217025
with 4 Concerts royaux
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Harpsichord
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 817287
BWV 917, 918, 921, 922, 894-896, 903, 903a
Six Little Preludes BWV 933-938
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 296553
"Sonate d'Intavolatura per Organo e Cimbalo"
Domenico Zipoli. Orgel- und Cembalowerke 1
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 196214
Adapted for the Organ by Edward Miller
London 1785
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score
Item no.: 280723
Dover Piano And Keyboard Editions
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (anthology)
Item no.: 144300
Henle Urtext Editions
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 778190
Urtext
for: 2 harpsichords [2 pianos]
Piano reduction (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 692285
for: Harpsichord [organ manuals]
Item no.: 476199
S.B.P.K. Landsberg 215 – Parte IV
Tastature – Musiche intavolate per strumenti da tasto
for: Harpsichord [organ]
Music score
Item no.: 773424
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1010259
IGW 50
for: 4 harpsichords
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1550300
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: 2 harpsichords [2 pianos]
Score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 443930
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1559397
en 2 volumes
Le Pupitre 18 : Suites 10–15
Collection de musique ancienne publiée sous la direction de François Lesure
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 177105
Motette
for: Basso continuo
Set of parts
Item no.: 293212
First Part of the Clavier Übung
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 116748
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 401329
Parte quarta (No. 151-200)
EMB Urtext
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 197563
Book D
Bastien's Invitation to Music
for: Instrument [voice]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 175467
(HH.32 n. 11)
for: 2 horns, string orchestra, harpsichord
Score
Item no.: 1657374
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 1689142
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 999117
Revidierte Interpretationsausgabe
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 418152
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