# Works for solo harpsichord



## Guest

Here's an opportunity to hear some extraordinary works for the harpsichord (solo) and I'll start with the first piece from "Les Cyclopes" by the great Rameau. Just look at this musician's technique!!!






Please feel free to add your own choices, which interest you, for solo harpsichord.


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## Head_case

Jiri Teml's ' Commedia del Arte' for solo harpsichord - it's like a complete theatre set.

Some inventive writing and a genius composer.

He doesn't figure much on these pages although he is very well respected within the Czech Republic. Monica Knoblichova is his divine inspiring muse.

www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0085CT23G/ref=mw_dp_img?is=l


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## Guest

Thanks for that heads up about Teml. How do you like this one by Ligeti, "Continuum"?


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## Head_case

This one was posted a while back about the Harpsichord Concertos - I struggled to get into it, finding it somewhat meandering and pointless (sorry! But I do like Ligeti's string quartets )

Viktor Kalabis's Akvarley pro cembalo op.53 is interesting, as is Martinu's harpsichord sonata. Even Bartok's 3 pieces from Mikrokosmos played by Ruzickova, the famous Czech harpischordist (and wife of Kalabis) features strongly in my harpsichord repertoire. 

Such a fantastic instrument


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## worov

John Alcock (1715 – 1806) – Check his “Suites of easy lessons”. These are sets of two voice pieces with three or four movements each. 

Jean Henri D’Anglebert (1628 – 1691) – Christopher Rousset has recorded all of D’Anglebert’s “Pieces du Clavecin” on the harpsichord. 

Thomas Arne (1710 – 1778) – Try his “Eight sonatas” which are especially good if you do not like Baroque music.

John Blow (1648 – 1708) – Try “The Musick’s handmaid” (second part), a collection of 35 easy pieces by both Blow and Purcell, and meant to be played on a variety of baroque keyboard instruments (clavichords, virginals, harpsichords). 

George Bohm (1661 – 1733) – Bohm composed 11 keyboard suites that are similar to Bach’s French and English suites.

Thomas Chilcot (1700 – 1766) – Six suites for the harpsichord. These are dance suites with few ornaments and simpler writing than the usual baroque set of dances.

Domenico Cimarosa ( 1749 – 1801) – 36 sonatas. All nice.

Arcangelo Corelli (1653 – 1713) – Corelli was primarily a violinist, but he composed a few dances for keyboard.

François Couperin (1668 – 1773) – He composed over 230 pieces for keyboard. My all time favourite is “Les barricades mysterieuses”.

Jean François Dandrieu (1684 – 1740) Lots of lyrical, melancholic pieces. I like “Les tendres Reproches”.

Louis Claude Dacquin (1694 – 1772) – Le coucou (need I say more?)

Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583 – 1644) – Lots of keyboard music.

Baldassare Gallupi (1706 – 1785) – 12 sonatas of moderate difficulty, yet of high craftsmanship.

Handel (1685 – 1759) – His suites are all interesting and all underplayed. 

Jean Baptiste Loeillet (1680 – 1730) – Loeillet composed a number of suites for keyboard. 

Benedetto Marcello (1686 – 1739) – Check his 12 harpsichord sonatas. 

Giovanni Martini (1706 – 1784) – Check out his “Six sonatas”.

Johann Pachelbel (1653 – 1706) – Yes, Pachelbel did compose other stuff besides the Canon in D. 

Pietro Domenico Paradis (1710 – 1792) – Try his “12 sonate de gravicembali”. Naxos has his keyboard music .

Giovanni Pescetti (1704 – 1766) – Try his “9 Sonatas per Gravicenbalo”.

Giovanni Pergolesi (1710 – 1736)

Henry Purcell (1658 – 1695) – Try his “8 suites”.
Jean Phillipe Rameau (1683 – 1764) – There is a lot of harpsichord music by Rameau. They are collected in “Premier Livre de Pieces de Clavecin”, “Pieces de Clavecin” and “Nouvelles suites de pieces de Clavecin”.

Padre Antonio Soler (1729 – 1783) – If you like Scarlatti you will like Soler. A disciple of Scarlatti, Soler composed 300 sonatas similar in style. 

Carlos de Seixas (1704 – 1742) – Another Scarlatti disciple composing in a similar style. Try his sonatas and toccatas.

Georg Telemann (1681 – 1767) – Try his 36 Fantasies. 

There are more, but these should keep you busy for a while.

Best wishes,
Worov


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## Novelette

^ Dandrieu's set is quite excellent.

Some of Seixas' sonatas are so highly rhythmic and compelling that I've often found myself considering them the "heavy metal" of the Baroque.


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