Harpsichord
- Hornbostel-Sachs
- 314.122
- Family
- Keyboard
- Origin
- Western Europe
About
A keyboard instrument in which strings are plucked by quills (plectra) when keys are depressed — unlike the piano, which uses hammers. The harpsichord cannot vary dynamics by key pressure, but different registrations (sets of strings) provide tonal variety. Central to Baroque music, it was supplanted by the fortepiano in the late 18th century.
Famous Examples
1These are specific, historically notable physical instruments — each with its own story, provenance, and place in musical history.
Flemish Double-Manual Harpsichord by Johannes Ruckers
1638Maker
Johannes Ruckers · Flemish
Current Owner
Yale University Collection of Musical Instruments
Location
New Haven, Connecticut, USA
Estimated Value
Priceless
Why It Matters
The Ruckers family of Antwerp were the most celebrated harpsichord makers of the 16th–17th centuries. Their instruments were so prized that French makers routinely 'ravaled' (extended) them in the 18th century rather than building new ones. A surviving original Ruckers in good condition is among the rarest and most valuable keyboard instruments in existence.
Description
Double-manual Flemish harpsichord — two keyboards allowing different registrations. Decorated in the ornate Flemish style with painted soundboard and case.