Harpsichord - a musical instrument - history, photo, video. Harpsichord: history, video, interesting facts, listen to Cembalo musical instrument

(French clavecin, from late Latin clavicymbalum, from Latin clavis - key (hence the key) and cymbalum - cymbals) - plucked keyboard music. tool. Known since the 16th century. (began to be constructed as early as the 14th century), the first information about K. dates back to 1511; the oldest surviving Italian instrument. The work dates back to 1521. The k. came from the psalterium (as a result of reconstruction and the addition of a keyboard mechanism). Initially, the keyboard was quadrangular in shape and resembled in appearance a “free” clavichord, unlike which it had strings of different lengths (each key corresponded to a special string tuned in a certain tone) and a more complex keyboard mechanism. The strings of the K. were brought into vibration by a pinch with the help of a bird's feather, mounted on a rod - a pusher. When a key was pressed, the pusher, located at its rear end, rose and the feather caught on the string (later, a leather plectrum was used instead of a bird's feather). The sound of K. is brilliant, but a little melodious (jerky), which means not giving in. dynamic changes (it is louder, but less expressive than that of the clavichord), the change in strength and timbre of the sound does not depend on the nature of the strike on the keys. In order to enhance the sonority of K., double, triple, and even quadruple strings (for each tone) were used, which were tuned in unison, octave, and sometimes other intervals. From the beginning 17th century metal was used instead of vein. strings that increase in length (from treble to bass). The instrument acquired a triangular pterygoid shape with a longitudinal (parallel to the keys) arrangement of strings. In the 17-18 centuries. to give K. a dynamically more diverse sound, instruments were made with 2 (sometimes 3) manual keyboards (manuals), which were arranged in a terrace-like manner one above the other (usually the upper manual was tuned an octave higher), as well as with register switches to expand the treble, octave doubling the basses and changing the timbre color (lute register, bassoon register, etc.). The registers were actuated by levers located on the sides of the keyboard, or by buttons located under the keyboard, or by pedals. On some K., for greater timbre variety, a 3rd keyboard was arranged with some characteristic timbre coloring, more often reminiscent of a lute (the so-called lute keyboard). Outwardly, k. usually got off very elegantly (the case was decorated with drawings, inlays, carvings). The finish of the instrument was in keeping with the stylish furniture of the Louis XV era. In the 16th and 17th centuries stood out in terms of sound quality and their art, design K. Antwerp masters Ruckers.
Name "K." (in France; arpsichord - in England, kilflugel - in Germany, clavichembalo or abbreviated cembalo - in Italy) was preserved for large wing-shaped instruments with a range of up to 5 octaves. There were also smaller instruments, usually rectangular in shape, with single strings and a range of up to 4 octaves, called: epinet (in France), spinet (in Italy), virginel (in England). K. with a vertically located body - claviciterium. K. was used as a solo, chamber-ensemble and orchestral instrument.
The creator of the virtuoso harpsichord style was Italian. composer and harpsichordist D. Scarlatti (he owns numerous works for K.); founder of the French schools of harpsichordists - J. Chambonnière (his "new plays", 2 books, 1670 were popular). Among the French harpsichordists con. 17-18 centuries - F. Couperin, J. F. Rameau, L. Daken, F. Dandrieu. Franz. harpsichord music is an art of refined taste, refined manners, rationalistically clear, subordinate aristocratic. etiquette. The delicate and chilly sound of K. was in harmony with the "good tone" of the chosen society. At the French harpsichordists found its vivid embodiment of the gallant style (rococo). The favorite themes of harpsichord miniatures (miniature is a characteristic form of Rococo art) were female images ("Capturing", "Flirty", "Gloomy", "Shy", "Sister Monica", "Florentine" Couperin), gallant dances occupied a large place (minuet, gavotte, etc.), idyllic. pictures of peasant life ("Reapers", "Grape Pickers" by Couperin), onomatopoeic miniatures ("Chicken", "Clock", "Chirping" by Couperin, "Cuckoo" by Daken, etc.). A typical feature of harpsichord music is the abundance of melodies. jewelry. To con. 18th century prod. French harpsichordists began to disappear from the repertoire of performers. Interest in French Harpsichord music was revived by the Impressionists, who sought to resurrect the traditions of Couperin and Rameau. Of the performers in K. in the 20th century. the Polish harpsichordist W. Landowska stood out. Prod. French harpsichordists were promoted by certain owls. musicians, including E. A. Bekman-Shcherbina, N. I. Golubovskaya, G. M. Kogan (a number of his articles are devoted to the work of harpsichordists), N. V. Otto. In the USSR, 3 Sat. French plays. harpsichordists (under the editorship of A. N. Yurovsky). All R. 20th century interest in K. is reviving, incl. in the USSR. Ensembles are created that perform ancient music, where K. is used as one of the leading instruments.

Literature: Alekseev A.D., Clavier art, M.-L., 1952; Druskin M. S., Clavier music, L., 1960; Saint-Lambert M. de, Les principes de clavecin, Amst., 1702; Lefroid de Méreaux J. A., Les clavecinistes de 1637 a 1790, v. 1-3, P., 1867; Villanis L. A., L "arte del clavicembalo, Torino, 1901; Rirro A., Les clavecinistes, P., 1924; Neupert H., Das Cembalo, Kassel, 1933, 1956; Harich-Schneider E., Die Kunst des Cembalospiels, Kassel , 1939, 1957; Russel R., The harpsichord and Clavichord, an introductory study, L., 1959; Hofman Sh., L "oeuvre de clavecin de François Couperin le grand, P., 1961.

Watch value Harpsichord in other dictionaries

Harpsichord- harpsichord, m. (French clavecin) (music). An old keyboard instrument like a pianoforte.
Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov

Harpsichord M.— 1. An ancient stringed keyboard-plucked musical instrument, the forerunner of the piano.
Explanatory Dictionary of Efremova

Harpsichord- -a; m. [French. clavecin] An ancient plucked keyboard-stringed musical instrument resembling a piano in appearance.
◁ Harpsichord, th, th. K music.
Explanatory Dictionary of Kuznetsov

Harpsichord- (French clavecin) - a stringed keyboard-plucked musical instrument. Known since the 16th century. There were harpsichords of various shapes, types and varieties, including cembalo, virginal, ........
Big encyclopedic dictionary

Harpsichord- - stringed keyboard-plucked musical instrument. Known since the 15th century. Forerunner of the piano.
Historical dictionary

Harpsichord- see piano.
Music dictionary

HARPSICHORD- HARVESIN, -a, m. An ancient plucked-keyboard musical instrument. Play the harpsichord. || adj. harpsichord, th, th.
Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov

Harpsichord- A large keyboard musical instrument with two or three manual keyboards inside the main volume of a rectangular or wing-shaped shape. (Terms of the Russian........
Architectural Dictionary

The harpsichord is a plucked keyboard instrument, the strings of which are plucked into vibration using rods of bird feathers. The harpsichord has a sharp, staccato sound. Horizontally positioned, with a harp-shaped body, this instrument has been popular in Europe since the late 15th century. It was used as a solo instrument, an accompanying instrument, and played an important role in the orchestra.

HARVESCOIN IN CHAMBER MUSIC

The harpsichord was the main instrument in chamber music from the late 16th century to the early 18th century. Composers composed a huge number of works for solo performance on the harpsichord, sometimes dances. But the harpsichord took its place in the history of music development thanks to participation in the solo and trio sonatas of the Baroque period. The performers sometimes improvised accompaniment while playing the oasa line.

HARVESCOIN AS A PART OF THE ORCHESTRA

The harpsichord was the most important element of most orchestral works of the 17th and 18th centuries. The harpsichord performer directed the performance of music with the keys of the keyboard. Reading the bass line in sheet music; with signs pointing to the harmonics ("figured bass"), the musician would fill in the string harmonicas, playing the appropriate chords for each measure, sometimes improvising with short interpolated passages demonstrating brilliant playing technique. This practice was called "continuo" and was found in most musical compositions of the Baroque period.

SOCKET A similar ornate rosette is carved into the large body of the harpsichord. The rosette allows the air inside the body of the harpsichord to vibrate more freely, improving the sound quality of the instrument.	TUNING TUNE Each of the harpsichord strings is fixed at one end to a tuning peg. These pegs are designed to tune the harpsichord: the pegs are rotated with a special key, thereby changing the pitch of the string.
KEYBOARD Two hand-held keyboards (manuals) control three sets of strings and can be used in a wide variety of combinations to change volume and tone. The presence of two keyboards allows the performer to play a melody on one manual, and accompany himself on the other.

Already at first, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the harpsichord was very different from the clavichord. Instead of brass tangents, the masters installed vertical wooden blocks with feathers at the top on the back ends of the keys. The feathers made the string sound no longer with a blow, but with a pinch. The instrument became the owner of a louder voice, and the nature of the sound changed. Each key had its own string, and the clavichord at that time had not yet reached such luxury.

True, the first harpsichords were imperfect, they had much more shortcomings than advantages, so many music lovers unconditionally preferred the clavichord for a long time. But little by little, the main advantage of the harpsichord became clear: it was able to perform in a large hall, which the clavichord could not do. Therefore, in the sixteenth century, the harpsichord was already widespread in many European countries.

But even two hundred years after that, fierce disputes flared up around the harpsichord and clavichord. Some believed that the harpsichord was dry and rough compared to the clavichord, that it did not give the musician the opportunity to play expressively and show all his art. Others said that the harpsichord would still find itself if the techniques of playing it were developed, and that the future still belonged to the harpsichord. Both of them had serious grounds for their assertions. The musician playing the harpsichord, immediately after pressing the key, lost all connection with the string, then it sounded on its own, without the slightest human participation. The clavichord, as we remember, allowed the musician to influence the nature of the sound of the string even after pressing the key. But the harpsichord, in addition to being a louder instrument, also opened up a wide scope for improvement. And by the beginning of the eighteenth century, the clavichord was already a fully formed instrument, and it was difficult to improve anything in it. If there were improvements, they were already borrowed from the harpsichord.

Disputes are disputes, and instruments most often live their own lives, paying absolutely no attention to them. No matter how much they talked three hundred years ago about the imminent death of the clavichord, it was produced by some factories at the beginning of the twentieth century. No matter how much they say that the harpsichord will not replace the clavichord, it has become one of the most important phenomena of musical culture.

True, the paths of these two instruments diverged. The harpsichord became mainly a concert instrument, although it did not disdain living rooms in houses where people with a solid income lived. And the clavichord remained a more democratic instrument, it was inexpensive, and therefore accessible to families with ordinary incomes. The life of the harpsichord was full of events, after which it improved, renewed, became more perfect.

The string in the harpsichord, after being plucked, sounded as a whole, not dividing, as in the clavichord, into working and non-working parts. On the first harpsichords, gut strings were installed. They did not fit the clavichord, because the gut string would sound almost inaudible if struck by a tangent. And from a pinch, the gut string sounds loud enough. Later, steel strings appeared in the harpsichord.

The harpsichord had a completely new structural element compared to the clavichord - a flexible wooden soundboard, which, resonating, strengthened and ennobled the sound of the strings. Later, the soundboard was adopted from the harpsichord and some clavichords.

The masters experimented a lot with feathers that made the string sound. At first they were feathers in the literal sense: sharpened pieces of the trunks of crow or turkey feathers. Then they began to make feathers from leather, and even later - from brass and steel plates. The nature of the sound turned out to be different, and besides, the instrument became not so capricious: the trunk of a crow's feather, like the feather of any other bird, deteriorated very quickly from work so unusual for it, leather ones lasted much longer, and metal ones hardly wore out at all.

The design of the wooden block, which replaced the clavichord tangent, was also improved. From above, he began to be equipped with a silencer, which, at the moment the key was released, fell on the string and stopped its vibrations. The craftsmen also thought out the reverse stroke of the feather - with the help of a special device, it easily went around the string and did not cause a double sound.

The masters have worked hard to make the instrument sound stronger. They began to put double, then triple and even quadruple strings for each key. This feature of the harpsichord was also adopted later by some varieties of the clavichord.

Like the clavichord, harpsichords were made in a variety of sizes. In large instruments, the unequal length of the strings dictated the shape of the body - the instrument became more and more like a modern piano. (Although, if you follow the chronology, you should say the opposite: the piano is similar in shape to the harpsichord.) And in small harpsichords, which have only two or three octaves, the difference in string sizes was not so big, and the body remained rectangular. True, these instruments were small only in comparison with full concert instruments, and, in turn, they themselves seemed giants next to very tiny harpsichords, which were made in the form of caskets, caskets, books. But sometimes the masters did not resort to any tricks, but simply made small tools. Their range most often did not exceed one and a half octaves. How miniature such instruments were can be judged by one curious exhibit stored in the Glinka Museum of Musical Culture. This is a travel wardrobe with small drawers, and here a harpsichord is mounted under the drawers. The roads were long then, so the cunning owner of the closet decided to order such a tool for himself - and it does not take up extra space, and allows you to somehow escape from road boredom.

And the big harpsichords, meanwhile, strove to become even larger as a result of the constant search for musical masters. Convinced that strings made of different materials give a different timbre, which, in turn, also depends on the material of the feathers, harpsichord makers tried to combine all the finds in one instrument. So there were harpsichords with two, three keyboards, located one above the other. Each of them controlled its own set of strings. Sometimes the keyboard was left alone, but switched to different sets of strings with special levers. One set could consist of gut strings, the other of single steel strings, the third of double or triple steel strings. So varied the timbre of the harpsichord.

History has preserved and conveyed to us information about unique tools. The Italian composer and music theorist N. Vicentano designed a harpsichord that had six keyboards!

An interesting instrument was built by Amsterdam craftsmen. As if in contrast to the disputes between the supporters of the clavichord and the harpsichord, they went ahead and combined these two instruments in one body. On the right was the keyboard of the clavichord, on the left - the harpsichord. One musician could alternate both instruments in his practice, but it was possible to sit down together and play a duet on the harpsichord and clavichord. (Later, the harpsichord and piano were combined in the same instrument in the same way).

But no matter how hard the masters tried, they could not overcome the main drawback of the harpsichord - its monotonous sound in terms of volume. The strength of the sound did not depend on the energy with which the musician struck the key with his finger, but on the elasticity of the feather that plucked the string. Skilled musicians could take the sound a little louder or a little quieter, but for the performance of many works, such a small difference in sound strength was no longer enough.

Composers were also shackled. In the notes of musical pieces intended for the harpsichord, they could not indicate "fortissimo", that is, "very loudly", because they knew that the harpsichord could not sound louder than some average level. They could not indicate "piano" and even more so "pianissimo", that is, "quietly" and "very quietly", because they knew that this instrument was also incapable of such nuances. Harpsichords with two and three keyboards and sets of strings were made in such a way that these sets were different not only in timbre, but also in volume. The musician could at least somehow vary the strength of the sound, but this was no longer enough. Two different musical sentences could be played at different volumes, but within the sentence the sounds were uniform in strength.

The idea of ​​a new instrument was brewing, which would retain all the advantages of a harpsichord, or rather, a keyboard string in general, but in addition would become more obedient to either the energetic or soft movements of the musician's fingers. In other words, he could flexibly sound both “forte” and “piano”. Is it any wonder that the new instrument, which embodies this main idea, began to be called the piano?

However, it must be said right away that the problem that was formulated by the old masters has not been completely solved so far. Yes, a new keyboard string was born, but it was a different instrument, in the timbre of which nothing remained of either the clavichord or the harpsichord. A tool to get used to again.

harpsichord [French] clavecin, from Late Lat. clavicymbalum, from lat. clavis - key (hence the key) and cymbalum - cymbals] - a plucked keyboard musical instrument. Known since the 16th century. (began to be constructed as early as the 14th century), the first information about the harpsichord dates back to 1511; the oldest instrument of Italian work that has survived to this day dates back to 1521.

The harpsichord originated from the psalterium (as a result of reconstruction and the addition of a keyboard mechanism).

Initially, the harpsichord was quadrangular in shape and resembled in appearance a “free” clavichord, in contrast to which it had strings of different lengths (each key corresponded to a special string tuned in a certain tone) and a more complex keyboard mechanism. The strings of the harpsichord were brought into vibration by a pinch with the help of a bird's feather, mounted on a rod - a pusher. When a key was pressed, the pusher, located at its rear end, rose and the feather caught on the string (later, a leather plectrum was used instead of a bird's feather).

The device of the upper part of the pusher: 1 - string, 2 - axis of the release mechanism, 3 - languette (from French languette), 4 - plectrum (tongue), 5 - damper.

The sound of the harpsichord is brilliant, but not melodious (jerky) - which means that it is not amenable to dynamic changes (it is louder, but less expressive than that of), the change in the strength and timbre of the sound does not depend on the nature of the strike on the keys. In order to enhance the sonority of the harpsichord, double, triple and even quadruple strings (for each tone) were used, which were tuned in unison, octave, and sometimes other intervals.

Evolution

From the beginning of the 17th century, metal strings were used instead of gut strings, increasing in length (from treble to bass). The instrument acquired a triangular pterygoid shape with a longitudinal (parallel to the keys) arrangement of strings.

In the 17-18 centuries. to give the harpsichord a dynamically more diverse sound, instruments were made with 2 (sometimes 3) manual keyboards (manuals), which were arranged terraced one above the other (usually the upper manual was tuned an octave higher), as well as register switches for expanding trebles, octave doubling of basses and changes in timbre coloration (lute register, bassoon register, etc.).

The registers were actuated by levers located on the sides of the keyboard, or by buttons located under the keyboard, or by pedals. On some harpsichords, for greater timbre variety, a 3rd keyboard was arranged with some characteristic timbre coloring, more often reminiscent of a lute (the so-called lute keyboard).

Appearance

Outwardly, harpsichords were usually finished very elegantly (the body was decorated with drawings, inlays, carvings). The finish of the instrument was in keeping with the stylish furniture of the Louis XV era. In the 16th and 17th centuries The harpsichords of the Antwerp masters Ruckers stood out for their sound quality and their artistic design.

Harpsichord in different countries

The name "harpsichord" (in France; archichord - in England, kilflugel - in Germany, clavichembalo or abbreviated cembalo - in Italy) was preserved for large wing-shaped instruments with a range of up to 5 octaves. There were also smaller instruments, usually rectangular in shape, with single strings and a range of up to 4 octaves, called: epinet (in France), spinet (in Italy), virginel (in England).

Harpsichord with vertical body - . The harpsichord was used as a solo, chamber-ensemble and orchestral instrument.

The creator of the virtuoso harpsichord style was the Italian composer and harpsichordist D. Scarlatti (he owns numerous works for harpsichord); the founder of the French school of harpsichordists is J. Chambonnière (his Harpsichord Pieces, 2 books, 1670, were popular).

Among the French harpsichordists of the late 17th-18th centuries. -, J.F. Rameau, L. Daken, F. Daidriyo. French harpsichord music is an art of refined taste, refined manners, rationalistically clear, subject to aristocratic etiquette. The delicate and chilly sound of the harpsichord was in harmony with the "good tone" of the chosen society.

The gallant style (rococo) found its vivid embodiment among the French harpsichordists. The favorite themes of harpsichord miniatures (miniature is a characteristic form of rococo art) were female images (“Capturing”, “Flirty”, “Gloomy”, “Shy”, “Sister Monica”, “Florentine” by Couperin), gallant dances (minuet , gavotte, etc.), idyllic pictures of peasant life (“Reapers”, “Grape Pickers” by Couperin), onomatopoeic miniatures (“Chicken”, “Clock”, “Chirping” by Couperin, “Cuckoo” by Daken, etc.). A typical feature of harpsichord music is the abundance of melodic embellishments.

By the end of the 18th century the works of French harpsichordists began to disappear from the repertoire of performers. As a result, the instrument, which had such a long history and such a rich artistic heritage, was forced out of musical practice and replaced by the piano. And not just forced out, but completely forgotten in the 19th century.

This happened as a result of a radical change in aesthetic preferences. Baroque aesthetics, based on either a clearly formulated or clearly felt concept of the theory of affects (briefly the very essence: one mood, affect - one sound color), for which the harpsichord was an ideal means of expression, gave way first to the worldview of sentimentalism, then to a stronger direction - Classicism and, finally, Romanticism. In all these styles, on the contrary, the idea of ​​changeability - feelings, images, moods - has become the most attractive and cultivated. And the piano was able to express it. The harpsichord could not do all this in principle - due to the peculiarities of its design.

A musician who performs musical works on both the harpsichord and its varieties is called harpsichordist.

Origin

The earliest mention of a harpsichord-type instrument appears in a 1397 source from Padua (Italy), the earliest known image is on an altar in Minden (1425). As a solo instrument, the harpsichord remained in use until the end of the 18th century. A little longer it was used to perform digital bass, to accompany recitatives in operas. Around 1810, it practically fell into disuse. The revival of the culture of playing the harpsichord began at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries.

Harpsichords of the 15th century have not survived. Judging by the images, these were short instruments with a heavy body. Most of the surviving 16th-century harpsichords were made in Italy, where Venice was the main center of their production.

They had an 8` register (less often two registers 8` and 4`), they were distinguished by their elegance. Their body was most often made of cypress. The attack on these harpsichords was more distinct, and the sound more abrupt than that of later Flemish instruments.

Antwerp was the most important production center for harpsichords in northern Europe, where representatives of the Ruckers family worked since 1579. Their harpsichords have longer strings and heavier bodies than Italian instruments. Since the 1590s, harpsichords with two manuals have been produced in Antwerp. French, English, German harpsichords of the 17th century combine the features of Flemish and Dutch models.

Some French two-manual harpsichords with a walnut body have survived. Since the 1690s, harpsichords of the same type as Rookers' instruments have been produced in France. Among the French harpsichord masters, the Blanchet dynasty stood out. In 1766, Taskin inherited Blanche's workshop.

The most significant English harpsichord makers in the 18th century were Schudy and the Kirkman family. Their instruments had a plywood-lined oak body and were distinguished by a strong sound of rich timbre. In 18th-century Germany, Hamburg was the main center for the production of harpsichords; among the instruments made in this city with 2` and 16` registers, as well as with 3 manuals. The unusually long model of the harpsichord was designed by J. D. Dülcken, a leading 18th-century Netherlandish craftsman.

In the 2nd half of the 18th century, the harpsichord began to be forced out. Around 1809, the Kirkman firm produced their last harpsichord. The initiator of the revival of the instrument was A. Dolmech. He built his first harpsichord in 1896 in London and soon opened workshops in Boston, Paris, Heislemere.

The release of harpsichords was also established by the Parisian firms Pleyel and Erard. Pleyel began producing a model harpsichord with a metal frame carrying thick, taut strings; Wanda Landowska trained a whole generation of harpsichordists on this type of instrument. Boston craftsmen Frank Hubbard and William Dyde were the first to copy antique harpsichords.

Device

It has the shape of an oblong triangle. Its strings are arranged horizontally, parallel to the keys.

At the end of each key is a pusher (or jumper). At the upper end of the pusher is a langetta in which a plectrum (tongue) made of feather is fixed (on many modern instruments it is made of plastic), just above the plectrum there is a damper made of felt or soft leather. When the key is pressed, the pusher rises, the plectrum plucks the string. If the key is released, the release mechanism will allow the plectrum to return to its place under the string without having to pluck the string again. The vibration of the string is dampened by a damper.

For registration, i.e. changes in the strength and timbre of the sound, hand and foot switches are used. It is not possible to smoothly increase and decrease the volume on the harpsichord. In the 15th century, the range of the harpsichord was 3 octaves (some chromatic notes were missing in the lower octave); in the 16th century it expanded to 4 octaves (C - c"`), in the 18th century to 5 octaves (F` - f"`).

A typical 18th century German or Netherlandish harpsichord has 2 manuals (keyboards), 2 sets of 8` strings and one set of 4` strings (sounding an octave higher), which can be used individually or together, as well as a manual copulation mechanism. Foot and knee shifters appeared in the late 1750s. Most instruments have a so-called. the lute register of a characteristic nasal timbre (to obtain it, the strings are slightly muffled by bumps of leather or felt using a special mechanism).

Composers who composed harpsichord music

Francois Couperin the Great
Louis Couperin
Louis Marchand
Jean-Philippe Rameau
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Pachelbel
Dietrich Buxtehude
Girolamo Frescobaldi
Johann Jakob Froberger
Georg Friedrich Handel
William Bird
Henry Purcell
Johann Adam Reinecke
Domenico Scarlatti
Alessandro Scarlatti
Matthias Weckman
Domenico Zipoli

Video: Harpsichord on video + sound

Thanks to these videos, you can get acquainted with the instrument, watch the real game on it, listen to its sound, feel the specifics of the technique:

Sale of tools: where to buy/order?

The encyclopedia does not yet contain information on where to buy or order this instrument. You can change it!

Musical Instrument: Harpsichord

Surely at concerts you have noticed a musical instrument that looks like a piano, but is much smaller in size, with several keyboards and a completely different ringing metallic sound? The name of this instrument is the harpsichord. In each country it is called differently: in France and Russia it is a harpsichord, in Italy it is a cembalo (and sometimes a clavichembalo), in England it is a harpsichord. The harpsichord is a keyboard stringed musical instrument whose sound is plucked.

Sound

The sound of the harpsichord is difficult to confuse with any other instrument, it is special, brilliant and abrupt. As soon as you hear this sound, ancient dances, balls, and noble court ladies in magnificent dresses with unimaginable hairstyles immediately appear. The main difference between the harpsichord is that its sound cannot change smoothly in dynamics, like other instruments. In order to solve this problem, the masters came up with the idea of ​​adding other registers, which are turned on with the help of manual switches and levers. They are located on the sides of the keyboard. A little later, footswitches appeared to make it easier to play.

A photo:

Interesting Facts

• The harpsichord has always been considered an aristocratic instrument that adorned the salons and halls of the richest people in Europe. That is why in the old days it was made from expensive types of wood, the keys were covered with plates of tortoise shell, mother of pearl, and sometimes inlaid with precious stones.
• Have you noticed that some harpsichords have black bottom keys and white top keys - everything is exactly the opposite than that of a grand piano or piano? Harpsichords with this key coloring were common in France in the 17th century. As historians explain, such a keyboard finish was associated with the gallant style prevailing in art at that time - the snow-white hands of harpsichordists looked very elegant and embossed on a black keyboard.
• At first, the harpsichord was placed on the table; a little later, the craftsmen added beautiful legs.

• At one time, the conductor had to sit at the harpsichord, and he managed to play with his left hand, and lead the musicians with his right.
• Trying to recreate the sound of the harpsichord, some masters went to the trick. So, in the Red October piano, made in Soviet times, the third pedal lowers a special fabric onto the strings, to which metal reeds are attached. Hammers strike them and a characteristic sound occurs. The Soviet piano "Accord" has the same design.
• Footswitches on the harpsichord did not appear until 1750.
• At first, the sound dynamics was changed by doubling and tripling the strings, only in the 17th-18th centuries they began to make instruments with 2 or even 3 manuals located one above the other with different registers. In this case, the upper manual was tuned an octave higher.
• For a long time, the instrument of the Italian master Hieronymus in 1521 was considered the oldest harpsichord that has survived to this day. However, later they found an older harpsichord, made on September 18, 1515 by Vincentius of Livigimeno.
• Harpsichords of the 16th century were predominantly of Italian origin (Venice) and were made of cypress. French instruments with two keyboards (manuals) were walnut.
• Most harpsichords have lute register, it is characterized by a nasal timbre. In order to achieve such a sound, the strings were muffled with pieces of cloth made of felt or leather.
• In the Middle Ages, at the court of the Spanish king Philip II, there was a so-called "cat harpsichord". It was a device consisting of a keyboard and a rectangular box with several compartments where cats were placed. Before that, the animals were tapped, stepping on their tails, and arranged according to their voices. Then the tails of the unfortunate cats were fixed under the keys, when pressed, a needle stuck into them. The animal screamed loudly, and the performer continued to play his melody. It is known that Perth I also commissioned a "cat harpsichord" for his cabinet of curiosities.
• The famous French harpsichordist F. Couperin has a treatise "The Art of Playing the Harpsichord", which is used by musicians in our time.
• It was Couperin who began to actively use the thumb (first finger) when playing the harpsichord, before that, the musicians played only four, and the fifth was not involved. This idea was soon picked up by other performers.
• Famous performer Handel, as a child he was forced to practice playing the harpsichord in the attic, as his father was against a career as a musician and dreamed that his son would receive a law degree.
• Interestingly, the action of the jumper was described by W. Shakespeare in his 128th sonnet.
• The musicians who played the harpsichord were called clavierists, since they successfully owned more body and clavichord.
• It is noteworthy that the range of the concert harpsichord of the middle of the 18th century was wider than that of the piano, which supplanted it a little later.

Artworks

I.S. Bach - Concerto for harpsichord, strings and basso continuo in D major (listen)

M. Corette - Concerto for harpsichord and orchestra in d-minor (listen)

G.F. Handel - Suite for harpsichord No. 4 Sarabande (listen)

Design

Outwardly, the harpsichord looks a bit like a piano. The elongated triangular shape is complemented by beautiful legs, and the strings in it are arranged horizontally, parallel to the keys. Each key is equipped with a pusher, it is sometimes also called a jumper, a tongue is fixed at its upper end. The sound of the harpsichord is extracted with a pinch. When you press a key, elastic tongues made of bird feathers are set in motion; plastic ones have already been used in more modern models. They catch a tight string, and because of this, a characteristic plucking sound occurs.

Origin story

The first information about this instrument is usually attributed to 1511, therefore it is believed that it arose in the 16th century. However, a little later, new information appeared that the Italian source of 1397 (“Decameron” by G. Boccacho) also contains information about the instrument. The oldest image dates back to 1425 - on the altar in Minden.

The harpsichord owes its origin to the psalterium. The design of this ancient predecessor was changed and a keyboard mechanism was added. The first harpsichords were not very similar to the modern version. They were rectangular in shape and outwardly rather resembled a “free” clavichord, only the strings were of different lengths.

At one time, the harpsichord was very popular and was successfully used in ensembles and orchestras. In the 17th - 18th centuries, the instrument became widespread precisely as a solo instrument. The peculiar timbre of the harpsichord perfectly matched this gallant time. By the beginning of the 19th century, the instrument had practically gone out of use, until the culture of playing it was revived at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries.

Varieties

The name "harpsichord" belongs to keyboard instruments with a range of up to 5 octaves and having a wing-like shape. There are also smaller varieties of the instrument, which come with one set of strings, and their range only reaches 4 octaves. So, among them stand out: the spinet, in which the strings are located diagonally, the muselar is rectangular in shape and the strings are located strictly perpendicular to the keyboard. In addition, virginal also belongs to the varieties.

Video: listen to the harpsichord