Couperin, Louis: Pièces de Clavecin

Louis Couperin is one of the most erudite composers of seventeenth-century France. Uncle to François, he moved to Paris in c. 1650, became a viol player at the court of Louis XIV and was appointed organist at the important church of Saint-Gervais in 1653, only to die an untimely death in 1661. His legacy as a harpsichord composer cannot be overstated: his so-called préludes non mesurés, which are unbarred and contain no rhythm, have been baffling performers since Couperin was rediscovered in the early twentieth century, the dances are bold and innovative and display a variety of influences that include lute music and the composers Johan Jacob Froberger and Girolamo Frescobaldi. This is the first complete edition of Couperins harpsichord pieces since 1985. It uses the two most important French collections of seventeenth-century keyboard music as its principal sources, the Bauyn and Parville manuscripts. In a lengthy preface, editor Jon Baxendale takes a detailed look at the sources and the music and provides notes on performance, including a comprehensive look at the preludes and their interpretation.