"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.: 248209
Performers' Facsimiles (Faksimile) (Facsimile)
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 337691
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 362022
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music score (hardcover)
Item no.: 470507
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music score (anthology)
Item no.: 365751
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 301106
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music score (hardcover, anthology)
Item no.: 223426
Eulenburg Miniature Scores
for: Harpsichord, strings
Study score
Item no.: 749235
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 3691
for harpsichord
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 748307
Edition Schott
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 726549
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 5673
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 6065
for: 2 harpsichords, strings, basso continuo
Score, parts (pdf download)
Item no.: 3959
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 2829
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 3321
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Sheet music
Item no.: 4250
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Item no.: 459449
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 1714382
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 655254
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 564837
for: Harpsichord [piano], chamber orchestra
Score
Item no.: 1351877
for: Harpsichord, organ
2 Performance scores
Item no.: 381348
for: Harpsichord, organ
Score
Item no.: 338540
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 645307
Erstausgabe
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score
Item no.: 468591
Volume 1
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 162686
Johann Jacob Froberger. Neue Ausgabe sämtlicher Werke 3,1 (Gesamtausgabe, Sammelband, Urtextausgabe) (Complete edition, Collection, Urtext)
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Performance scores
Item no.: 328937
Collection of First Editions
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Organ manuals [harpsichord/piano]
Music score (anthology)
Item no.: 475503
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 689516
for: Harpsichord, flute, violin, strings, basso continuo
Score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 378951
for: Harpsichord
Piano score
Item no.: 381942
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Organ score
Item no.: 582574
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 775742
Edition without fingering
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1559395
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 108746
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 239786
for: Harpsichord, strings, basso continuo
Score
Item no.: 277129
Six concertos for two organs
or other keyboard instruments
for: 2 pianos [harpsichords/ organs]
Ensemble score
Item no.: 1018338
for: Harpsichord
Buch
Item no.: 389110
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1047
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 1207983
First Part of the Clavier Übung
Bärenreiter Urtext
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 475276
Fourth Part of the Clavier Übung
Urtext der Neuen Bach-Ausgabe
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 116758
for: Harpsichord
Item no.: 352991
for: Harpsichord
Music score
Item no.: 377346
(Urtext)
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 549970
for: Harpsichord, strings, basso continuo
Score
Item no.: 278168
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