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L´art de toucher Le Clavecin
Couperin Francois
François Couperin was perhaps one of the most important composers of keyboard music in the Baroque era. Along with four books of harpsichord pieces, Couperin published a theoretical treatise on harpsichord playing, L’Art de toucher le clavecin, in two editions in 1716 and 1717.
In the treatise, Couperin also included some instructional pieces: one allemande and a series of eight preludes. The allemande is a two-part invention largely comprised of canonic imitation. The preludes, quasi-improvisatory pieces, represent some of Couperin’s best efforts with the form and suggest, in their balance and complexity, the preludes of J.S. Bach.
Prelude No. 1 in C major consists of sequences of chords in suspension, as does Prelude No. 2 in D minor. Prelude No. 3 is a polyphonic courante in G minor; the fourth, in the key of F, is similar to Preludes No. 1 and No. 2 in its use of suspensions. Prelude No. 5 is perhaps the most fluid and free of the eight, and is in the key of A major. Prelude No. 6 is an invention in B minor in which the complexity of the counterpoint creates metric displacement and dissolves the bar line. Prelude No. 7 in B flat major is highly ornamented and chromatic, while the final Prelude No. 8 in E minor is comprised of sequential patterns and ornate figuration.
Couperin intended his preludes as warm-up exercises for his own music: a performer could use one of the preludes as preparatory tool, selecting and playing the appropriate prelude in the appropriate key before performing other works by Couperin in the same key.
Innehåll för: L´art de toucher Le Clavecin
Premier Prélude, in C major
Second Prélude, in D minor
Troisième Prélude, in G minor
Quatrième Prélude, in F major
Cinquième Prélude, in A major
Sixième Prélude, in D minor
Septième Prélude, in B flat major
Huitième Prélude, in E minor
Allemande, in D minor