Description
The second prelude from the same treatise, L'Art de toucher le clavecin. Couperin is said to have compiled the collection to pass on the technique of touch in actual performance, and throughout the writing draws attention not only to the use of the fingers but to the quality of the sound itself. Played after the first prelude, it lets you follow how the same manner of writing opens out.
In 2/2, at 58 seconds and 231 notes it is slightly larger than No.1, and the layering of ornaments changes too. The range also widens, from A1 to G5, reaching nearly an octave higher than No.1. Since this is music for the clavecin, whose sound fades quickly, it is written to bring notes to life through ornament rather than to sustain long tones.
It is a short piece at beginner level. Deciding exactly when to place each ornament is left to the player, which makes it especially instructive. Slow the playback to hear where in the beat each ornament falls, and repeat short passages with the A-B loop so the fingers learn the shapes. Use the hand colours to follow the bass line that the left hand supports.
A keyboard-playing method Couperin published in 1716, combining technical instruction with eight improvisatory preludes.
Browse all songs in L'Art de toucher le clavecin →Sheet Music
Sheet music provided by Mutopia Project
About the Composer
François Couperin (1668-1733)
Francois Couperin was a leading French Baroque composer from the musical Couperin family, known as "Couperin le Grand." Serving as a court musician to Louis XIV, he composed a wealth of elegant, richly ornamented harpsichord music. His treatise L'Art de toucher le clavecin is also a valuable record of period performance practice. This site features four preludes drawn from that collection.
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