español | français François Couperin Andrew Carwood, David Skinner 10 CDs for a desert island : Maria Bayo Bach sacred cantatas   53 - 52 - 51 - 50 - 49 - 48 - 47 - 46 - 45 - 44 - 43 - 42 - 41 - 40 - 39 - 38 - 37 - 36 - 35 - 34 - 33 - 32 - 31 - 30 - 29 - 28 - 27 - 26 - 25 - 24 - 23 - 22 - 21 - 20 - 19 - 18 - 17 - 16 - 15 - 14 - 13 - 12 - 11 - 10 - 09 - 08 - 07 - 06 - 05 - 04 - 03 - 02 - 01 - FRANÇOIS COUPERIN By Marguerite Haladjian. Translated by Marcia Hadjimarcos François Couperin presents a curious figure in the musical world: after receiving honors and recognition from king and court, he was forgotten for a century and a half; today his works are again played, reflected upon and celebrated. At the end of the 18th century his musical genius was so much admired by students of Bach that they would declare: “Couperin is the French Bach.” Bach himself had copied several of Couperin’s pieces for the Notebooks of Anna Magdalena Bach by hand. Couperin’s Livres de clavecin were a revelation to Vincent d’Indy in the 1860s; Berlioz adapted an 18th century parody of Sœur Monique (a rondeau from Couperin’s 18th ordre de clavecin) for three voices and organ; Brahms published the complete harpsichord works of Couperin—the four Livres de clavecin—and mentioned in his introduction the debt owed Couperin by Bach, Handel and Scarlatti. Wanda Landowska, who played her first concerts as early as 1905, was a zealous defender of Couperin, whose music she placed at the zenith of musical creativity. The impetus she contributed led to the rapidly growing interest in his works. In 1915 Debussy considered dedicating his Etudes to Couperin, and in 1917 Ravel wrote the piano work Le Tombeau de Couperin in which he captured the spirit and mystery of the composer. Later still, Richard Strauss displayed his admiration for Couperin by taking inspiration for his Suites de Danses de François Couperin, Divertimento and Fêtes d’Antan from Couperin’s works. Béla Bartók published a Hungarian edition of Couperin’s works, and played them in concert; Darius Milhaud made an orchestral transcription of La Sultane. The systematic work of musicologists such as Julien Tiersot, who published one of the first biographies of the Couperin dynasty in 1925, was part of the next phase in the rediscovery of his music. Biography Work catalogue Discography Goldberg Articles ABOUT US | CONTRIBUTE   web map - home page - cover Legal warning Copyright 2003, Goldberg. info@goldberg-magazine.com