At once elegant and refined, the harpsichord was the unrivalled superstar of the Baroque and an epoch-defining instrument. Composers like Bach and Handel loved it for its clarity of sound, brilliance of ornamentation and the endless possibilities of ensemble combinations that it presented. Though to the modern-day observer the harpsichord looks a lot like a piano, there is a fundamental difference in sound production with the harpsichord's strings plucked with quills rather than struck with a hammer.
The harpsichord fell out of fashion with the rise of the piano. Yet with the historically informed performance practice movement of the mid-20th century the instrument crept back into the collective musical consciousness. Today, harpsichordists including Australians Paul Dyer and Erin Helyard showcase the instrument's versatility from Baroque to contemporary music.
The Harpsichord in Pop Culture
For more than 70 years the harpsichord has been right at home in pop culture, from the Beatles and Rolling Stones to Björk. Whether elegantly solo, blended with other plucked strings or the glitter atop a band the harpsichord brings a tantalisingly different, oddly 'new' sound to popular music. The instrument has also made its way into film scores, with a particular affinity for spooky moments from the Frog Choir in Harry Potter's Double Trouble to the sound or the creepy, kooky Addams Family.
Tracklist
Capten Magan / Creamonea / Planksty / John Drury (second air) / The Seas are Deep / Lord Gallaways Lamentation [07'10]
Composer
O'Carolan, Turlough
Performers
Les Basses Réunies + Bruno Cocset (cello & director)
Album
Give Me Your Hand: Geminiani & The Celtic Earth, Alpha 276
Label
Alpha Classics
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Suite in Old Style, for viola, harpsichord & strings: I. Prelude: Fanfare from the balconies. Back from hunting. Through mirrored corridors [06'01]
Composer
Tabakova, Dobrinka
Performers
Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra + Vaiva Eidukaitytė-Storastienė (harpsichord)
Album
String Paths, 476 4826
Label
ECM Records
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