Couperin's Concerts Royaux were written for flexible instrumentation, suitable for harpsichord, violin, flute, oboe, viol, or bassoon.
Couperin aimed to unite French and Italian musical styles, a goal he pursued throughout his life.
The harpsichord used for this recording is a 1983 two-manual instrument by Michael Johnson, modeled after a Taskin harpsichord.
Unlike his contemporaries, Couperin was not interested in the classical world, but was acutely sensitive to human feelings and foibles.
Couperin's first book of Concerts Royaux were performed at the court of Louis XIV in 1714 and 1715, but not published until 1722.
François Couperin, known as "Le Grand," was born in 1668 during the reign of Louis XIV, into an illustrious family of musicians.
Couperin stated that he always had a specific subject or idea in mind when composing his harpsichord pieces, many of which were "portraits of a kind."
