Couperin

Couperin refers most often to François Couperin, also known as Couperin le Grand, a prominent French Baroque composer and harpsichordist who lived from 1668 to 1733. He was part of the Parisian Couperin family of musicians and became one of the leading figures in French keyboard music of the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

Born in Paris, François Couperin built a career as a court and church musician, contributing extensively to the French clavier tradition. His work helped define the stylistic language of French Baroque keyboard music, and he published a substantial body of music for the keyboard, including Pièces de clavecin and the Ordres for harpsichord. He also authored L'Art de toucher le clavecin (The Art of Playing the Clavier), a influential treatise published in 1716 that covers fingering, ornamentation (agréments), touch, and phrasing, and has shaped performance practice for generations.

Couperin’s keyboard music is characterized by refined textures, delicate dance forms such as allemandes, courantes, sarabandes, and gigues, and the distinctive use of agréments to color melodic line and expression. One of his best-known pieces is Les Barricades mystérieuses, often cited as emblematic of his musical voice and the French Baroque aesthetic.

His legacy endures in his extensive catalog of keyboard works and in the treatise on performance practice, which together cement his status as a central figure in the French Baroque tradition. Couperin's influence extended to later composers and to the broader understanding of early 18th-century keyboard playing.