The oldest surviving harpsichords are all northern Italian, dating from the first quarter of the 16th century, despite claims that stringed keyboard instruments were first developed in Burgundy.
Composition History
The Codex Faenza, a manuscript from around 1420, is one of the largest and most important early keyboard sources, containing ornamented versions of Italian and French songs.
Performer Biography
Federica Bianchi, the harpsichordist, has won awards at prestigious international competitions, including the Biber and Goettingen Handel Competition.
Compositional Technique
The recording features three types of early harpsichords: a clavisimbalum built after a 1440 drawing, a 16th-century Italian instrument with gut strings, and a copy of a 17th-century Italian instrument.
Composition History
Andrea Antico's first book of Frottole intabulate da sonare organi, published in 1517, is the earliest printed collection entirely dedicated to keyboard music.
Compositional Technique
Early keyboard music notation developed from playing single lines to two-handed polyphonic music, with adaptations of ensemble compositions forming a substantial part of the repertoire.
Instruments
The earliest known reference to a harpsichord, called a clavicembalum, is from a 1397 document by a jurist in Padua, who claimed Viennese physician Hermann Poll invented it.
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