Just getting the pulse on how Stickists feel about harpsichords. Vote once over the next 7 days or forever hold your peace.

Certain instruments cause quite a strong reaction. I just floated the idea of a bagpipe and caused quite a stir in the house.

I had one opportunity to play a real harpsichord once and enjoyed it. I get the sense it is hard to play one well so I will just leave it to the experts.

I usually hate the sound of harpsichord. But someone made a half-way decent sounding one back in '68, a 2-manual harpsichord that doesn't sound that..."plucky" is what I normally think of a harpsichord.


https://youtu.be/71iUAFFQ8ik

I love Scarlatti and this is an excellent piece. But I think the piano is vastly the superior instrument. Same as that lute thingy that predates guitars: I've heard some good pieces on one. Dynamics, is the easy answer on the difference. As I understand it, you hit a key and it plucks a string, regardless of how hard or soft you hit the key. The piano literally being called the "soft loud," (piano forte) so dramatic a change was this in the sound and playing.

Harpsichord is not as annoying as bagpipes, if there is a continuum along which such things exist.

Now bagpipes, that's a hard instrument to hang with.

Adds: I just noticed that she's standing, because there are no foot pedals to mess with. Interesting.

In some respects it’s like the stick. It takes a little while to not sound like two skeletons clogging on a tin roof . Nevertheless not a huge fan in general.


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I love this harpsichord. Always think of the Addams Family when I think of harpsichord.

Ah, the Islay of keyboard whisky! A peaty, smoky blast of character compared to the more soft, vanilla tones of the piano Dalwhinnie.

I've always loved the sound of the harpsichord as the underpinning of baroque favorites like Handel's Messiah and Bach's Brandenburg Concertos. The overwhelming solo in No. 5 is of course classic:



That's a fantastic Scarlatti performance Steve, thanks for sharing! I've been quite obsessed with Scarlatti recently, having spent the last 2 months focused on learning K380. Admittedly I might have a hard time listening to a whole album of solo harpsichord in one go, but the Scarlatti sonatas are so much fun to hear no matter the instrument (harpsichord, piano, classical guitar, Stick).

I recognize this as a provocation but, nonetheless I'll share this:
The audio on the following video was recorded by me, using a huge array of microfones (you only see my CM67 in the full view but that is because after the whole performance was recorded, we also did a take with just one mic for video editing purposes).
I used a lot of microfones, in various positions, heard it there for hours and in the studio for days and this is my final opinion: the instrument is great, when you have your head stuffed inside it. Not so good it you take a couple of steps back: the amount of information lost in that small distance is, in my opinion, the reason why it hasn't survived the piano. My intent, audio wise, in the video was to have the listener experience what the player is listening. Don't know if I succeed but Cristiano, the player, liked it enough to invite me for another video after this one....

I'm not a big friend of that sound. But for some kind of music it may be ok.

I was just kidding Bach there... and I love that here is a poll for this! lol


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Since others commented on another instrument that makes some scream for an exit (or at least farther away) I like bagpipes too.