Marie Gicquel / Photo credit: MYRIAM TIRLER / HANS LUCAS VIA AFP 09:19, May 09, 2023
The harpsichord, an instrument long neglected in favor of the piano, is now at the top of the charts. How to explain his great return in pop productions? Perhaps thanks to his mysterious aura.A few dusty notes of this instrument and we are immersed in the atmosphere of the court of Versailles. But think again, the harpsichord is far from out of fashion. The ancestor of the piano is even more and more invited in recent productions to bring, curiously, an innovative sound. It can be found in Stromae's latest album, at the home of rapper Wejdene and even in a video of France's most followed YouTuber, Squeezie. How to explain this return, 500 years after its creation?
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A "sound color"
"The harpsichord, finally, is not only an instrument that is linked to a repertoire, it is also a sound color. It's a sound a little warm, but at the same time a little metallic, with a lot of harmony," says Hélène Diot, harpsichordist and professor at the conservatory, who recognizes his instrument with a mysterious aura.
"When I was very young, it was often pianists who switched to the harpsichord. It was rare to be able to start directly whereas now we have six- or seven-year-olds who want to play harpsichord, who like the sound and who start directly with it. Maybe that's what has changed," says the musician. Students who will perhaps follow crescendo the trajectory of Jean Rondeau, French harpsichordist recognized at the Victoires de la musique classique, figure of the "baroque'n'roll".