Allegro (after Couperin)
Muzio Clementi (1801)
Description
A piece after François Couperin (1668-1733), the central figure of the French clavecin repertoire and famous for having codified the writing of ornaments in minute detail. Clementi adapted that music into a form playable on the piano of 1800 and placed it in his method.
In F minor and 6/8: 374 notes in about a minute, and one of the few pieces in the collection in a minor key. Scalar motion runs without a break over the lilt of 6/8. The French ornamentation has been simplified away, which leaves the line of the melody itself in front.
A beginner piece. Feel 6/8 as two large beats rather than counting six, and it flows. It is in the minor, but there is no need to play it heavily — briskness suits it better. With this much scalar motion, deciding in advance where the thumb passes under keeps it steady.
A piano method Clementi published in 1801, comprising 50 lessons that arrange famous Baroque and Classical works for solo piano.
Browse all songs in Introduction to the Art of Playing on the Piano Forte Op.42 →Sheet Music
Sheet music provided by Mutopia Project
About the Composer
Muzio Clementi (1752-1832)
Muzio Clementi was born in Rome and moved to England while still young, building a career in London as a pianist, composer, and instrument manufacturer. Often called the "father of the pianoforte," he wrote the study collection Gradus ad Parnassum and numerous sonatinas that remain staples of piano pedagogy. This site includes pieces from his Op. 42 tutor, built on "Ah! vous dirai-je, Maman" and melodies by Haydn and Mozart, along with movements from the Sonatina, Op. 36, No. 1.
View all works by Clementi →