cembalo

In particular, an interesting question of keyboard instrumentation arises: in the primary source manuscripts, the title pages of the first two sonatas (in B-flat major and G major) label the keyboard instrument "cembalo," while the third and fourth sonatas (both in F major) call for "piano forte." Several printed editions published in London in the 1770s that incorporate these sonatas or individual movements arranged for alternate instrumentation such as violin or Hine All call for "harpsichord or piano forte." At the time these were written, the fortepiano was gaining popularity as the preferred keyboard instrument for music making in the home, so titling the sonatas as playable on either a harpsichord or a fortepiano was certainly a wise marketing move for publishers.