Harpsichord - musical instrument - history, photos, videos. Harpsichord: history, video, interesting facts, listen A harpsichord appeared

CLAVISIN [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 back in the 14th century), the first information about the harpsichord dates back to 1511; The oldest surviving instrument made in Italy dates back to 1521.

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

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

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

The sound of the harpsichord is brilliant, but unsung (short) - which means it is not amenable to dynamic changes (it is louder, but less expressive than that), 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, doubled, tripled and even quadrupled strings were used (for each tone), which were tuned in unison, octave, and sometimes other intervals.

Evolution

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

In the 17th-18th centuries. To give the harpsichord a dynamically more varied 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 for expanding trebles, octave doubling of basses and changes in timbre coloring (lute register, bassoon register, etc.).

The registers were operated 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, often reminiscent of a lute (the so-called lute keyboard).

Appearance

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

Harpsichord in different countries

The name “harpsichord” (in France; harpsichord - in England, keelflugel - in Germany, clavichembalo or abbreviated cymbal - in Italy) was retained 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 a 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 the 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 and 18th centuries. - , J.F. Rameau, L. Daquin, F. Daidrieu. French harpsichord music is an art of refined taste, refined manners, rationalistically clear, subordinate to aristocratic etiquette. The delicate and cold sound of the harpsichord harmonized with the “good tone” of the elite society.

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

By the end of the 18th century. works by 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 superseded, but completely forgotten in the 19th century.

This occurred as a result of a radical change in aesthetic preferences. Baroque aesthetics, which was based on either a clearly formulated or clearly felt concept of the theory of affects (in brief the 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, the most attractive and cultivated idea was, on the contrary, the idea of changeability - feelings, images, moods. And the piano was able to express this. The harpsichord could not do all this in principle - due to the peculiarities of its design.

(French clavecin, from Late Lat. clavicymbalum, from Lat. clavis - key (hence the key) and cymbalum - dulcimer) - plucked keyboard music. tool. Known since the 16th century. (began to be constructed back in the 14th century), the first information about K. dates back to 1511; The oldest Italian instrument that has survived to this day. The work dates back to 1521. K. originated from the psalterium (as a result of the reconstruction and addition of a keyboard mechanism). Initially, the clavichord 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 to a certain tone) and a more complex keyboard mechanism. K.'s strings were set into vibration by plucking with the help of a bird's feather mounted on a rod - a pusher. When the key was pressed, the pusher located at its rear end rose and the feather hooked onto the string (later, instead of a bird's feather, a leather plectrum was used). The sound of K. is brilliant, but not very melodious (abrupt), which means it is not amenable. dynamic changes (it is louder, but less expressive than that of the clavichord), 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 strings, doubled, tripled, and even quadrupled strings were used (for each tone), which were tuned to unison, octave, and sometimes other intervals. From the beginning 17th century metallic ones were used instead of conductors. strings increasing in length (from treble to bass). The instrument acquired a triangular wing-shaped shape with a longitudinal (parallel to the keys) arrangement of strings. In the 17th-18th centuries. To give K. a dynamically more varied 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 for expanding trebles, octave doubling the bass and changing the timbre color (lute register, bassoon register, etc.). The registers were operated 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 third keyboard was installed with some characteristic timbre coloring, often reminiscent of a lute (the so-called lute keyboard). Externally, the casings were usually finished very elegantly (the body was decorated with drawings, inlays, and carvings). The finish of the instrument was consistent with the stylish furniture of the Louis XV era. In the 16th-17th centuries. stood out for the quality of sound and their art, design K. Antwerp masters Rukkers.
Title "K." (in France; arpsichord - in England, keelflugel - in Germany, clavicembalo or abbreviated cymbal - in Italy) was reserved 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 - clavicytherium. 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 French school of harpsichordists - J. Chambonnière (his “new plays” were popular, 2 books, 1670). Among the French harpsichordists con. 17-18 centuries - F. Couperin, J. F. Rameau, L. Daquin, F. Dandrieu. Franz. harpsichord music is an art of refined taste, refined manners, rationalistically clear, subordinate to the aristocratic. etiquette. K.'s delicate and cold sound was in harmony with the “good tone” of the elite society. In French The gallant style (Rococo) found its vivid embodiment among harpsichordists. The favorite themes of harpsichord miniatures (miniature is a characteristic form of Rococo art) were female images ("Captivating", "Flirty", "Gloomy", "Shy", "Sister Monica", "Florentine" by Couperin), gallant dances occupied a large place (minuet, gavotte, etc.), idyllic. pictures of peasant life ("The Reapers", "Grape Pickers" by Couperin), onomatopoeic miniatures ("Chicken", "Clock", "Cheeping" by Couperin, "Cuckoo" by Daquin, etc.). A typical feature of harpsichord music is the abundance of melodies. decorations K con. 18th century prod. French harpsichordists began to disappear from the performers' repertoire. Interest in French Harpsichord music was revived by the Impressionists, who sought to revive 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. 3 collections were published in the USSR. French plays harpsichordists (edited by A. N. Yurovsky). In mid. 20th century interest in K. is being revived, 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., Keyboard art, M.-L., 1952; Druskin M. S., Keyboard music, Leningrad, 1960; Saint-Lambert M. de, Les principles 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.

View value Harpsichord in other dictionaries

Harpsichord- harpsichord, m. (French clavecin) (music). An ancient keyboard instrument like a piano.
Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

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

Harpsichord- -A; m. [French] clavecin] An ancient keyboard-stringed musical instrument, reminiscent of a piano in appearance.
◁ Harpsichord, -aya, -oe. K music.
Kuznetsov's Explanatory Dictionary

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

Harpsichord— - stringed keyboard-plucked musical instrument. Known since the 15th century. Predecessor of the piano.
Historical Dictionary

Harpsichord- see piano.
Musical dictionary

HARPSICHORD— HARPISH, -a, m. An ancient plucked-keyboard musical instrument. Play the harpsichord. || adj. harpsichord, -aya, -oh.
Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

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

Musical instrument: Harpsichord

Surely at concerts you have noticed a musical instrument similar to a piano, but much smaller in size, with several keyboards and a completely different, ringing metallic sound? The name of this instrument is harpsichord. In each country it is called differently: in France and Russia it is a harpsichord, in Italy it is a cymbalo (and sometimes a clavicembalo), in England it is a harpsichord. The harpsichord is a keyboard stringed musical instrument in which the sound is produced by plucking.

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, you immediately imagine ancient dances, balls, and noble court ladies in magnificent dresses with unimaginable hairstyles. The main difference between the harpsichord is that its sound cannot smoothly change dynamics, like other instruments. In order to solve this problem, the craftsmen came up with the idea of adding other registers that are activated using manual switches and levers. They are located on the sides of the keyboard. A little later, foot switches also appeared to make playing easier.

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 tortoise shell plates, mother of pearl, and sometimes inlaid with precious stones.
Have you noticed that some harpsichords have black lower keys and white upper keys - everything is exactly the opposite of that of a grand piano or upright piano? Harpsichords with key colors like this were common in France in the 17th century. As historians explain, this decoration of the keyboard was associated with the gallant style that was dominant in art at that time - the snow-white hands of the harpsichordists looked very graceful and prominent on the black keyboard.
At first, the harpsichord was placed on a 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 direct the musicians with his right.
Trying to recreate the sound of a harpsichord, some masters resorted to trickery. Thus, 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. The hammers strike them and a characteristic sound occurs. The Soviet Accord piano has the same design.
Foot switches on the harpsichord did not appear until 1750.
At first, the dynamics of sound were changed by doubling and tripling the strings; only in the 17th-18th centuries did they begin 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 oldest harpsichord that has survived to this day was considered to be the instrument of the Italian master Hieronymus in 1521. However, later they found an older harpsichord, made on September 18, 1515 by Vincentius from Livigimeno.
Harpsichords of the 16th century were predominantly of Italian origin (Venice) and were made of cypress. French instruments with two keyboards (manuals) were made of 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 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 in which cats were placed. Before this, the animals were listened to by stepping on their tails and ranked according to their voices. Then the tails of the unfortunate cats were secured under the keys, when pressed, a needle was pierced into them. The animal screamed loudly, and the performer continued to play his melody. It is known that Perth I also ordered 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 still used by musicians in our time.
It was Couperin who began to actively use the thumb (first finger) when playing the harpsichord; before that, musicians played with only four, and the fifth was not used. 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, since his father was against a career as a musician and dreamed of his son receiving a law education.
It is interesting that the action of the jumper was described by W. Shakespeare in his 128th sonnet.
Musicians who played the harpsichord were called clavierists, since they successfully played body and clavichord.
It is noteworthy that the range of the concert harpsichord of the mid-18th century was wider than that of the piano, which replaced it a little later

Works

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 - Harpsichord Suite No. 4 Sarabande (listen)

Design

Externally, the harpsichord looks a little like a piano. The elongated triangular shape is complemented by beautiful legs, and the strings are arranged horizontally, parallel to the keys. Each key is equipped with a pusher, sometimes also called a jumper, with a tongue attached to its upper end. The sound of a harpsichord is produced by plucking. When you press a key, elastic tongues made of bird feathers move; more modern models have already used plastic ones. 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, so it is believed that it originated in the 16th century. However, a little later, new information appeared that the Italian source of 1397 (“Decameron” by G. Boccacio) also contains information about the instrument. The oldest image dates back to 1425 - on an 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 looked more like 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 as a solo instrument. The unique timbre of the harpsichord perfectly suited this gallant time. By the beginning of the 19th century, the instrument practically went 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-shaped shape. There are also smaller varieties of the instrument, which come with one set of strings, and their range reaches only 4 octaves. So, among them stand out: the spinet, in which the strings are located diagonally, the muzelard - rectangular in shape and the strings located strictly perpendicular to the keyboard. In addition, virginel is also a variety.

Video: listen to the harpsichord

HARPSICHORD

Surely at concerts you have noticed a musical instrument similar to a piano, but much smaller in size, with several keyboards and a completely different, ringing metallic sound? The name of this instrument is harpsichord (derives from the French word). In each country it is called differently: in France and Russia it is a harpsichord, in Italy it is a cymbalo (and sometimes a clavicembalo), in England it is a harpsichord. The harpsichord is a keyboard stringed musical instrument in which the sound is produced by plucking.

Sound, timbre:

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 tortoise shell plates, mother of pearl, and sometimes inlaid with precious stones.
Have you noticed that some harpsichords have black lower keys and white upper keys - everything is exactly the opposite of that of a grand piano or upright piano? Harpsichords with key colors like this were common in France in the 17th century. As historians explain, this decoration of the keyboard was associated with the gallant style that was dominant in art at that time - the snow-white hands of the harpsichordists looked very graceful and prominent on the black keyboard.
At first, the harpsichord was placed on a 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 direct the musicians with his right.
Trying to recreate the sound of a harpsichord, some masters resorted to trickery. Thus, 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. The hammers strike them and a characteristic sound occurs. The Soviet Accord piano has the same design.
Foot switches on the harpsichord did not appear until 1750.
At first, the dynamics of sound were changed by doubling and tripling the strings; only in the 17th-18th centuries did they begin to make instruments with 2 or even 3 manuals, located on top of each other with different registers. In this case, the upper manual was tuned an octave higher.
For a long time, the oldest harpsichord that has survived to this day was considered to be the instrument of the Italian master Hieronymus in 1521. However, later they found an older harpsichord, made on September 18, 1515 by Vincentius from Livigimeno.
Harpsichords of the 16th century were predominantly of Italian origin (Venice) and were made of cypress. French instruments with two keyboards (manuals) were made of walnut.
Most harpsichords have a lute register, which is characterized by a nasal timbre. In order to achieve such a sound, the strings were muffled with pieces 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 in which cats were placed. Before this, the animals were listened to by stepping on their tails and ranked according to their voices. Then the tails of the unfortunate cats were secured under the keys, when pressed, a needle was pierced into them. The animal screamed loudly, and the performer continued to play his melody. It is known that Perth I also ordered 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 still used by musicians in our time.
It was Couperin who began to actively use the thumb (first finger) when playing the harpsichord; before that, musicians played with only four, and the fifth was not used. This idea was soon picked up by other performers.
The famous performer Handel, as a child, was forced to practice playing the harpsichord in the attic, since his father was against a career as a musician and dreamed of him receiving a law degree.
It is interesting that the action of the jumper was described by W. Shakespeare in his 128th sonnet.
Musicians who played the harpsichord were called claviers, since they also successfully played the organ and clavichord.
It is noteworthy that the range of the concert harpsichord is ser. 18th century was wider than the piano, which replaced it a little later

Harpsichord at Wikimedia Commons

The Parisian companies Pleyel and Erard also started producing harpsichords. On the initiative of Wanda Landowska, in 1912 the Pleyel factory began producing a model of a large concert harpsichord with a powerful metal frame carrying thick, tightly stretched strings. The instrument was equipped with a piano keyboard and a whole set of piano pedals. Thus began the era of a new harpsichord aesthetics. In the second half of the 20th century, the fashion for “piano” harpsichords passed away. Boston craftsmen Frank Hubbard and William Dowd were the first to make copies of antique harpsichords.

Device

Initially, the harpsichord had a quadrangular shape, but in the 17th century it acquired a wing-shaped, oblong triangular shape; metal strings began to be used instead of gut strings. Its strings are arranged horizontally, parallel to the keys, usually in the form of several choirs, with groups of strings of different manuals located at different height levels. Externally, harpsichords were usually elegantly finished: the body was decorated with drawings, inlays and carvings. During the era of Louis XV, the decoration of the harpsichord was consistent with the stylish furniture of the time. In the 16th-17th centuries, the harpsichords of the Antwerp masters Rukkers stood out for their sound quality and artistic design.

Registers

The sound of the harpsichord is brilliant, but not very melodious, jerky, and not amenable to dynamic changes, that is, a smooth increase and decrease in volume on the harpsichord is impossible. To change the strength and timbre of the sound, the harpsichord can have more than one register, which are activated by manual switches and levers located on the sides of the keyboard. Foot and knee register switches appeared in the late 1750s.

The harpsichord, depending on the model, may have the following registers:

8ft (8`)- register that sounds according to musical notation;
lute- register of characteristic nasal timbre, reminiscent of pizzicato on bowed instruments; usually does not have its own row of strings, but is formed from an ordinary 8-foot register, the strings of which, when the lever is switched, are muted by pieces of leather or felt using a special mechanism;
4ft (4`)- register sounding one octave higher;
16ft (16`)- a register sounding one octave lower.

Manuals and their range

In the 15th century, the range of the harpsichord was 3 octaves, with some chromatic notes missing in the lower octave. In the 16th century, the range expanded to 4 octaves (from C major octave to C 3rd: C - C'''), in the 18th century - to 5 octaves (from F counter octave to F 3rd: F' - F ''').

In the 17th-18th centuries, to give the harpsichord a dynamically more diverse sound, instruments were made with 2 (sometimes 3) manuals (keyboards), which were located terrace-like, one above the other, as well as with register switches for octave doubling and changing timbre color.

A typical 18th-century German or Dutch harpsichord has two manuals (keyboards), two sets of 8' strings and one set of 4' strings (sounding an octave higher), which, thanks to the available register switches, can be used separately or together, as well as a manual copulation mechanism ( copula), allowing you to use the registers of the second manual when playing the first.

Pusher

Figure 1 shows the function of the pusher (or jumper), the numbers indicate: 1 - limiter, 2 - felt, 3 - damper, 4 - string, 5 - plectrum (tongue), 6 - splint, 7 - axis, 8 - spring, 9 - pusher, 10 - deflection of the langet with plectrum.

Figure 2

A- initial position, damper on the string.
B- pressing a key: lifting the pusher, the damper releases the string, the plectrum approaches the string.
C- the plectrum plucks the string, the string sounds, the height of the pusher jumping out is controlled by a limiter covered with felt underneath.
D- the key is released, the pusher lowers, while the yoke is deflected to the side (10), allowing the plectrum to slide off the string almost silently, then the damper dampens the vibration of the string, and the yoke returns to its original state using a spring.

Figure 2 shows the structure of the upper part of the pusher: 1 - string, 2 - languette axis, 3 - languette (from the French languette), 4 - plectrum, 5 - damper.

The pushers are installed on the end of each key of the harpsichord; this is a separate device that is removed from the harpsichord for repair or adjustment. In the longitudinal cutout of the pusher, a languette (from the French languette) is attached to the axis, in which a plectrum is fixed - a tongue made of crow feather, bone or plastic (Delrin duraline plectrum - on many modern instruments), round or flat. In addition to one plectrum, double brass plectrums were also made, which were located one above the other. Two pluckings in a row were not perceptible to the ear, but the prickly attack characteristic of the harpsichord, that is, the sharp beginning of the sound, was made softer by such a device. Just above the tongue there is a damper made of felt or soft leather. When you press a key, the pusher is pushed up and the plectrum plucks the string. If the key is released, the release mechanism allows the plectrum to return to its original position without plucking the string again, and the vibration of the string is damped by the damper.

Varieties

spinet- with strings diagonally from left to right;
virginal- rectangular in shape, with a manual to the left of the center and strings located perpendicular to the keys;
muselar- rectangular in shape, with a manual to the right of the center and strings located perpendicular to the keys;
clavicytherium- a harpsichord with a vertically positioned body.

Imitations

On the Soviet piano Red October "Sonnet" there is a primitive imitation of a harpsichord by lowering the moderator with metal reeds. The Soviet Accord piano has the same property due to the fact that when you press the additional built-in third (central) pedal, the fabric with metal reeds sewn to it is lowered, which gives a sound similar to a harpsichord.

Composers

The founder of the French harpsichord school is considered to be J. Chambonnière, and the creator of the virtuoso harpsichord style is the Italian composer and harpsichordist D. Scarlatti. Among the French harpsichordists of the late XVII-XVIII centuries. stood out