How was the harpsichord replaced by the piano?

Evolution is an absolutely necessary element in any field, and it is undoubtedly a constant in music. Instrumental technique is not the only one to have improved over the years. Musical instruments have also kept pace with new technologies – many have an electric version nowadays or have gone through complex processes of refinement, as in the case of acoustic instruments.

The vast majority of instruments we know today originated in the Renaissance, with refinement during the Baroque period. However, not many of them survived this process.

Considered technically or timbrally limited by the composers of the Classical and Romantic eras, instruments such as the lute, viola da gamba and harpsichord are just a few examples of instruments that were taken out of use after the Baroque period, replaced by new instruments that were considered innovative and more friendly to their needs.

The harpsichord is perhaps the instrument that suffered the worst fate of all. From being indispensable in Preclassicism to being replaced by the piano because of its limitations, this is its story.

What is the harpsichord?

The harpsichord is a keyboard musical instrument that was widely used during the Baroque period (around 1500-1750). It is an instrument with plucked strings, similar in appearance to the piano, but different in the way it produces sound.

While on the piano the sound is produced by striking the strings with mallets, on the harpsichord the strings are plucked by quills (initially made of bird feathers, then of synthetic materials). This plucking gives the harpsichord a distinctive, slightly metallic sound, which can be annoying and shrill for some listeners.

Although its mechanism does not allow for large variations in (dynamic) intensity, the harpsichord can play subtle nuances through the use of different registers and playing style. This is a disadvantage when compared to a piano because it limits the composer.

Being a delicate instrument, the harpsichord requires constant maintenance. The strings need to be tuned frequently and the plucking mechanism may need regular repair or replacement. Another disadvantage is the lower volume compared to the piano, which makes it less effective in large halls or in ensembles with louder instruments.

History

Historically, the harpsichord has its roots in medieval instruments such as the psaltery, which was a small harp placed on a table and plucked with fingers or plectrums. The evolution of the plucking mechanism led to the creation of an instrument that could be played through a keyboard. The earliest forms of the harpsichord appeared in Western Europe around the end of the 14th and beginning of the 15th century, particularly in Italy, Germany and the Netherlands. These early models were fairly rudimentary, but they laid the foundations of the string plucking mechanism.

During the Renaissance the harpsichord began to be perfected, both in mechanism and aesthetics. During this time, different variants of the harpsichord appeared, such as the virginal and the spinet, which were smaller and more portable.

The harpsichord quickly became a staple instrument in noble homes and music halls, thanks to its clear sound and ability to accompany other instruments and the human voice. Its repertoire began to expand to include solo pieces as well as the accompaniment that it could perform in the operatic genre.

The Baroque is considered the golden age of the harpsichord. During this period, masters such as Johann Sebastian Bach, Domenico Scarlatti, François Couperin and Jean-Philippe Rameau composed essential works for the harpsichord. Bach’s famous Fugues were written for the harpsichord, but it also became popular in miniature genres for amateurs.

The change

Unfortunately for the harpsichord, around 1700 came the piano, a stringed musical instrument invented in Italy by Bartolomeo Cristofori. In the case of the piano, the sound is produced by metal strings fixed to a wooden soundboard, struck by felt-covered mallets, through a keyboard, which is made up of a row of claps (small levers) that the player presses or strikes with the fingers of both hands.

From the mid-18th century, the harpsichord gradually began to be replaced by the piano, and with the transition to the Classical style, the need for dynamic expressiveness led to the adoption of the piano, and the harpsichord became less and less used in the musical genres of the period.

Because the piano offered new timbral and technical possibilities to performers and composers, it quickly replaced the harpsichord in concert halls, bourgeois homes and even in drawing rooms. With the crystallization of the instrumental concert, the piano became the most widely used instrument in this genre alongside the violin, leading to the disappearance of the harpsichord from the preferences of classical composers.

The Romantic period did not dissent either, sending the harpsichord completely into oblivion, becoming a mere memory of the past during this period, especially as the great virtuosos could not conceive of using any other keyboard instrument besides the piano.

After the disappearance of the demand for this instrument, it was no longer produced on a large scale, and today we can find very few makers who produce it on demand for musicians who request it directly.

Is the harpsichord still used today?

In the 20th century, the harpsichord experienced a renaissance thanks to interest in the authentic performance of Baroque and Renaissance music. Musicians and performers such as Wanda Landowska were pioneers in bringing the harpsichord back into the public eye.

Even if these appearances are timid on a global scale, the harpsichord is quite widely used today in Western Europe by Baroque orchestras trying to bring the atmosphere and sonority of this period back into concert halls.

Modern harpsichords are often built on historical models, but use modern materials and techniques to ensure durability and stability. In this context, it can be said that the instrument remains important in chamber music and ensembles specializing in early music, appreciated for both its historical value and its unmistakable sound.

For the reasons given above, we can conclude that this instrument is no longer necessarily a topical one, being little known outside the musical world, compared to the piano ,which we all know. However, we must realize that the process of evolution of instruments and the current situation of the harpsichord is not abnormal in terms of progress.