gravicembalo

[ grav-i-chem-buh-loh, grah-vi- ]

noun

, plural grav·i·cem·ba·li [grav-i-, chem, -b, uh, -lee, grah-vi-], grav·i·cem·ba·los.

1. a harpsichord.

Word History and Origins

Origin of gravicembalo¹

1855–60; < Italian, alteration of clavicembalo harpsichord (by association with grave heavy); clavicembalo

Example Sentences

Cristofori called the instrument “a gravicembalo col piano e forte,” meaning a “keyboard instrument that can be played soft and loud.”

From Slate

The junking of the modern descendant of the “gravicembalo col piano e forte,” the Italian precursor, can evoke strong reactions.

From New York Times

The accounts which have come down to us note that the song of Aurora was accompanied by a gravicembalo, an organ, a flute, a harp and a large viol.

From Project Gutenberg

The "Sonate per Gravicembalo, novamente composte," published by Giovanni Battista Pescetti in 1739, deserve notice, since they appeared three years before the six sonatas dedicated by Emanuel Bach to Frederick the Great.

From Project Gutenberg

They were published in London by John Johnson, and bear the title, "Sonate di gravicembalo dedicate a sua altezza reale la principessa da Pier Domenico Paradies Napolitano."

From Project Gutenberg