The History of the Harpsichord
The 15th Century:

What we know today as a harpsichord seems to have
evolved in the early 1400s in Flanders

The earliest surviving representation is an altar carving
from Germany ca.1425.

The second is from England: a beautiful stained glass
window attributed to John Prudd c1440 in the Beauchamp
chapel of St.Mary's Church, Warwick England … it clearly
shows its Flemish influence in the case decoration.
By the 16th century:

Italian makers dominated the harpsichord development.

The Italian case is light and the stress of the strings
supported by internal knees.

The keyboard range has doubled from the earlier northern
instruments. And, the harpsichord has taken the musical
world by storm.
Here is an Italian Harpsichord:

This model is from the 16th century
Here is my mom playing Harpsichord:
The
th
17
Century:
The
th
17
Century:

During this century, the harpsichord range was increased.

Most early instruments cover less than 4 octaves, this was
gradually expanded to 5 octaves.

Often this was done by retuning the bass octave to omit
sharp notes, thus reaching deeper notes with no change to
the instrument.

Instrumental range (1677) has been extended by splitting
the lowest two sharp keys and squeezing two new sets of
strings into an existing design.
th
18
Century:
th
18
Century:

The number of strings increased, large instruments often
having three choirs per note.

The choirs were now designed to be easily selected by the
player in various combinations for different sound effects.

The essential mechanical layout and sound of the Flemish
instruments of the mid-1500s were retained in northern
instruments during the 1700s.

This was the instrument for which the Couperins, J.S.Bach,
Handel, Haydn, and the other great northern composers
wrote.
th
19
Century:
th
19

Century:
Essentially, use of the harpsichord ceased by 1800. The
precision and clarity of the baroque had been replaced by
mush and bombast.
th
th
19 -20




Century:
Several German firms experimented with plucked pianos
late in the 1800's.
By 1900, a young Polish pianist, Wanda Landowska, had
figured out how to make good music with them
1912, the French firm of Pleyel brought out a model
designed for her.
Ralph Kirkpatrick and others used similar instruments to
join her in developing a wholly new sound that blended
piano and organ techniques of the time.
th
th
19 -20
Century:

A French violinist, Arnold Dolmetsch, made a number of
instruments at several workshops based on English
harpsichords of the late 1700s, but without their sonority they attracted few admirers.

Some of the surviving large harpsichords were modified by
replacing a set of strings by strings an octave below normal
pitch - at least one such modified instrument was attributed
to J.S.Bach.
Harpsichord Facts:

They have been made in varying shapes, sizes and sounds
over the years dating back to the 14th century.

Some of the strings were plucked with a quill

Some with metal plectra

At least one harpsichord was designed to strike the strings
with a metal staple in the manner of the dulcimer.
Here are some songs played on
the Harpsichord:

This is a simple sound clip in a major key signature and
played with a midi harpsichord
Do you recognize this melody?
Three major Harpsichord Composers:

J.S. Bach

Domenico Scarlatti

Francois Couperin
J.S. Bach from Germany
(1685-1750)
Domenico Scarlatti from Italy
(1685-1750)
Francois Couperin from France
(1668-1733)
Sources pulled from the internet
are available upon request.
The end!