History of the Piano

The Harpischord

Although many composers played a clavichord at home, the most common instrument for performance in the Baroque period was the harpsichord. The instruments look somewhat similar to a piano; however, they use a different technique to create its unique sound.

Harpsichords most likely developed during the Middle Ages. By the 16th century there were regional variations in harpsichords; Italian instruments were lightweight and featured low string tension, while Dutch versions were heavier, allowing for a more powerful sound. The Dutch harpsichords were also the first to feature two keyboards on one instrument, which allowed different keys to be used. As the harpsichord continued to develop, builders in different countries continued to innovate. French makers adapted the two keyboards to use different strings, while German builders added more strings to extend the range of the instrument.

To create a sound on the harpsichord the player depresses the key. As the other end of the key rises, it lifts a long strip of wood, called a jack, to which a plectrum is attached. The plectrum was originally a small, wedge-shaped piece of quill from a bird feather (in modern instruments the plectrums are made of plastic). As the plectrum rises, it plucks the key, creating the sound. When the keyboardist lets go of the key, the lever returns to its original position. As the key falls back into place, the plectrum swivels away from the string so that the note is not restruck. When the key is back in place, a damper on the jack touches the string and stops the vibration, thus stopping the sound. Since the string is plucked, the sound is softer and fades rapidly. Harpsichords have a very distinct, somewhat metallic sound. Because the string is plucked, it is impossible to create dynamics on a harpsichord.

Most harpsichords have a single string per note. Some harpsichords featured more than one string per note, in what were called “choirs” of strings. One of the advantages to this type of set up was that the harpsichord could play louder. If the musician set up the choirs in a certain way, each time they played a note, the key would pluck more than one string. Quite often the two strings that would be plucked at the same time would be an octave apart, adding not only volume, but a depth of sound to each note. A second advantage to utilizing the choirs of strings dealt with tone quality. The musician could set one set of strings closer to the “nut” a piece of wood that the string would pass over. The tone quality of a string plucked near the nut was more “nasal” than a string plucked elsewhere. Usually, harpsichords are characterized by how many choirs of strings the instrument contained, often referred to as the instruments “disposition.” Harpsichords usually had a range of four to five octaves, depending on the instrument and its maker.

Harpsichords featured a protective case to safeguard all the mechanisms within, although they varied widely from region to region. Italian harpsichords were often light, sometimes light enough that they were kept in a second case for protection and simply taken out and placed on a table for performance. Later harpsichords, especially those from modern-day Belgium, were much heavier and were like a piece of furniture. Harpsichords could also be decorative sometimes featuring elaborate printed paper or painted designs on the soundboard, lid, or outer case of the instrument.

There were variations of the harpsichord that were popular as well. The virginal was a smaller, simpler instrument, usually rectangular in shape with only one string per note. Spinets were harpsichords with pairs of strings set on an angle rather than parallel. A smaller version of the spinet was called a “tryangle” which was a triangular shaped instrument that featured only an octave of strings. A clavicytherium featured a vertically mounted soundboard and strings, creating an instrument that took less space, much like the difference between a modern upright and grand piano. Some harpsichords featured an extra set of strings underneath that were played by a foot-operated pedal keyboard, similar to an organ.

The harpsichord was the most common keyboard instrument from the Renaissance era into the Classical period, with the first published music for harpsichord appearing in the early 16th century. William Byrd (ca 1540-1623) and other composers in England during the late Renaissance wrote specifically for the virginal. In France, François Couperin (Fran-swa Coop-er-an) (1668-1733) wrote many works for solo harpsichord which were later complied into four collections. Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757) spent most of his career in the service of the Spanish royal family. Over his lifetime, he wrote 555 harpsichord sonatas. The two most famous composers of harpsichord music were Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) and Georg Friedrich Handel (1685-1759). Handel wrote numerous suites, sonatas, preludes, and fugues for harpsichord and was a gifted performer. Scarlatti often crossed himself in a show of devotion or thanksgiving when referring to Handel’s skill. Bach’s works for solo harpsichord, including the Well-Tempered Clavier and Goldberg Variations, are still played today, not only on harpsichord, but on piano as well. Bach also wrote some of the first harpsichord concertos. Although the piano was invented in 1700, well within the lifetime of Mozart and Haydn, both composers wrote for and played the harpsichord.

By the 19th century, the piano was the predominant keyboard instrument, not only in performance but at home. However, there was a revival of interest in the harpsichord in the 20th century. New pieces featuring the instrument were written by contemporary composers, including Francis Poulenc (1899-1963), Manuel de Falla (1876-1946), and Elliott Carter (1908-2012) among others. Harpsichords are often frequently used in period ensembles where the performers play older works on the instruments for which the piece was written. Although similar in many ways to its successor, the piano, the harpsichord is its own unique instrument with a distinctive sound and an important place in music history.