Description
This is the third prelude from "L'Art de toucher le clavecin," with a denser texture at 54 seconds and 305 notes, along with somewhat more complex harmonic layering. Each phrase experiments with different ornamentation, demanding both improvisatory freedom and precise finger control — a hallmark of the refined French Baroque keyboard style.
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.
View all works by Couperin →