By The Landlord
“The sound of the harpsichord resembles that of a bird-cage played with toasting-forks … or two skeletons copulating on a tin roof in a thunderstorm.” – Sir Thomas Beecham
“I don't use the harpsichord because it evokes a past time period: I use it because I like the sound.” – Julia Holter
"A duodene of bird notes chirruped bright treble answer under sensitive hand. Brightly the keys, all twinkling, linked, all harpsichording, called to a voice to sing the strain of dewy morn, of youth, of love's leave-taking, life's, love's morn." – James Joyce, Ulysses
Perhaps it all went slightly wrong
When the piano came along.
Till then, solo, accompanying,
Italian clavicembalo, French clavecin,
This courtly sultan of the ping
Was deemed an instrumental king.
Ornate, precise and delicate,
Tickling keys, to vellicate,
With swish of hose, jabot, and cuff,
Lace, tunic, Renaissance ruff,
A strutting keyboard peacock
Fully fluffed up in Baroque,
Made of jacks with strings to pluck
Not lingering, but sharp, gentle stop,
No legato, not smooth ’cello,
Fast, precise, more staccato,
A pretty sound on the spectrum,
Pressed and plucked from key to plectrum.
A French model
Clear bright notes, complex rhythms,
Delicate tilt mechanisms,
Played by Bach, Byrd, Handel, Scarlatti,
Made by Ruckers, Zell, Blanchet, Shudi,
And with it smaller versions come
The vertical clavicytherium,
Clavichord Lépante, popular from the 16th century to the 18th century
The upright clavicytherium
Spinet, virginal, ottavino,
The clavichord with slight vibrato
With subtle touch, a varied pitch
Pedal hybrid with a common glitch,
A family so very plucky
But also proved to be unlucky –
History’s fate comes with trends
Popularity’s fickle, and often ends,
As by the late 1700s
Came a sound that felt like thunder’s
Hammer – well, hitting strings
Smashing them with cruel stings
In a revolution like cloth’s loom
The harpsichord had to make room,
Drowned by sound and sheer volume,
Swept aside by broom to ballroom,
But most of all, concert or courtly,
Grandly usurped by the pianoforte.
But perhaps it’s time for a revival,
Instruments’ sotto voce survival
From their Middle Age origin
Isn’t dampened by music’s bin,
Across the past century,
With makers reviving their legacy,
With artists seeking different timbres,
This sound pops up in many genres –
Classical, folk, pop, jazz and funk,
Prog, rock, reggae and even punk!
Songs or pieces, solo, harmonic,
Can also include types electronic.
It’s all about that distinctive sound,
That plink and clink, clear, sharp, yet round,
So listen out, choose, share and tell,
Guest pejepeine will sound the bell,
So press your keys, see what’s restored,
Let’s hear it for the harpsichord.
Unlike piano hammers, the harpsichord mechanism causes a plectrum to gently pluck then dampen strings
So then, please suggest songs and pieces that feature the distinctive sound of the harpsichord and its family variants in comments below for deadline this coming Monday at 11pm UK time, for playlists published next week.
New to comment? It is quick and easy. You just need to login to Disqus once. All is explained in About/FAQs ...
Fancy a turn behind the pumps at The Song Bar? Care to choose a playlist from songs nominated and write something about it? Then feel free to contact The Song Bar here, or try the usual email address. Also please follow us social media: Song Bar Twitter, Song Bar Facebook. Song Bar YouTube, and Song Bar Instagram. Please subscribe, follow and share.
Song Bar is non-profit and is simply about sharing great music. We don’t do clickbait or advertisements. All writing and research is done voluntarily, so please make any donation to help keep the Bar running: