Harpsichord
Under the guidance of its professor Béatrice Martin, a renowned soloist and chamber musician, the harpsichord class supports its students as they learn the main repertoires, ranging from the 16th century to the end of the 18th century, without leaving out the contemporary works.
Emphasis is placed on strengthening a clean and solid technique, relying on adapted use of didactic and theoretical works for keyboard, a demanding fingering strategy and a rigorous harmonic and structural analysis of the works; all this is done in the interests of achieving an eloquent exposition of the musical narrative. There are six joint classes spread over the year, and three public performances.
The harpsichord class at the ‘Haute école de musique’ (HEM) offers its students a very extensive inventory of instruments: its thirty instruments - school instruments and aesthetic instruments, each with its own character - constitute thirty plus points, enabling the students to develop a great feel, suitable sensitivity and a level of rhetoric in relation to the repertoire being studied.
Particularly suited to accompaniment, the harpsichord easily finds its place in a diverse range of instrumental ensembles, or in the grandest orchestras. Our students are given an initiation in the workings of basso continuo, which they put into practice in an instrumental or vocal ensemble.
Our students are encouraged to take part in numerous activities arranged by the HEM’s department of music of the past, which regularly invites eminent performers and researchers from all over the world to give Masterclasses and seminars. The goal is to encourage the development of a thoughtful approach, with a view to achieving a deeper contextualization of the practice and repertoire of their instrument.
he harpsichord class regularly collaborates with the HEM’s other departments, and with internationally acclaimed Swiss ensembles, on ‘side-by-side’ artistic projects, which constitute a real gateway to the professional world.
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