Description
This is the fourth and final prelude in "L'Art de toucher le clavecin." Balanced at 51 seconds and 282 notes, it draws together the ornamental figures and gestures introduced in the earlier preludes. Serving as something of a summary of French Baroque keyboard style, it tests the refinement of touch developed across the set.
A keyboard-playing method Couperin published in 1716, combining technical instruction with eight improvisatory preludes.
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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