Concerts royaux (Couperin)
The Concerts Royaux (Royal Concerts) are four suites by François Couperin written for the court of Louis XIV in 1714 – hence the qualifier "royal". Composed while chamber music concerts were in vogue, they are intended for listening more than dancing. They were published in 1722 without indication of instrumentation; therefore, the same piece can be played by solo harpsichord or by an ensemble with a bass instrument, a violin, a viol, and an oboe or a flute. (This freedom of instrumentation is also found in certain works of Marin Marais and Gaspard Le Roux). This collection was supplemented in 1724 by a set of "Nouveaux Concerts" with the subtitle les Goûts réunis, or the "reunited tastes" of French and Italian styles.
Each concert is composed of a prelude and a succession of dances in the traditional order (allemande, sarabande or courante, followed by other dances.)
- Premier concert
- Deuxième concert
- Prélude
- Allemande fuguée
- Air tendre
- Air contrefugué
- Echos
- Troisième concert
- Prélude
- Allemande
- Courante
- Sarabande grave
- Gavotte
- Musette
- Chaconne légère
- Quatrième concert
External links
- The original version, as published by François Couperin at the end of Troisième Livre de Clavecin (1722): :http://icking-music-archive.org/ByComposer/Couperin.php