Couperin: Pièces pour clavecin (Alpha Collection)

Featuring

Blandine Rannou
François Couperin

Did you know?

1/7

Composer's Artistic Vision

Couperin believed that to give the harpsichord 'a soul' and express emotion, a performer must 'cheat' by delaying or shortening notes and creating silences, allowing imagination to take over.

Compositional Technique

Many of François Couperin's harpsichord pieces are dances, typical of the French style, while others are character pieces without direct choreographic connection.

Instruments

The harpsichord used for this recording was made in Paris in 1988 by Anthony Sidey and Frédéric Bal, copied after a Ruckers-Hemsch instrument from 1636-1763.

Interpretation

The performer, Blandine Rannou, chose to group pieces from Couperin's four books after each of the eight preludes from L'Art de toucher le clavecin, based on Couperin's own remarks about preludes.

Recording & Production

This album was recorded in the Chapel of the church of Notre-Dame de Bon-Secours, Paris, over two sessions in September and October 2003.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Couperin emphasized the importance of character indications at the beginning of his pieces, such as 'languissamment' or 'grotesquement', to transport listeners into specific emotional worlds.

Performer Biography

Blandine Rannou, the harpsichordist on this album, has also recorded French and English Suites by J.S. Bach, and harpsichord pieces by Rameau and Forqueray for the Alpha Classics label.