Baroque, Chamber Music & the sounds of psychedelia...

Okay, so I thought that a post on the harpsichord was quasi-appropriate considering the season, but perhaps not. See I had planned to throw a reference to Tchaikovsky's Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy (from the Christmas staple The Nutcracker), but supposedly the instrument used in that piece is not a harpsichord but a Celesta...oops. Either way, I thought now is about time I expressed my love for classical instruments, music...and more specifically, Baroque Pop and modern Chamber music (as cheesy as it sounds).


Invented in the middle ages, the harpsichord remained a popular instrument until the eighteenth century when it was supplanted by the standard piano. (thank you, Wikipedia). Although the harpsichord is most associated with music from the Renaissance and Baroque era, it can be found incorporated into many modern songs as well. The instrument experienced a revival of sorts in the 1960s when proponents of the love generation where into all things renaissance and it was during this time that "Baroque Pop" was born.

The Grateful Dead 

 Many big name bands experimented with the Baroque Pop sound including The Beatles, The Beach Boys and The Rolling Stones, but it was bands like The Grateful Dead that really did the style justice. One of my favourite examples is "Mountains of the Moon" off 1969s Aoxomoxoa.

 On a side note: I recently became acquainted with the song "Too Afraid to Love You" from the Album "Brothers" by The Black Keys. Despite being a little less folksy and a lot more bluesy, the harpsichord playing reminded me a lot of Mountain of the Moon...it is too good not to add.

Beach House

Some of the most truly Baroque Pop bands of today would be Beach House or Fleet Foxes, both band that I LOVE. Fleet foxes are makers of self-described "baroque harmonic pop jams",  a description that I find lacking. Their music is more than that, there are strong American folk undercurrents ranging from early American hymnals to 60's beach pop to 70s folk... think if The Band, The Beach Boys and Vivaldi had a baby...what a beautiful baby that would be.