"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.
Systeme der Harmonielehre und der Akkord-Bezifferung
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 268606
for: Harpsichord
Music lesson book
Item no.: 615003
for: Instrument [voice]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 183752
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Book
Item no.: 780790
for: Harpsichord
Study book
Item no.: 275394
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 348924
for: Instrument [voice]
Music lesson book, online audio
Item no.: 676421
for: harpsichord [organ/piano]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 768447
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 351356
for: Organ (manuals) [harpsichord/clavichord]
Book (Hardcover)
Item no.: 586133
for: Instrument [voice]
Study book
Item no.: 103255
for: Instrument [voice]
Study book
Item no.: 103245
for: Instrument [voice]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 768566
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 780799
for: Piano [harpsichord/organ]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 114703
for: Harpsichord [piano]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 151508
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 549581
for: Harpsichord
Music lesson book
Item no.: 689492
for: Instrument [voice]
Study book
Item no.: 103243
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 420439
for: Basso continuo
Music lesson book
Item no.: 767794
for: Harpsichord
Study book
Item no.: 173594
for: Instrument [voice]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 562389
for: Instrument [voice]
Music lesson book, online audio
Item no.: 676422
for: harpsichord [organ/piano]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 769476
Eine praktische Musiklehre
Heft 3
Bausteine - Werkreihe (Praxishilfe) (Lehrmaterial) (Teaching material)
for: Instrument [voice]
Study book
Item no.: 103244
in den Werken für Cembalo und Klavichord von Johann Sebastian Bach
for: Harpsichord [organ]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 583680
Band 1: Die Instrumentalmusik
for: Organ [harpsichord]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 420438
for: Harpsichord
Music lesson book
Item no.: 656315
for: Instrument [voice]
Study book
Item no.: 103241
for: Harpsichord
Book
Item no.: 265232
Performers' Facsimiles (Faksimile) (Facsimile)
for: Harpsichord
Music lesson book
Item no.: 296695
for: Instrument [voice]
Music lesson book
Item no.: 562388
for: Piano [harpsichord]
Music score
Item no.: 1031476