01. Henry Purcell
Purcell died in 1695. He did not live to see Cristofori’s invention of 1709 - the pianoforte. Purcell’s A Choice Collection of Lessons for the Harpsichord or Spinetprovides meaningful studies for the keyboard instruments of his day. A narrow pitch range, a limited dynamic range, and the absence of a sustaining pedal characterized these instruments. Proper keyboard technique restricted the use of the thumb, demanding awkward fingering patterns such as 3, 2, 3, 2 or 3, 4, 3, 4 for scales.
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Henry Purcell