François Couperin (1668-1733) was the most famous and prolific Claveciniste of the French Baroque, earning early on the title of “Le Grand”. + For this release, San Francisco based harpsichordist Katherine Roberts Perl has drawn upon Couperin’s later works, which are darker, dreamier and more reflective in tone. + Unknowingly, he is creating a pathway which will lead to the future of French keyboard music— to Faure, Debussy and Ravel.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Francois Couperin once confessed that he preferred to perform his collection of chamber music on two harpsichords however this series is the only one in existance that does just that. Volume one of the harpsichord series received fantastic reviews - "The playing by harpsichordists Jochewed Schwarz and Emer Buckley is finely matched. Both blend well with each other and provide a strong, virile performance that brings the nuances and ornamets of Couperin's music to life. One can see through their interplay why the composer considered this his ideal performance medium..".

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

François Couperin, the main representative of a dynasty that dominated French music from the 16th well into the first half of the 19th century. In 1726 Couperin published his own musical atlas. According to the most plausible reconstructions based on the surviving manuscripts, the author had picked up three sonatas from a series of six trio sonatas written on Corelli’s model of “sonata da chiesa” (four movements, typically alternating slow-fast-slow-fast). These three chosen works were renamed this way: La Pucelle became La Françoise, La Visionnaire turned into L’Espagnole, L’Astrée into La Piédmontoise. To these three works Couperin added a fourth, the most extended of all, called L’Imperiale. To each Sonata, he further added a French Suite whose length suited diplomatic protocols: eight dances each for France and Spain, nine for the Holy Roman Empire, six for Piedmont. In all, four ordres for those Catholic powers that, in a typically French-centred perspective, were considered natural allies in the effort to break the siege by a hostile geopolitical bloc: Anglican Great Britain, Lutheran Prussia and Sweden, Orthodox Russia. Couperin himself writes in the preface to L’Apothéose de Lully: “[...] the complete book of trios that I hope to publish next July (Les Nations), can be played on two harpsichords, as well as on any other instrument.

Acclaimed harpsichordist Guillermo Brachetta returns to Resonus to begin a major recording of the complete Pièces de Clavecin by the French Baroque master, François Couperin. Often wistful and valedictory in tone, the fourth and final book of this landmark collection of keyboard music was completed at the very end of Couperin’s life and in the grip of failing health. Containing many vivid musical representations of real characters, Couperin’s grace and elegance in writing for this instrument is evident to the very end. Guillermo Brachetta’s previous Resonus release featuring Concertos from JS Bach, WF Bach, and Carl Graun was widely applauded by audiences and critics alike.

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• Charlotte Mattax Moersch extends her series of recordings for Centaur with this new release. • Couperin wrote some of the finest harpsichord works of the 18th-Century; these works among them.

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This is Volume 7 in Centaur's ongoing series of the complete keyboard works of Francois Couperin, performed on harpsichord by Mark Kroll. Mark Kroll has performed Couperin's works throughout his performing life, and it shows in these wonderful recordings. Mark Kroll has been acclaimed as one of the world's leading harpsichordists and fortepianists. During a career spanning more than fifty years, he has appeared as a recitalist, concerto soloist, and chamber musician on four continents, winning critical praise for his expressive playing and virtuosity. He has played under the batons of conductors such as Seiji Ozawa, Sir Simon Rattle, James Levine, Kurt Masur, Sir Colin Davis and Charles Dutoit, and served as harpsichordist for the Boston Symphony since 1979.

This is the third volume of Centaur's integral edition of the complete Pieces de Clavecin of Francois Couperin, performed on harpsichord by Mark Kroll, who has made a specialty of this literature. Mark Kroll has been acclaimed as one of the world’s leading harpsichordists and fortepianists. During a career spanning more than fifty years, he has performed on four continents, winning critical praise for his expressive playing and virtuosity. He has appeared with noted soloists and ensembles, played under the batons of conductors such as Seiji Ozawa, Sir Simon Rattle, James Levine, Kurt Masur and Charles Dutoit, and has served as harpsichordist for the Boston Symphony since 1979.

Volume 2 in Centaur’s ongoing cycle of the complete Pieces de Clavecin of Francois Couperin presents Huitieme Ordre, Dixseptieme Ordre, and Vingt-Troisieme Ordre. These works were recorded at The National Music Museum, Vermillion South Dakota on a 1785 Jacques Germain harpsichord by harpsichordist Mark Kroll. Mark Kroll has been heralded as one of the world’s leading harpsichordists and fortepianists. During a more than five decade career, he has performed on four continents, winning critical praise wherever he goes for his expressive playing and virtuosity. He frequently appears with noted ensembles and has performed under conductors such as Sir Simon Rattle, James Levine, Kurt Masur, and Charles Dutoit. Since 1979 he has served as harpsichordist for the Boston Symphony. He also serves as Artistic Director and Conductor of Opera New England.