The Couperin family, like the Bach family, was a dynasty of musicians, descended from a farmer who played the viol on days of rest.
Recording & Production
This album features recordings made on five different historical or facsimile instruments: two harpsichords (Ruckers & Vater, Blanchet), two organs (Guillaume Lesselier, Villers & Carouge), and an Italian harpsichord.
Composer Biography
Louis Couperin, like Mozart, died at 35, but his name remains less known, often confused with his nephew François Couperin, 'Couperin the Great'.
Composition History
Louis Couperin's career began when Jacques Champion de Chambonnières, a harpsichordist at the court of Louis XIV, heard his compositions and invited him to Paris.
Composition History
Louis Couperin declined Louis XIV's offer to replace Chambonnières as the king's harpsichordist out of respect for his mentor, leading the king to create a new position for him.
Compositional Technique
Louis Couperin's famous 'unmeasured preludes' are torrents of uninterrupted cadences that revolutionized music-making, serving as an infinite playground for imagination.
Composition History
Louis Couperin became organist at the church of Saint Gervais in Paris, a position held by the Couperin family for nearly two centuries.
