# Favourite harpsichord works/composer



## JSBach85

Harpsichord is my favourite keyboard instrument, I have some recordings of JS Bach, Buxtehude, Rameau, Purcell, Scarlatti and Couperin and also I have attended a few live performances. Sadly, this instrument have been neglected by piano by modern audiences. I am having a difficult time finding people liking this instrument as well. Do you like harpsichord? What are your favourite works/composers?


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## Mandryka

I like harpsichord music. 

Let me tell you how I discovered the repertoire. I found myself enjoying Gustav Leonhardt's style, so I just listened to everything he ever released. It's not hard to do if you have the time and interest, and they're nearly all on Spotify. I pretty soon learned what I liked (Louis Couperin, Frescobaldi, Froberger, Sweelinck, Byrd, Bach, Peter Philips, Bull, etc) and what I didn't care for so much (Scarlatti, Duphly, Handel, Francois Couperin, Rameau, Soler . . . )


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## Art Rock

When there's a choice, I tend to go for piano rather than harpsichord. The main exception is Gorecki's stunning harpsichord concerto, which sounds far better than the alternative piano concerto version.


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## Taplow

Bach Italian Concerto, BWV 971. Hands down favourite for the Harpsichord. Ton Koopman Erato: 2292-45787-2

For *Art Rock*, Rosalyn Tureck does a pretty good job of it on the piano, too.


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## Bulldog

Although the harpsichord is not a favorite among current classical music fans, there are enough of us for the record companies to issue a healthy inventory of works for harpsichord. German and French harpsichord music are my comfort zone.


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## Joe B

JSBach85 said:


> Harpsichord is my favorite keyboard instrument, I have some recordings of JS Bach, Buxtehude, Rameau, Purcell, Scarlatti and Couperin and also I have attended a few live performances. Sadly, this instrument have been neglected by piano by modern audiences. I am having a difficult time finding people liking this instrument as well. Do you like harpsichord? What are your favorite works/composers?


I love the harpsichord. Besides the composers you mentioned, I have works by: Frescobaldi, Froberger, Handel, Fuller, Royer, van Soldt, Bustijin, Sweelink, Noordt, Reincken, Blow, Clarke, Croft, Greene, Jones, Arne, Soler and J. C. Bach.

If I were to choose only one favorite work, it would be Scarlatti's K 519 which starts in this video at the 2 minute mark:


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## tdc

I really enjoy the harpsichord. My favorite works are by J.S. Bach, but I enjoy a lot of composers on the instrument.

Two of my favorites:

J.S. Bach - WTC Book II performed by Kenneth Gilbert





J.S. Bach - English Suites performed by Alan Curtis


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## Bulldog

tdc said:


> I really enjoy the harpsichord. My favorite works are by J.S. Bach, but I enjoy a lot of composers on the instrument.
> 
> Two of my favorites:
> 
> J.S. Bach - WTC Book II performed by Kenneth Gilbert
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> J.S. Bach - English Suites performed by Alan Curtis


Great Choices! Curtis also gave us an outstanding recording of the French Suites.


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## classfolkphile

I enjoy harpsichord music also. Bach, of course, Scarlatti, Rameau, Byrd, and others.

Favorite is the Goldberg Variations, by either Ton Koopman or Blandine Verlet.


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## MusicSybarite

*Bach*, *Händel*, Scarlatti and Rameau come to my mind.


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## Mandryka

JSBach85 said:


> Harpsichord is my favourite keyboard instrument, I have some recordings of JS Bach, Buxtehude, Rameau, Purcell, Scarlatti and Couperin and also I have attended a few live performances.


What live performances have you heard? Is Madrid lively for harpsichord music?


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## T Son of Ander

In the past 10 years or so I have really come to love the harpsichord, especially slow pieces (sarabandes, pavanes, etc.). I have a set on Brilliant Classics of complete works by Georg Böhm performed by Simone Stella that I can't get enough of. Also, The Fitzwilliam Virginal with Pieter-Jan Belder are some favorite recordings of mine. I think I played his recording of Byrd's Lady Monteagle's Pavane a thousand times after I heard it. Simone Stella also recorded Buxtehude's music on Brilliant, and I enjoy that quite a bit, as well.


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## T Son of Ander

Can't help sharing this.


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## jegreenwood

I enjoy Scott Ross playing Scarlatti

For Bach I have recordings by Leonhardt, Gilbert, Curtis, and Van Asperen. I recently purchased Blandine Verlet playing Inventions and WTC.


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## JSBach85

Mandryka said:


> What live performances have you heard? Is Madrid lively for harpsichord music?


Not many, Madrid is not a better city for harpsichord "recitals". As far as I remember, I attended a live concert of Bach's The Well Tempered Clavier and a performance of Mattheson's Der brauchbare Virtuoso in a historical church, not exactly an harpsichord performance but as basso continuo.


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## JSBach85

jegreenwood said:


> I enjoy Scott Ross playing Scarlatti
> 
> For Bach I have recordings by Leonhardt, Gilbert, Curtis, and Van Asperen. I recently purchased Blandine Verlet playing Inventions and WTC.


I adore Ross recordings of Scarlatti sonatas in Warner, one of my favourite box sets ever (I mean, not only for harpsichord but any kind of box sets).


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## JSBach85

I do not have this recording but I would encourage you to listen to it:

Buxtehude - Harpsichord works (1) Lars Ulrik Mortensen






At this moment I own the first volume of Koopman in Challenge Records. By the way, Koopman has recorded up to 30 cds of Buxtehude works available in a box set, do someone own/listened to them?


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## Marc

JSBach85 said:


> Harpsichord is my favourite keyboard instrument, I have some recordings of JS Bach, Buxtehude, Rameau, Purcell, Scarlatti and Couperin and also I have attended a few live performances. Sadly, this instrument have been neglected by piano by modern audiences. I am having a difficult time finding people liking this instrument as well. Do you like harpsichord? What are your favourite works/composers?


I like the harpsichord and harpsichord music (because I like the baroque period), and I also consider myself not very much 'informed'. Because, when I listen to it, I simply enjoy it. Which is probably the most enjoyable way to enjoy music. 

Bach is my favourite composer, which means that I like his keyboard/harpsichord music a lot.
I only recall getting a bit annoyed whilst listening to Sergio Vartolo's _Kunst der Fuge_, because I thought the performance was rather mannered.

With a performer like Gustav Leonhardt though, you can't go wrong.

A favourite non-Bach boxset is this one:

https://www.amazon.com/French-Harps...GQG/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1503571613

(Written by a non-informed harpsichord lover, please remember that.)


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## hpowders

Bach Keyboard Partitas, never on piano; ALWAYS on harpsichord.

Same deal with the Well Tempered Clavier and Goldberg Variations, both by Bach.

Scarlatti keyboard sonatas always sound better on harpsichord than piano.

Anybody performing keyboard Bach and/or Scarlatti on piano should be given a large monetary summons for anachronistic tampering.


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## Marc

hpowders said:


> [...]
> Anybody performing keyboard Bach and/or Scarlatti on piano should be given a large monetary summons for anachronistic tampering.




Never thought of that. Interesting idea. That'll teach them.


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## JSBach85

hpowders said:


> Anybody performing keyboard Bach and/or Scarlatti on piano should be given a large monetary summons for anachronistic tampering.


I completely agree with you!. I sometimes listen to a radio program about JS Bach and when they put an arrangement for piano I skip to the next one.


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## hpowders

Marc said:


> Never thought of that. Interesting idea. That'll teach them.


Anybody buying a CD of Bach solo keyboard music without any of the following names: Gustav Leonhardt, Trevor Pinnock, Kenneth Weiss, Pierre Hantaï or Scott Ross on the cover, should start their keyboard listening, no earlier, than with Schumann and Brahms.


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## hpowders

JSBach85 said:


> I completely agree with you!. I sometimes listen to a radio program about JS Bach and when they put an arrangement for piano I skip to the next one.


 The harpsichord creates effects the piano cannot match.

The first keyboard partita's Sarabande has a plaintive, long trill. Devastating on harpsichord. Merely "polite" and too soft on piano.


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## Taplow

hpowders said:


> Anybody buying a CD of Bach solo keyboard music without any of the following names: Gustav Leonhardt, Trevor Pinnock, Kenneth Weiss, Pierre Hantaï or Scott Ross on the cover, should start their keyboard listening, no earlier, then with Schumann and Brahms.


Christophe Rousset, Ton Koopman, Bob van Asperen, Christopher Hogwood, Masaaki Suzuki, Richard Egarr, William Christie ... ?


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## Guest

Taplow said:


> Christophe Rousset, Ton Koopman, Bob van Asperen, Christopher Hogwood, Masaaki Suzuki, Richard Egarr, William Christie ... ?


good addition.


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## jegreenwood

hpowders said:


> Anybody buying a CD of Bach solo keyboard music without any of the following names: Gustav Leonhardt, Trevor Pinnock, Kenneth Weiss, Pierre Hantaï or Scott Ross on the cover, should start their keyboard listening, no earlier, then with Schumann and Brahms.


That reminds me I have's Pinnock's Bach Partitas as well.


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## hpowders

Taplow said:


> Christophe Rousset, Ton Koopman, Bob van Asperen, Christopher Hogwood, Masaaki Suzuki, Richard Egarr, William Christie ... ?


Rousset I don't care much for, because he doesn't embellish repeats. For that matter, neither does Kenneth Weiss. I find Trevor Pinnock was the best at that.

Also very fine in the complete WTC is the French-Canadian Luc Beauséjour.

I would prefer ANYONE on harpsichord to Bach and Scarlatti on piano.


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## hpowders

jegreenwood said:


> That reminds me I have's Pinnock's Bach Partitas as well.


That's my favorite recording of several. He takes all repeats and tastefully embellishes them.

I also have a Scarlatti CD by Pinnock and he doesn't sound as inspired.


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## premont

hpowders said:


> The harpsichord creates effects the piano cannot match.


That's true, and nor am I a great fan of piano renderings of baroque keyboard music, but if you listen to Wolfgang Rübsam's Bach on piano (Naxos), you will hear him create effects the harpsichord cannot match (different inflections of touch, measured dynamic variation e.g.) and all in a very stylish way, I think. One has to consider his piano a kind of extension of a clavichord, an instrument which probably is older than the harpsichord. So I think it is possible to play Bach meaningfully on piano, but only a few masters this art.


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## Marc

hpowders said:


> Anybody buying a CD of Bach solo keyboard music without any of the following names: Gustav Leonhardt, Trevor Pinnock, Kenneth Weiss, Pierre Hantaï or Scott Ross on the cover, should start their keyboard listening, no earlier, than with Schumann and Brahms.


For the record: I was a bit ironic.

I'm able to enjoy Bach on the piano with a.o. Charles Rosen, Maria Tipo, Ivo Janssen, Angela Hewitt, Ragna Schirmer and quite a few others. So, I have no rock hard objections against it. But I prefer the harpsichord, no doubt.


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## hpowders

premont said:


> That's true, and nor am I a great fan of piano renderings of baroque keyboard music, but if you listen to Wolfgang Rübsam's Bach on piano (Naxos), you will hear him create effects the harpsichord cannot match (different inflections of touch, measured dynamic variation e.g.) and all in a very stylish way, I think. One has to consider his piano a kind of extension of a clavichord, an instrument which probably is older than the harpsichord. So I think it is possible to play Bach meaningfully on piano, but only a few masters this art.


I was introduced to Scarlatti sonatas through Vladimir Horowitz recordings. I thought they were okay, until I heard Pierre Hantaï and Kenneth Weiss on harpsichord. The sonatas became FUN to listen to, as I heard all their quirkiness for the first time.


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## T Son of Ander

Thanks to a thread on another forum, I discovered Nicola Vicentino. He wrote some pieces that I heard performed on "keyboards" (I have no idea what they are) that have different tunings, including quartertones (?). This is something I plan on looking into. I've never heard anything quite like it. Here's a sample.


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## Mandryka

T Son of Ander said:


> Thanks to a thread on another forum, I discovered Nicola Vicentino. He wrote some pieces that I heard performed on "keyboards" (I have no idea what they are) that have different tunings, including quartertones (?). This is something I plan on looking into. I've never heard anything quite like it. Here's a sample.


This looks like a chromatic harpsichord, with keys for playing enharmonics. These instruments are useful in Italian music, and recently I heard some Froberger and Bull played on one. There are records by Christopher Stembridge where he uses one, in his Maione and in the compilation CD called Consonanza Stravaganti. I think (but I'm not sure) that Jean Marc Aymes may have used one for some Maione.


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## JSBach85

Three hours of harpsichord with the First book (1713) - Ordres 1 to 5 of Françoise Couperin, Olivier Baumont:


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## Gaspard de la Nuit

I think if I were any instrument I would be a harpsichord. My favorite composer (period) is Couperin........I think his suite 8 in b minor is probably the greatest baroque keyboard work.






This set of preludes and fugues of Buxtehude played on pedal harpsichord is one of my favorite recordings of anything.






I think harpsichord probably has a softer, more delicate but more complex timbre than piano. I'm not sure if it's that piano is a much more conventional instrument and I'm way more used to hearing it or if the harpsichord actually does have a more intricate sound, but that's how it often sounds to me. Some definitely sound awful and ding-y but the darker ones are amazing. Though, darker-sounding pianos are also much better IMO.

To me the modern piano is more of a problem-instrument than a harpsichord. Its capability of dynamics makes it very hard to play polyphony because you have to be attentive to each voice, whereas I think less attention would be required on an instrument that has one volume. As I said the sound is often less interesting....and sometimes they can be just too loud and bright. It is a percussion instrument after all.


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## Skilmarilion

Some non-Baroque favourites:

Poulenc: Concert champêtre
Martinů: Harpsichord concerto
de Falla: Concerto for Harpsichord, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Violin and Cello
F. Martin: Harpsichord concerto
Gorecki: Harpsichord concerto
Glass: Harpsichord concerto
Penderecki: Partita


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## pjang23

Froberger's works for harpsichord are fantastic, and rather melancholic for the era. Leonhardt's performances are the ones to check out.

Samples:
Lamentation for the Death of Ferdinand III (video below)
Tombeau for the Death of Blancrocher
Suite XX in D major
Suite XXX in A minor


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## Honegger

Looking for obscure but good, then go with Graupner. THis music is like the early Bach suites, but there is still some surprising originality.. I dont like Schnittke too much but I like his use of harpsichord in pieces.


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## Blancrocher

pjang23 said:


> Tombeau for the Death of Blancrocher


I resent that. ..........


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## Bulldog

pjang23 said:


> Froberger's works for harpsichord are fantastic, and rather melancholic for the era. Leonhardt's performances are the ones to check out.
> 
> Samples:
> Lamentation for the Death of Ferdinand III (video below)
> Tombeau for the Death of Blancrocher
> Suite XX in D major
> Suite XXX in A minor


That is great music. Thanks for sharing!


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## misteraitch

I've enjoyed dipping into the many videos posted by YouTube user 'The Gravicembalo'.


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## Gaspard de la Nuit

If I were any instrument, I would probably be a harpsichord....it's not so much a choice as just how it is. I prefer the kind used by Wanda Landowska and George Malcolm which have, with the pedals/ levers/ stops that manipulate the timbre/ registration....one with a wide range, like 5 octaves or so.

I think Couperin is THE harpsichord composer...as in, Bach's music can work alright on piano. I've never played a harpsichord, I think Bach's music sounds better played by Landowska than on piano but I think it can work well on piano, depending on how it's played. And Couperin's music can be played on the piano and it ranges from okay to meh, but it just sounds so alive on the harpsichord...it epitomizes the instrument in my mind.

I think George Malcolm is probably the best Couperin person. Landowska doesn't have a lot available of Couperin from what I can tell. The b minor 8th suite is *perfect* in his hands. Leonhardt is good with l'art de toucher le clavecin. 

Rameau is another pre-eminent harpsichord composer, perhaps his music might be a little better on piano than Couperin's but it sounds awesome on harpsichord. I think Landowska plays Rameau awesomely....his second suite in a minor is probably his best and George Malcolm has an alright recording but he doesn't take the repeats, and there are some really beautiful moments in Rameau's work which I think bear repeating....like Liszt said, "What is beautiful, must be repeated." Scott Ross, even though I like Landowska and Malcolm's recordings better, plays that particular a minor work of Rameau with just the right feeling.

I think Landowska's WTC of Bach is the best out there, especially book 2 which awed me. I don't like all of the 48 preludes and fugues but in Landowska's harpsichord/ hands, many of them just stood out so much more.

Lionel Rogg sounds awesome playing some of Buxtehude's organ pieces on a pedal harpsichord. 

anyway, as far as favorite pieces....Couperin's whole 8th suite in b minor is a pinnacle work among keyboard music in my view. It contains the famous passacaille. the Sixth suite in Bb major, with La Bersan, Les Barricades Mysteriuese, etc. is another must-listen. 3rd Suite in c minor has some really beautiful pieces in it, like La Favouirte, L'espagnolette, the courantes.....the 21st is a good one as well IMO, and I love l'art de toucher le clavecin. 

Rameau's 2nd a minor suite, is another pinnacle work IMO. The g minor sutie is another great one, with le poule, les sauvages, le triolets, le tricocets....rappel de oixeaux is one people should hear.

Bach....well, WTC sounds great on harpsichord, my favorites from book 1 are D major, F# major, the a minor fugue, Bb major. Book 2 are C major, C minor, C# major, Eb major, E major, F# major, Ab major, G# minor, A major, a minor, Bb minor, B major, B minor.

Some of Purcell's music is great, like the suite in g minor. I love other selections of his as well, like the allemande from the 1st g major suite, the ground in c minor (played by Landowska).

And lastly I think Buxtehude's organ pieces can sound incredible on harpsichord.


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## Mandryka

Gaspard de la Nuit said:


> If I were any instrument, I would probably be a harpsichord....it's not so much a choice as just how it is. I prefer the kind used by Wanda Landowska and George Malcolm which have, with the pedals/ levers/ stops that manipulate the timbre/ registration....one with a wide range, like 5 octaves or so.
> 
> I think Couperin is THE harpsichord composer...as in, Bach's music can work alright on piano. I've never played a harpsichord, I think Bach's music sounds better played by Landowska than on piano but I think it can work well on piano, depending on how it's played. And Couperin's music can be played on the piano and it ranges from okay to meh, but it just sounds so alive on the harpsichord...it epitomizes the instrument in my mind.
> 
> I think George Malcolm is probably the best Couperin person. Landowska doesn't have a lot available of Couperin from what I can tell. The b minor 8th suite is *perfect* in his hands. Leonhardt is good with l'art de toucher le clavecin.
> 
> Rameau is another pre-eminent harpsichord composer, perhaps his music might be a little better on piano than Couperin's but it sounds awesome on harpsichord. I think Landowska plays Rameau awesomely....his second suite in a minor is probably his best and George Malcolm has an alright recording but he doesn't take the repeats, and there are some really beautiful moments in Rameau's work which I think bear repeating....like Liszt said, "What is beautiful, must be repeated." Scott Ross, even though I like Landowska and Malcolm's recordings better, plays that particular a minor work of Rameau with just the right feeling.
> 
> I think Landowska's WTC of Bach is the best out there, especially book 2 which awed me. I don't like all of the 48 preludes and fugues but in Landowska's harpsichord/ hands, many of them just stood out so much more.
> 
> Lionel Rogg sounds awesome playing some of Buxtehude's organ pieces on a pedal harpsichord.
> 
> anyway, as far as favorite pieces....Couperin's whole 8th suite in b minor is a pinnacle work among keyboard music in my view. It contains the famous passacaille. the Sixth suite in Bb major, with La Bersan, Les Barricades Mysteriuese, etc. is another must-listen. 3rd Suite in c minor has some really beautiful pieces in it, like La Favouirte, L'espagnolette, the courantes.....the 21st is a good one as well IMO, and I love l'art de toucher le clavecin.
> 
> Rameau's 2nd a minor suite, is another pinnacle work IMO. The g minor sutie is another great one, with le poule, les sauvages, le triolets, le tricocets....rappel de oixeaux is one people should hear.
> 
> Bach....well, WTC sounds great on harpsichord, my favorites from book 1 are D major, F# major, the a minor fugue, Bb major. Book 2 are C major, C minor, C# major, Eb major, E major, F# major, Ab major, G# minor, A major, a minor, Bb minor, B major, B minor.
> 
> Some of Purcell's music is great, like the suite in g minor. I love other selections of his as well, like the allemande from the 1st g major suite, the ground in c minor (played by Landowska).
> 
> And lastly I think Buxtehude's organ pieces can sound incredible on harpsichord.


You know that Helmut Walcha recorded quite a bit of harpsichord music on a revival harpsichord, an Ammer? You might like it, I seem to recall that The english suites are successful. And Ralph Kirkpatrick too, he did quite a lot of Bach on a very colourful instrument, revival, I can't remember which. Ruzikova is another name to check out for this type of instrument too, in Bach there are a couple of WTC recordings. And some people like Karl Richter's recordings.

I can't think of much Couperin or Rameau for you. There's a lot of Scarlatti, Fernando Valenti recorded a large number of sonatas, and Kirkpatrick too used this type of instrument in his first Scarlatti CD.

Another name to explore is Rafael Puyana, at least in the earlier recordings. There may well be some French late baroque there.

I can certainly see why someone may like Landowska so much, especially in the pre-war recordings. I have a harder time understanding the allure of George Malcolm.


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## laurie

My very favorite harpsichord piece is Manuel de Falla's Concerto for Harpsichord, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Violin & Cello. de Falla wrote this for ( & it was premiered by) Wanda Landowska in 1926.

(The CD shown in this clip is the one I have; it's very good.)


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## Marinera

^geez I was looking at this same cd today too, after seeing hpowders purchase. Chain reaction.


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## hpowders

Marinera said:


> ^geez I was looking at this same cd today too, after seeing hpowders purchase. Chain reaction.


Same harpsichordist/fortepianist, Igor Kipnis, but mine is an all Mozart CD.


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## Marinera

hpowders said:


> Same harpsichordist, Igor Kipnis, but mine is an all Mozart CD.


You see something and then before you know it you listen to half of their discography before dinner, happens all the time.


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## laurie

Marinera said:


> ^geez I was looking at this same cd today too, after seeing hpowders purchase. Chain reaction.


Well, I guess that means you have to buy it now, ! 
I got it for the de Falla, but I enjoy the entire cd ~ I recommend it!


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## josquindesprez

So I imagine no one has mentioned Thomas Tallis's Felix namque because it seems so obvious a choice...


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## Joe B

laurie said:


> My very favorite harpsichord piece is Manuel de Falla's Concerto for Harpsichord, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Violin & Cello. de Falla wrote this for ( & it was premiered by) Wanda Landowska in 1926.
> 
> (The CD shown in this clip is the one I have; it's very good.)


More Spanish harpsichord music:


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## classical yorkist

I absolutely adore the harpsichord in its many varieties and can listen to it all day. I've posted this site on another thread but it bears reposting here. 
http://www.saladelcembalo.org/index.htm


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## Marinera

laurie said:


> Well, I guess that means you have to buy it now, !
> I got it for the de Falla, but I enjoy the entire cd ~ I recommend it!


I think the same, it's a sign 

I find it very difficult to resist harpsichords, so I wouldn't know even where to start recommending. I drool when I see them all - concerts, solo, duos, etc. However, I like to be surprised and I was by Purcell's keyboard suites& grounds when I found them. I like Richard Egarr's rendition the best.

Edit: - Jean Rondeau's Vertigo album is very good - Rameau and Royer compositions.


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## Guest

I love the harpsichord and have most of the cd's with Gustav Leonhardt.This one however with Ton Koopman is also realy a joy to listen to ,great playing.
It is not available on cd.
The harpsichord has the same appeal to me than church bells to a believer.


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## Joe B

If you ever get the chance to listen to this disc do so without fail. Anthony Newman plays one of the largest harpsichords ever built. The sound is amazing.


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## hpowders

laurie said:


> Well, I guess that means you have to buy it now, !
> I got it for the de Falla, but I enjoy the entire cd ~ I recommend it!


I think he's Falla-in for ya.


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## Ebor1

Having had the pleasure of hearing Trevor Pinnock play the Goldbergs earlier this year (I've already booked to see his return next year!) - two suggestions that I enjoy - and since I cannot for the life of me figure out how to get cover photo's onto this system (which is entirely new to me) - I shall just provide the links -

www.amazon.co.uk/Digital-Dance-David-Kinsela/dp/B005E8KWV0/

www.amazon.co.uk/Garth-Keyboard-Sonatas-Ensemble-DDA25115/ Gary Cooper would be a worth addition to any list of harpsichord players.


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## Ebor1

p.s. For some excellent harpsichord playing (amidst much other) on Youtube visit Ernst Stolz Channel - www.youtube.com/profile?user=ernststolz#p/u/3/TyhidewjHL8


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## Guest

I heard this recording for the first time,never saw it before and found it in a new box. ( Decca Italy) I was very surprised,indeed happy idees.
I have a complete box (Borgstede) but this recording ( Leonhardt) is so much more to the soul of the music, such refinement and gentle like a breeze of fresh air.
Borgstede is very fine but Leonhardt just makes me happy ,heuresement indeed.


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## Animal the Drummer

Ebor1 said:


> Having had the pleasure of hearing Trevor Pinnock play the Goldbergs earlier this year (I've already booked to see his return next year!) - two suggestions that I enjoy - and since I cannot for the life of me figure out how to get cover photo's onto this system (which is entirely new to me) - I shall just provide the links -
> 
> www.amazon.co.uk/Digital-Dance-David-Kinsela/dp/B005E8KWV0/
> 
> www.amazon.co.uk/Garth-Keyboard-Sonatas-Ensemble-DDA25115/ Gary Cooper would be a worth addition to any list of harpsichord players.


Just make sure you put that disc on at high noon....


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## Ebor1

Apologies folks - I cut off the end of the Gary Cooper link, correct link is - www.amazon.co.uk/Garth-Keyboard-Sonatas-Ensemble-DDA25115/dp/B00II7Y64S/ - I hope!


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## Ebor1

Since there are no samples of Cooper on the John Garth album... for those who have not heard him www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsNFZLQkKCY playing with the wonderful Avison Ensemble...


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## JSBach85

Handel: Vo' far guerra, from "Rinaldo"

Rinaldo was fairly popular in this time. Part of the impression it made came from Handel's own performance at the harpsichord: Armida's aria, Vo far guerra, featured improvised solo interludes which Handel played in bravura fashion. The harpsichord solos which decorate "Vo' far guerra" in Act 2 were originally improvised on the keyboard by Handel during performances, and were extremely popular. They were remembered and written down by William Babell, and published later as separate pieces. Lang believes that in spite of the borrowings, and the hasty manner in which the work was put together, Rinaldo is one of Handel's great operas.

Handel: Vo' far guerra, from "Rinaldo". De Niese, Les Arts Florissants, Christie


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## znapschatz

My passion for the harpsichord is based largely on the performances of Wanda Landovska, in my opinion the musician who set the standard. Just within the hour, I listened to a recording of her performance of the Handel "Harmonious Blacksmith" and one of the Bach "Well Tempered Klavier" pieces, and was transported once again. What Power! What Authority! What Beauty! I haven't come down yet. With all due respect and admiration for the others, she remains in my heart as the harpsichord exemplar. 

Decades ago, Landovska performed with the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra, conducted by George Szell, one of the memorable CSO concerts I was privileged to have attended, and had been earlier interviewed for an article in the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Among her remarks that caught my attention was that early in her career, she was interested in trying her hand at composition, but was discouraged from doing so by well-meaning advisors, who said it was not a field for women. I'm thinking that a potentially major talent was denied to the world. What a loss!


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## RICK RIEKERT

Early in her career Landowska did try her hand at composing and her first compositions were performed in Warsaw and Berlin in the 1890s. By 1899, when she turned 20, Landowska had written 50 lieder, variations for 1 and 2 pianos, several works for string orchestra, a chamber concerto and other pieces in a Romantic vein. In 1903 and 1904 she won prizes for two short compositions in an international competition. Massenet pronounced "Elle a du talent, beaucoup de talent." Enoch and Cie, one of the major Parisian music publishers, brought out several of her piano compositions. Through Enoch, Landowska gained links to the publisher Pierre Lafitte and Cie, which brought out two prestigious illustrated journals, “Femina” and “Musica”, both of which touted Landowska as a composer/pianist. She was also featured alongside highly respected female composers in an article about women’s admission to the Prix de Rome. By 1904 her career as a composer was replaced, probably for financial reasons, by private piano instruction and performances on solo harpsichord, for which she received tremendous praise as an excellent Bach interpreter. Landowska was shrewd and must have soon discerned where the real opportunities to satisfy her well-known desire for fame and fortune lay.


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