Harpsichord

A harpsichord is the general term for a family of European keyboard instruments, including the large instrument nowadays called a harpsichord, but also the smaller virginals, the muselar virginals and the spinet. All these instruments generate sound by plucking a string rather than striking one, as in a piano or clavichord. The harpsichord family is thought to have originated when a keyboard was affixed to the end of a psaltery, providing a mechanical means to pluck the strings.

Music

The first music written specifically for solo harpsichord came to be published around the middle of the 16th century. Composers who wrote solo harpsichord music were numerous during the whole baroque era in Italy, Germany and, above all, France. Well into the 18th century, the harpsichord was considered to have advantages and disadvantages with respect to the piano. Besides solo works, the harpsichord is also well-suited to accompaniment in the basso continuo style (a function it maintained in opera even into the 19th century).

Related Topics:
16th century - Baroque - Piano - Solo - Basso continuo - Opera - 19th century

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Through the 19th century, the harpsichord was ignored by composers, the piano having supplanted it. In the 20th century, however, with increasing interest in early music and composers on the lookout for new sounds, pieces began to be written for it once more. Concertos for the instrument were written by Francis Poulenc (the Concert champêtre), Manuel de Falla and, later, Henryk Górecki. Bohuslav Martin? wrote both a concerto and a sonata for it, and Elliott Carter's Double Concerto is for harpsichord, piano and two chamber orchestras. György Ligeti has written a small number of solo works for the instrument (including "Continuum"). More recently harpsichordist Hendrik Bouman has composed in the baroque style 32 solo pieces, 1 harpsichord concerto and 2 compositions of chamber music with obbligato harpsichord.

Related Topics:
Composer - Concerto - Francis Poulenc - Manuel de Falla - Henryk Górecki - Bohuslav Martin? - Sonata - Elliott Carter - Orchestra - György Ligeti - Hendrik Bouman - Compositions - Chamber music - Obbligato

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The harpsichord also gained some popularity in light jazz music during the 1960s, particularly in Britain. For example, the jazz theme tunes to the Avengers and Danger Man aka Secret Agent TV programs from the 1960s both feature harpsichords. Also, Lalo Schifrin sometimes featured harpsichords in his jazz recordings during the '60s.

Related Topics:
Avengers - Lalo Schifrin

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