"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
Music score
Item no.: 648621
Biblioteca del Conservatorio di Napoli ms. 9478
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 331185
30 pieces for harpsichord, virginal or clavichord
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 429783
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 550005
Motette
for: Basso continuo
Set of parts
Item no.: 341758
über "Maria durch ein Dornwald ging" op. 45
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music score
Item no.: 485145
for: Basso continuo
Music score
Item no.: 394543
arranged for harpsichord (piano)
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 285085
Aus den Quellen zusammengetragen
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 817303
aus Wq 193
for: Organ [harp/harpsichord/piano]
Music score
Item no.: 130428
Biblioteca Geral da Universidade de Coimbra, Secção dos Reservados, Ms. MM 60
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 474880
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 561752
Ordres 13-19
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 478268
Corpus Of Early Keyboard Music 3
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 217071
für Tasteninstrument
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 274699
London, B1 Ms. Add. 31501, I
Tastata – Opere d'intavolatura d'organo e cimbalo
for: Harpsichord [organ]
Music score
Item no.: 764559
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 383088
Fassung: Carl Friedrich Rellstab, 1788-1790
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Ensemble score
Item no.: 145103
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 366327
BWV 846–869
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 116786
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1559399
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1556857
aus dem Klavierbuch von Anna Maria van Eijl
Amsterdam, 1671
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 3475
Musica per Tastiera Vol. 1
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 648713
"Triple Concerto"
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Harpsichord, flute, violin, strings, basso continuo
Score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 817353
Corpus Of Early Keyboard Music 6/2
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Item no.: 290319
Nos. 1–56
Vol. 1
zen-on piano library
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 243223
quatrième livre
Le Pupitre 24
Collection de musique ancienne publiée sous la direction de François Lesure
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 177103
of the most celebrated lessons from Handel’s “Rinaldo” and other operas by Bononcini, Gasparini, Haym, Handel
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 364823
15 Barock-Stücke
for: Organ [harmonium/harpsichord/piano]
Item no.: 376923
of the most celebrated lessons from Handel’s “Rinaldo” and other operas by Bononcini, Gasparini, Haym, Handel
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 342697
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score (anthology)
Item no.: 156362
Ricercari
for: Organ (manuals) [harpsichord]
Item no.: 149329
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 144074
(Urtext)
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 602477
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Item no.: 142016
for: Harpsichord
Score
Item no.: 344871
K 206-255
Oeuvres complètes pour clavier, volume 5
Le Pupitre 35
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 177112
Opera Omnia Per Strumento A Tastiera 2~Complete Works For Keyboard (Urtextausgabe) (Urtext)
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 368324
Süddeutsche Orgelmeister des Barock 11
for: Organ (manuals) [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 211915
Adapted for the Organ by Edward Miller
London 1785
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score
Item no.: 280771
Fantasias and Selected Works
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 686617
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
Edited from the sources
Wiener Urtext Edition
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 223746
Band 1: Nr. 1 - 12
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Item no.: 369056
Arrangement for Piano
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 279815
aus "Toccate, Canzoni, ed altre Sonate, ..."
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 5392
aus: "Toccate e Corenti d’Intavolatura d’Organo e Cimbalo..."
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 2725
© 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.
There is a separate Stretta website for the country Worldwide. If your order is to be delivered to this country, you can switch, so that delivery times and shipping conditions are displayed correctly. Your shopping cart and your customer account will remain the same.
switch to Stretta Music Worldwide
stay on Stretta Music Denmark
Germany
Austria
Switzerland
Netherlands
Belgium
France
Luxembourg
Italy
Spain
Portugal
Finland
Sweden
Poland
Czech Republic
United Kingdom
