Harpsichord

Harpsichord
(HARP-si-kord)

Early stringed keyboard instrument that produced tones by means of plucking strings with quills rather than by striking them with hammers, as in the modern piano. The range of the harpsichord is generally about four octaves; it was most popular in the Renaissance and Baroque eras, in the classical era it was eclipsed by the piano.

Also [Eng.] harpsichord; [Fr.] clavecin or [Fr.] claveçin or [Fr.] clavessin; [Ger.] Cembalo or [Ger.] Kielflügel or [Ger.] Clavicimbel; [It.] clavicembalo or [It.] cembalo or [It.] cimbalo; [Sp.] clavicémbalo or [Sp.] clavecín.

Handel: Keyboard Suite No. 5 in E major, Air and Variations (Harmonious Blacksmith) (conclusion, air): W. W. Norton - 4-CD Musical Example Bank -- Disc 2, Track 62
Couperin: Second livre de clavecin, "Les barricades misterieuses": W. W. Norton - 4-CD Musical Example Bank -- Disc 2, Track 60
Traditional: Greensleeves (arr. for harpsichord): W. W. Norton - 4-CD Musical Example Bank -- Disc 1, Track 30