Louis Couperin's career took off after harpsichordist Jacques Champion de Chambonnières heard his compositions and invited him to Paris and the court of Louis XIV.
Compositional Technique
Louis Couperin's famous 'unmeasured preludes' are torrents of uninterrupted cadences that revolutionized music-making, offering an infinite playground for improvisation.
Composer Biography
Louis Couperin, like Mozart, died at the age of 35, leaving a significant mark on 17th-century music in just ten years.
Composer Biography
Louis Couperin became the organist at the important Saint Gervais church in Paris, a position held by the Couperin family for nearly two centuries.
Composition History
Due to the lack of manuscripts in Louis Couperin's own hand and the collective nature of composition at the time, some works attributed to him may have been written by his brothers, François and Charles.
Composer Biography
Louis Couperin came from a dynasty of farmers, the Couperins, who were also musicians, much like the Bach family.
Recording & Production
The recording features five different historical or facsimile instruments: a Ruckers & Vater harpsichord (1624), a Blanchet harpsichord (2011), a Guillaume Lesselier organ (1631), an Italian harpsichord (2016), a Villers & Carouge organ (1663), a Tibaut harpsichord (1998), and a Couchet harpsichord (2009).
