The Harpsichord

The Harpsichord

Apple Music Classical

An early ancestor of the piano, the harpsichord is a plucked keyboard instrument known for its distinctive and crisp guitar-like timbre. Often beautifully decorated, harpsichords were designed to be seen as well as heard. In its early days, dynamic variations were mechanically impossible, so harpsichordists didn’t have much control over volume. However, the passage of time has brought about many improvements in overcoming the instrument’s limitations. Silent for the entire 19th century, when the piano dominated, the harpsichord had a modest renaissance in the 20th when composers like Manuel de Falla, Bohuslav Martinů and, later, György Ligeti wrote for it again. With the revival of interest in the music of the Baroque, the harpsichord thrives again in concert halls and opera houses all over the world.

I. Allegro

Freiburger Barockorchester, Andreas Staier

7:48

I. Prélude. Presto

0:48

II. Allegro

2:37

I. Allegro

Concerto Italiano, Rinaldo Alessandrini

9:41

Prelude I in C Major, BWV 846

1:46

Fugue I in C Major, BWV 846

1:53

I. Allegro

Céline Frisch, Pablo Valetti, Anna Fontana, Café Zimmermann, Dirk Börner, Constance Borner

3:25

No. 1, Recitativo for Soprano and Bass, "Abramo, il tuo sembiante" (Daniele, Abramo)

Rossana Bertini, Concerto Italiano, Sergio Foresti, Rinaldo Alessandrini

1:24

No. 2, Aria for Soprano, "Mira come al crin gelato" (Daniele)

Rossana Bertini, Concerto Italiano, Rinaldo Alessandrini

2:09

Continuum

4:26

The King's Hunt, My Grief, My Self

6:34

Aria

5:28

Variation V

2:07

Ouverture

3:33

Santoor Suite

3:57

I. Allegro molto

Anima Eterna Brugge, Jos van Immerseel, Kateřina Chroboková

10:41

No. 4, Rekhtah - Mutru be khoosh nuwa bego

2:19

Movement I

Nortwest Chamber Orchestra, Jillon Stoppels Dupree, Ralf Gothóni, Northwest Chamber Orchestra of Seattle

8:07

À la suite de Jean (After the Prélude of J. S. Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major, BWV 1007)

Edouard Ferlet, Violaine Cochard

5:26

I. Allegro

3:30

Partite sopra Folia

Gustav Leonhardt

5:40

I. Prelude

Arco Baleno Ensemble

3:09

Ground in C Minor, ZT. 681

Blandine Rannou

3:24

Harpsichord Sonata, H. 368

7:06

Rondeau from Abdelazer, ZT 684

2:05

Violin Sonata in D Major, Op. 3 No. 4 "La castella"

Fred Jacobs, Richard Egarr, Andrew Manze

6:27

Sonata No. 17 in A Minor (Andantino)

2:48

III. Allegro

Freiburger Barockorchester, Petra Müllejans, Andreas Staier

5:04

I. Adagio

Isabelle Faust, Kristian Bezuidenhout

3:10

II. Allegro

Isabelle Faust, Kristian Bezuidenhout

2:56

IX. Tambourin

Christophe Rousset

1:15

IV. Le rappel des oiseaux

4:52

VIII. La villageoise

3:02

I. Allegro

John Constable, London Sinfonietta, Sir Simon Rattle

3:00

"Arresta, arresta il passo" (Aminta)

Emmanuelle Haïm, Le Concert d'Astrée, Sabine Devieilhe

2:02

"Fermati, non fuggir!" (Aminta)

Sabine Devieilhe, Emmanuelle Haïm, Le Concert d'Astrée

3:04

I. Allegro molto

Nona Liddell, Markus Stenz, David Zinman/Dawn Upshaw/London Sinfonietta/Elzbieta Chojnacka

4:36

II. Vivace

Nona Liddell, Markus Stenz, David Zinman/Dawn Upshaw/London Sinfonietta/Elzbieta Chojnacka

4:24

La sensible

Béatrice Martin

4:16

"You Spotted Snakes with Double Tongues" (Fairies)

City of London Sinfonia, Richard Hickox, Trinity Boys Choir

2:23

Prélude No. 1 in C Major

1:25

No. 5, Ballo alla polacha con il suo saltarello

2:27

II. From Janequin to Jehan Alain

Mary Lynch, Jordan Anderson, Michael A. Werner, Mahan Esfahani

8:58

No. 12 in D Minor, RV 63 "Follia"

Ingrid Seifert, Irmgard Schaller, Charles Medlam, London Baroque, Terence Charlston, Richard Gwilt

9:37

Ricercar a 3

Philippe Grisvard

6:27

Canon a 2 Violini in Unisono

Johannes Pramsohler, Ensemble Diderot

1:07

Canon perpetuus

Ensemble Diderot, Johannes Pramsohler

2:07

Keyboard Sonata in F Minor, Kk. 69

3:28

Les baricades mïstérieuses

Thomas Dunford, Jean Rondeau

3:19