Source: CPDL.org
François Couperin Books and Music
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Troisième Ordre “L’Impériale”
François Couperin Books and Music
More on Couperin
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Les barricades mystérieuses
Lecons de Ténébres
VII and VIII Ordre de Clavecin
François Couperin Books and Music
More on Couperin
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“François Couperin’s pieces for the harpsichord are a landmark in French instrumental music. Couperin extended the virtuosity of the keyboard; established a modern method of fingering; developed the techniques and art of ornamentation.”—David Ewen, The Complete Book of Classical Music
“French Baroque harpsichord maestro.”—Phil Goulding, Classical Music
François Couperin was a French Baroque composer, organist and harpsichordist. He was known as Couperin le Grand (“Couperin the Great”) to distinguish him from other members of the musically talented Couperin family.
He introduced Corelli’s trio sonata form to France. Couperin’s grand trio sonata was subtitled Le Parnasse, ou L’apothéose de Corelli (“Parnassus, or the Apotheosis of Corelli””). In it he blended the Italian and French styles of music in a set of pieces which he called Les goûts réunis (“Styles Reunited”).
His most famous book, L’art de toucher le clavecin (“The Art of Harpsichord Playing”, published in 1716), contains suggestions for fingerings, touch, ornamentation and other features of keyboard technique.
Couperin’s four volumes of harpsichord music, published in Paris in 1713, 1717, 1722, and 1730, contain over 230 individual pieces, which can be played on solo harpsichord or performed as small chamber works. These pieces were not grouped into suites, as was the common practice, but ordres, which were Couperin’s own version of suites containing traditional dances as well as descriptive pieces. The first and last pieces in an ordre were of the same tonality, but the middle pieces could be in other closely related tonalities. These volumes were loved by J.S. Bach and, much later, Richard Strauss, as well as Maurice Ravel who memorialized their composer with Le tombeau de Couperin (Couperin’s Memorial).
Many of Couperin’s keyboard pieces have evocative, picturesque titles (such as “The mysterious barricades”) and express a mood through key choices, adventurous harmonies and (resolved) discords. They have been likened to miniature tone poems. These features attracted Richard Strauss, who orchestrated some of them.
Johannes Brahms’s piano music was influenced by the keyboard music of Couperin. The early-music expert Jordi Savall has written that Couperin was the “poet musician par excellence”, who believed in “the ability of Music [with a capital M] to express itself in prose and poetry”, and that “if we enter into the poetry of music we discover that it carries grace that is more beautiful than beauty itself.”
He lived from November 10, 1668, to 11 September 11, 1733.
Les barricades mystérieuses
Lecons de Ténébres
VII and VIII Ordre de Clavecin
Source: CPDL.org
Troisième Ordre “L’Impériale”
“François Couperin’s pieces for the harpsichord are a landmark in French instrumental music. Couperin extended the virtuosity of the keyboard; established a modern method of fingering; developed the techniques and art of ornamentation.”—David Ewen, The Complete Book of Classical Music
“French Baroque harpsichord maestro.”—Phil Goulding, Classical Music
François Couperin was a French Baroque composer, organist and harpsichordist. He was known as Couperin le Grand (“Couperin the Great”) to distinguish him from other members of the musically talented Couperin family.
He introduced Corelli’s trio sonata form to France. Couperin’s grand trio sonata was subtitled Le Parnasse, ou L’apothéose de Corelli (“Parnassus, or the Apotheosis of Corelli””). In it he blended the Italian and French styles of music in a set of pieces which he called Les goûts réunis (“Styles Reunited”).
His most famous book, L’art de toucher le clavecin (“The Art of Harpsichord Playing”, published in 1716), contains suggestions for fingerings, touch, ornamentation and other features of keyboard technique.
Couperin’s four volumes of harpsichord music, published in Paris in 1713, 1717, 1722, and 1730, contain over 230 individual pieces, which can be played on solo harpsichord or performed as small chamber works. These pieces were not grouped into suites, as was the common practice, but ordres, which were Couperin’s own version of suites containing traditional dances as well as descriptive pieces. The first and last pieces in an ordre were of the same tonality, but the middle pieces could be in other closely related tonalities. These volumes were loved by J.S. Bach and, much later, Richard Strauss, as well as Maurice Ravel who memorialized their composer with Le tombeau de Couperin (Couperin’s Memorial).
Many of Couperin’s keyboard pieces have evocative, picturesque titles (such as “The mysterious barricades”) and express a mood through key choices, adventurous harmonies and (resolved) discords. They have been likened to miniature tone poems. These features attracted Richard Strauss, who orchestrated some of them.
Johannes Brahms’s piano music was influenced by the keyboard music of Couperin. The early-music expert Jordi Savall has written that Couperin was the “poet musician par excellence”, who believed in “the ability of Music [with a capital M] to express itself in prose and poetry”, and that “if we enter into the poetry of music we discover that it carries grace that is more beautiful than beauty itself.”
He lived from November 10, 1668, to 11 September 11, 1733.—Excerpted from Wikipedia
Selected Books
Francois Couperin
Amadeus Press, 2003
Philippe Beaussant
$12.95 used on Amazon
Francois Couperin and ‘The Perfection of Music’
Ashgate Pub. Ltd., 2004
David Tunley
$88 on Amazon
“Francois Couperin’s contribution to the literature of baroque keyboard music has long been recognized. Francois Couperin and ‘The Perfection of Music’ updates and expands upon David Tunley’s valuable 1982 BBC Music Guide to the composer, and examines the whole of Couperin’s output including the organ masses, motets and chamber music, in addition to the well-known works for harpsichord. Taking as its focal point Couperin’s concept of the perfection of music through the union of the French and Italian styles, this book takes a more analytical approach to Couperin’s work.”—From Amazon
The Mirror of Human Life: Reflections on Francois Couperin’s Pieces de Clavecin
Keyword Press, 2011
Jane Clark and Derek F. Connon
$20 on Amazon
Selected Music
Couperin: Keyboard Music, Vol. 1 (2003)
, 1 CD
François Couperin: Keyboard Music, Vol. 2 (2004)
, 1 CD
François Couperin: Keyboard Music, Vol. 3 (2005)
, 1 CD
For all of Couperin’s works, which run in the hundreds of pieces, go here.
First book (1713) – Ordres 1 to 5
Second book (1717) – Ordres 6 to 12
Third book (1722) Ordres 13 to 19
Fourth book (1730) – Ordres 20 to 27
A didactic treatise L’art de toucher le clavecin (1716), which includes 8 preludes and an allemande.
For all of Couperin’s works, which run in the hundreds of pieces, go here.
Selected Books
Francois Couperin
Amadeus Press, 2003
Philippe Beaussant
$12.95 used on Amazon
Francois Couperin and ‘The Perfection of Music’
Ashgate Pub. Ltd., 2004
David Tunley
$88 on Amazon
“Francois Couperin’s contribution to the literature of baroque keyboard music has long been recognized. Francois Couperin and ‘The Perfection of Music’ updates and expands upon David Tunley’s valuable 1982 BBC Music Guide to the composer, and examines the whole of Couperin’s output including the organ masses, motets and chamber music, in addition to the well-known works for harpsichord. Taking as its focal point Couperin’s concept of the perfection of music through the union of the French and Italian styles, this book takes a more analytical approach to Couperin’s work.”—From Amazon
The Mirror of Human Life: Reflections on Francois Couperin’s Pieces de Clavecin
Keyword Press, 2011
Jane Clark and Derek F. Connon
$20 on Amazon
Selected Music
Couperin: Keyboard Music, Vol. 1 (2003)
, 1 CD
François Couperin: Keyboard Music, Vol. 2 (2004)
, 1 CD
First book (1713) – Ordres 1 to 5
Second book (1717) – Ordres 6 to 12
Third book (1722) Ordres 13 to 19
Fourth book (1730) – Ordres 20 to 27
A didactic treatise L’art de toucher le clavecin (1716), which includes 8 preludes and an allemande.
Two mass settings (1690)
Trio Sonatas (ca. 1690):
Quatuor sonata (ca. 1695): La Sultane in D minor
Les nations (1726): these trio pieces consist of a sonata followed by a suite:
Apothéoses, trio suites (1724):
Les concerts royaux (1714): N° 1 à 4
Nouveaux concerts or les goûts réunis (1724): N° 5 à 14
Pièces de violes (1728): 2 suites
Leçons de ténèbres (1714)
Antiphons, psalm settings & canticles:
Offertories:
Motets:
Canons:
Songs:
François Couperin Books and Music
More on Couperin
Back to home page
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