Premier Livre De Piéces De Clavecin...

I only seldom visit Cardiff, but when I do, the Oxfam Books and Music shop on St. Mary's Street is somewhere I'll try to look around if time permits. They often have interesting classical LPs in stock: for instance, I picked up this album, plus a disc with Schubert's 'Death and the Maiden' quartet on it for about £6 or £7 last summer.

François Couperin's Premier Livre De Piéces De Clavecin was published in 1713, comprising five 'orders' (or suites) of pieces each of which shared a common key. This disc contains the Cinquiême Ordre in its entirety, that is the fifth (and last) of the 'orders' in that first book, which is in the key of A. These are prefaced by a 'Prélude', the fifth of eight presented in Couperin's 1716 treatise L'Art de Toucher le Clavecin.

This is a 1980 recording on the Astrée label, performed by Blandine Verlet on a 1716 harpsichord made in Lyon by Pierre Donzelague. Lyon was also the venue for the recording. My favourite pieces on it are 'La Tendre Fanchon' with its insistently-repeated melody, and 'L'Angélique'. The sound-quality and performance are both ideal, and the 'order' as a whole makes for a satisfyingly coherent listening experience.

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All Wrapped Up

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Ein Schattenspiel, etc.

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This is a Recording

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