What you are saying about Couperin applies even more to Rameau, if you'd ask me. Rameau deserves way more attention in conservatories and music schools than he usually gets. After all, he has been called the 'French J.S.Bach' for a reason. Rameau was a genius in both composition and in musical theory. Historically, his work is of tremendous importance and every musical student should therefore be familiar with it. Thank you for your video!
I understand the prelude, but what about the other movements? I tend to avoid playing the prelude unless I need to perform it, but I always love going through all the other movements.
Me likewise the Toccata in D! A music lover once said to Piet Kee, organist of St Bavo, Haarlem "If you play the Toccata in D I'm not coming to the recital!" He didn't, but added that it's often what the recording companies rather than the organist want. The other tired old warhorse is Widor's Toccata. Yet (speaking for myself) I can listen to Bach's Passacaglia frequently and never tire of it
I think the cellist's guild declared an embargo on this piece, so we should be ok for a couple decades (by then, we'll probably be fed up with the C major suite)
Good work. Do not be discouraged by the lack of traffic and support here. Our world needs more insight and scholarship you bring to attention. Of course, in my case you are preaching to the choir. Perhaps you may wish to add to the description the temperament of tuning you chose to use here as well as the type of instrument. Best wishes to you.
Thank you so much for your encouraging comments! In fact, I am surprised this video has already reached over 1000 views given that its subject matter is not particularly popular :-) And thank you for your suggestion to add the type of instrument and the tuning to the description -- I normally do that, but somehow neglected to do it for this video. I have just added that information.
I really want to thank you for introducing me to Couperin's keyboard music. No one should stop playing Bach, Handel, Scarlatti and Rameau, but no one should ignore the other lesser known Baroque masters, especially the ones that predate those great composers, considering that Bach was of the time when the Baroque era was coming to an end and slowly transitioning to Classicism. As a pianist, I truly believe that to enrich yourself with more knowledge and understanding of the Baroque era, and developing a much bigger appreciation for the genre, you should explore as many composers as you can as they offer their own challenges in technique, expression and overall interpretation. It is really worthwhile to listen something composed by the uncle of the great Francois Couperin.
It is so good to hear another musician advocating to play beyond the usual masters. Couperin certainly was a master as well. 11:32 Yes! Agreed. There are so many other composers that are equally interesting.
I was most intrigued by the opening of Couperin's Sarabande, especially his dissonance handling: the progression A+ Gm6 in first inv A7 Gm6 is pretty strange for the time and the Bb9 in bar 6 is wonderful. I feel inspired to seek out more of L. Couperin's music (I have passing acquaintance with the unmeasured preludes, but no more). Thank you for this video: I believe you're absolutely right to advocate for so-called minor composers - there's always room for more great music to be heard, both from the past and from the current age.
Very well said. It is so enjoyable to read such passionate and high intellect musical conversation with others. It's a shame that most people don't share the same sentiment and appreciation for things of high intellect and substance.
@@zacharybond23 Download from imslp.org/wiki/Pièces_de_clavecin_du_manuscrit_Bauyn_(Couperin,_Louis) the Monaco: Editions de L'Oiseau-Lyre, 1985. Plate OL 58. and go to number 51
I noticed a similar phenomenon in Iberian music during the baroque era as well. People only really focus on D. Scarlatti. Understandable, he did after all write 555 sonatas. But Scarlatti had many equally great musical contemporaries such as Antonio Soler, Sebastian De Albero, and José Antonio Carlos De Seixas. Sebastian De Albero, for example wrote these very unique Ricercare, Fuga, and Sonata pieces. A unique blend of the old and the new. Also there's one region of european baroque music that doesn't get much attention and that's the Czech region.
Yes, though it's more accurate to say Domenico Scarlatti was of the Neapolitan School. His style was of course very unique though, and not really alike to other Italian or Spanish composers of the time.
Extremely important points about less well known composers producing some equally wonderful works and also different composers producing unique challenges and the performer being impoverished by skipping such works - very well articulated. This applies to composers or all periods also.
i love the fact that there are a zillion composers and more great music than anyone can play or even listen to - the top 20 composers or even top 100 composers did not have a monopoly on talent or genius
Tell me about it... I started a project to record at least one work from as many composers as possible (from the 16th-18th century). I previously had no idea how many there were, even among those whose music (at least something) has come down to us. I have found over one THOUSAND of them. I've recorded over 300 of them now, and have plans to do many more. Oh: My YT channel is "The Digital Harpsichordist" (John, I hope you don't mind my mentioning my channel here, but it seemed relevant... oh, and keep up the GREAT work!)
True - we would not live long enough to listen to all the fine music written in the Baroque era before we croaked - and I mean that which has been recorded; there is a vast wealth of as yet unrecorded music in the archives!
It is such a pleasure to listen to when John Moraitis talks. It is very clear and easy to understand and follow, while at the same time not at all simplistic, but rather subtle, well expressed and balanced. And of course, interesting.
Thank you so much for this wonderful video! I'm sitting at home nursing an infected root canal (all the dentists are closed!) and your video gave me a 15-minute relief from the pain.
I kind of came for the brief lecture but ended up being mesmerized by this beautiful harpsichord and it’s quarter comma, meantone tuning. Of course, your performance was amazing too. I will go back and listen to your points again now.
Couldn't agree more! Louis Couperin has always been a favorite. When my teacher in grad school insisted I play a Bach toccata on a recital I thought it was absolutely ridiculous. There was so much other stuff out there that was more interesting and, well, better!
New huge fan of Couperin here. Finally, at 60, I understand why my favorite piano work gave homage to his tomb. In music school I found him "too too." Now, he is wonderful.
The beauty of this is magnificent the art of Louis couperins the unmeasured preludes are unbelievably beautiful perfection as well as his Sarabands far more far more intelligent deep and majestic a missing part in many of Francois couperins music why Louie is not more well known than Francois is a mystery to me his music supercedes in quality the examples of the imperial Court of Versailles and the Elegance of the sound there! 💕❣️💕 the richness of this must be exploited throughout the world to set a new standard of quality and elegance and class ⚜️👑⚜️❣️
Very true what you say, John, of the importance of getting to know those composers who are routinely neglected. No composer appears from a vacuum; all have been influenced by the musical currents of their time. May people listen to more Louis Couperin.. and of course, also to his great mentor, Chambonnières!
Don't forget Jacquet, Marchand, Lebègue and d'Anglebert ! I have to say though, I'm more impressed with the later school: Balbastre, Duphly, Royer, Forqueray, &c... when the suite has pretty much disappeared
I have been studying Louis during the past year - I love his sound and "quirky" harmonies. Working on the unmeasured preludes reminds me of Keith Jarrett's Koln concert recording. Love that Sarabande, that I studied over the summer.
I also really like the quirky harmonies of his music -- and yes, there is definitely a correspondence between unmeasured preludes and jazz improvisation!
This is really cool. I'm sure you're correct that Couperin and other Baroque composers were pro-improvisation, just like jazz masters. The harpsichord is just as beautiful and sonorous an instrument as the saxophone.
I guess your comment is very true for professionals and listeners but for amateur players it is hard enough to try to conquer pieces by Bach and there is the rewarding feast of recognition because there are a lot of examples how to play the music of J.S. Bach.
WOW, thank you, I've always arpeggiated Bach, I think because I started playing guitar before piano and you mostly always arpeggiate everything on the guitar, I always thought I was playing Bach wrong even though I liked it that way, now I know other people think it sounds better that way too, many thanks again.
I would really love if you could suggest some reading material about how to execute these imbellishments and baroque improvisation as well as maybe make some detailed videos about how you would approach doing this.
The first thing to do is consult the tables of ornaments that harpsichord composers published. There are very detailed tables of ornaments by French composers (notably d'Anglebert, Couperin, and Rameau). In other countries the situation is more sketchy, but there is, for instance, a table of ornaments by Bach (he follows d'Anglebert, but uses less ornaments), and one associated with Purcell. This should provide you with quite a variety of both ornaments and types of arpeggiations that you can apply to the music you play. The second source-and this is the most difficult to talk about without writing a full-length essay :-) - is to look at how composers ornamented their own music, as well as ornamented versions that later composers or performers wrote for earlier pieces. Here I would not limit myself to harpsichord repertory though. Again, seeing how contemporary musicians are applying ornamentation can serve as your guide. The third suggestion is to listen to recordings by established historically-informed performers with the score and see what they do. It's not so much a matter of imitating, but rather getting ideas on where and how you can ornament. And then it takes a lot of experimentation trying to synthesize all of this in a personal style that feels comfortable to you and-very importantly-does not get in the way of the musical flow. I hope this helps a little bit, and you have definitely given me an idea for a future video :-)
Thanks so much for this video. I LOVE Couperin! I knew that earlier composers generally expected performers to ornament but didn't know much was left out of the scores. Interesting that you're using meantone here.
Thank you very much for your video. Louis Couperin is a very interesting composer especially his unmeasured preludes, a real challenge to interpret convincingly
Thank you. I’ll put this in mind when working on JSB block chords as written to be played as a chord or not. Is this a short hand notation for a continuo player. Play it according to context and instrument played. Music is a living art form and as a musician one needs to refer back to what the composer intends. Bach has been jazzed up and there is nothing wrong with this. Yes as chords on a harpsichords the chords do sounds dry. A piano had a different sound. Good video thank you.
Thank you! Unfortunately I didn't do a good job with the audio recording in this video, so if you want to hear a better quality recording check out some of my more recent videos.
@@thedigitalharpsichordist1541 For this video, I was trying out a Sony camcorder which I never used again, so this video doesn't count :-) For video, I use the Sony HRD-MV1 camcorder. For audio-only (i.e. when the performance is accompanied by the score) I use an Olympus LS-100 audio recorder.
@@johnmoraitis Thanks for the info. But you say "this video doesn't count"...OK, the sound quality isn't the very best BUT the content is superb. I wish you a Merry Christmas!
Just watched parts of it again: the sound isn't really too bad after all. But I have the impression that the microphones could have been placed a bit better. But then, maybe the acoustics of the (small) room are keeping the harpsichord from sounding its very best? Pardon my curiosity about such matter, but harpsichord sound is my "thing". Oh: If you ever wish to "sample" your fine instrument let me know: I will be glad to help you!
Hello, Mr. Moraitis! I'm a new subscriber, and your videos have been terribly informative about a subject yet undiscovered for me-baroque music. Where would you recommend one start in this time period, that is, what obscure composers and pieces would you recommend in order to more fully appreciate Baroque music? Thank you very much in advance!
First of all, sorry for the late response! Unfortunately, RUclips doesn't send me notifications for every comment… I would suggest starting with these composers: Louis Couperin, Jacques Champion de Chambonnières, Nicolas Lebègue, Jean-Henry d' Anglebert, and Johann Jacob Froberger. Once you start listening to their music on RUclips, you are probably going to get suggestions of videos with music by their contemporaries, so this way you can slowly start exploring the music of other composers as well. It's kind of like doing research: you start with a few sources, but each source points you to multiple other avenues! Hope that helps!
Thanks for explaining. So true. The harpsichord is the perfect instrument to help us understand your point. As an organist I think I would be more versatile had I spent more time with Couperin and a harpsichord. Would have benefited from spending more time with figured bass, also. We get too soon old and too late smart.
Thanks to your video, now i can register a bit of meantone tuning sound signature. Yes it has more colours, it might sound so much reduced when i play it on modern tuning piano.
I find your videos, which I just discovered today, extremely interesting and unexpected!!! I also hear comparisons with jazz and baroque music (also middle eastern!) for the same reasons. I'm really enjoying, thank you!! Janet Alexander, BM MM LMT
Great and inspiring video! A question: how should I think of “don’t play all the notes of a block chord at once” when looking at Bach’s WTC1 E-flat minor prelude, which has many block chords with arpeggiation marks and many other block chords without? I suppose I should be treating them differently, but how exactly if I don’t want to play all the notes of block chord at once? Thanks!
Thank you! Sometimes it's useful to keep in mind that, in baroque notation, certain indications alert us to what is exceptional or necessary. This means that, in this case, Bach may simply want to suggest that the chords with arpeggiation marks must be arpeggiated, while for the rest arpeggiation is optional (but can still be done). One solution would be to play the arpeggiated chords with a slower arpeggiation, but that's too easy and uniform :-) I'd have to play the piece and see what I would do, but my feeling is that it would all depend on the harmonies and especially which harmonies I would want to emphasize or bring out-but chances are I would not play anything with more than two notes as block chords. With two-note chords, I might play those that are simple thirds almost together, but perhaps play the larger intervals slightly less together. It also depends on the instrument. On a clavichord, for instance, some chords could work in an almost block form, as the sound decay is completely different and you have slightly more dynamic range without having to use arpeggiations to achieve it (as on a harpsichord). And on a piano-especially a modern one-if you arpeggiate everything it might end up sounding like a mannerism rather than an expressive device: here you can use dynamics and especially the piano's ability to differentiate between two notes played together by "bringing out" one more than another without having to arpeggiate.
Note it depends on the publication you use. Many 19th century composers and editors "fixed" old music: added many suggestions and marks that weren't there. Always get UrText publications that are faithful to the source and by so doing you'll create your own unique interpretation. Maybe compare it to such an edition but I long no longer do so. It'd be best to probably learn to read the old "middle tone" clef correctly I guess.
We really do sleep on Couperin. His music is gorgeous. I think John should have made it clear that reason JS Bach was criticized for putting too much ornamentation is because it was seen as overly controlling to his contemporary musicians. Kind of like jazz where all the solos are written out by the composer/arranger.
Can't agree more. People who don't play any middle Baroque repertoire really can't claim to understand Baroque music, and can't possibly understand where Bach's music came from.
@@cliveso I have been unable to walk for the last 6 months. I have had the opportunity to listen to early, middle and late baroque music. Although my comment was meant in jest, I think that the title should have read "Why keyboard instrument players should be playing more Louis Couperin (and perhaps less Bach)". Perhaps we could do with a video entitled " why ornaments and dynamics cannot overcome a deficiency in harmonic and melodic invention" or even one on "the relative scarcity of major Italian piano works between 1800 and 1900". I haven't played for a year after 44 years of constant playing. It's difficult when the music in your ears isn't made by your own hands. But, one day, I will play more L. Couperin. And I will love it. For now, let me get back to the Goldberg variations (played by someone else). Stay safe.
I totally agree. I have come to appreciate Couperin's music much more as I listen to it. I think his counterpoint is pretty much just as great as Bach's. There are many undervalued and less well understood composers and one which always springs to mind is Soler, his keyboard writing is quite amazing. you may like to know that Brilliant classics are issuing a new edition, Couperin's Complete Harpsichord Music by Massimo Berghella, an Italian, which is really superb!
I agree, and you extend this even more. As you know, Bach assembled lots of material and transformed them into masterpieces. The project is thus to track who were the orginator of his ideas.
Exactly! I think we can understand Bach's music better (and also have a better understanding of Baroque aesthetics) if we know more about the music and composers he knew and emulated.
Thank you for this special upload which is meant to do justice to all those composers that History forgot them. Lois Couperin was indeed an icon! I admit to prefer his compositions even more than his famous nephew - Francois. I liked most his unbarred Preludes. Being a performer as well as a composer, gave him the chance to demonstrate free spirit of invention, which you yourself demonstrated and performed wonderfully even on a 'non-free' Sarabande. Bravo!
As a classical accordion player, I love Louis Couperin ! He certainly deserves to be called Couperin le Grand (the Great) as much as his nephew François (who clearly is a genius too).
It's really wonderful music, and certainly worth playing. There are quite a few pieces, but if you're looking for a place to start I would recommend the chaconnes and passacaglias, and then the unmeasured preludes. I will record more of his music in the future too :)
Provocative title for sure. But of course it is not a choice between the two. Couperin's music blows me away!!! His music reminds me of conversation...someone talking and I want to listen. Good to hear your point. I agree--Couperin was not offering something pretty, but music that was rich--and right up to this day it holds true.
Sometimes a provocative title will compel people to watch :-) I just think there's so much wonderful music out there, so why limit ourselves to just a select few composers? I've been playing a couple of Louis Couperin's unmeasured preludes, lately, and his harmonic language is utterly fascinating, with surprises waiting at every turn!
I’m officially hooked! I only knew Francois Couperin who wrote Les Barricades Misterieuses, but apparently Louis had 2 brothers, Francois and Charles, and Charles’s son was the composer of that famous work. If you have a repertoire list or composer list of the lesser known keyboard composers somewhere, I would love to see it! Stunning playing btw-this is artistry 👏🏾
Thank you! I've never made a repertoire list, and perhaps I should. However, one of my aims of posting videos is to promote lesser-known composers, so if you scroll through the videos I've posted there are many lesser composers there!
Thank you very much for this very convincing video, which explains well some "healthy" and common sense reasoning, in a simple way. May I suggest that your ornament at 7:12 (bar 8, first beat) creates parallel fifths with the bass? I know this ornament is typical of this style, but if the parallel fifths are intentional and intended, I would be interested in knowing why. Anyway, thank you for this video! Bonne continuation.
If the affect requires it, I play the chord without any arpeggio. And a good way of playing the piece without it being boring is also using the weight of the hand differently on different chords and feeling the bigger movement so you can get direction in the piece. I think that if you can not play well without the ornaments and diminutions, you can not play with them when it is even more difficult And I am 100% with you, the unknown repertoire is awesome, I love it so much
Well, this was an education! I didn't know how much a performer might need to add to or improvise on a Baroque score to produce something musically consistent with what the composer actually had in mind. The music you played at the end was interesting, but to my ear, accustomed as I am to modern instruments, the harpsichord always sounds tinny or harsh. In this video, I'd say harsh. I suppose if I had been born in the time of Bach, I would have loved the harpsichord, but I wasn't, and I don't. My loss, no doubt, but I can't make myself like something I don't. I read most of the 205 comments. So I know that, in this regard, I'm the only philistine here leaving a comment. Still, this was a very informative video, and I appreciate that you are engaged in a labor of love.
I'm happy you liked the video! As for the harpsichord, unfortunately the sound in this video is not good (I was trying out a new camcorder), and the harpsichord does sounds harsh. If you check out one of my recent videos, you'll see that the sound is very different. You might still not like it, but at least you will have heard a more accurate representation of its sound :-)
@@johnmoraitis I just watched your video Geoffroy: Suite in a minor - Sarabande, uploaded just 2 days ago (Dec 19, 2020). Wow, what a difference. The harpsichord is neither tinny nor harsh! It doesn't have the expressiveness of a modern piano (imo), but now it seems like a legitimate musical instrument. I've started watching some videos of trios that include a harpsichord. I have to say I like the harpsichord more when it's part of the sound and not solo. I listened to a guitar and harpsichord trio (with only those 2 instruments) and then another trio that was actually 4 instruments, including a well-tempered clavier, an instrument that sounds to me midway between a harpsichord and a modern piano. None of these works would have sounded right with a modern piano. Thanks for encouraging me to pursue this. I obviously have a great deal to learn.
I was just about to make a post on social media saying that my discovery of Louis Couperin in 2019 qualifies also as the greatest music discovery I've made in the whole decade. Absolutely remarkably beautiful and daring music, I come to view him as an analog to Scriabin at the piano: each wrote uniquely idiomatic music for their chosen instrument, each, to my ears, wrote comprehensively great works throughout.
I remember how equally delighted I was when I first discovered Louis Couperin, and I think the parallel with Scriabin is very appropriate, as they both indeed wrote highly idiomatic and consistently good music. If you haven't played any of Louis Couperin's preludes yourself, please do! I know there are recordings of them, but these pieces are unique and finding your own way through them is a wonderfully rewarding experience!
I had a similar experience. Bach is my desert island composer, but no other music speaks to me as personally as LC's. F. Couperin has been called "the Chopin of the Baroque", but the appellation really should go to LC. His music evidences an almost hypersensitive personality, and he particularly exploited the harpsichord's sonority (and especially tone decay), just as Chopin exploited the sonority of the piano. Have you heard Skip Sempe's recording of LC? Here's one of the unmeasured preludes: ruclips.net/video/rYQuv7wG0zI/видео.html
Very interesting video. I think there's a case for saying that Louis Couperin is as important a composer as Francois Couperin though they are completely different. I am generally more moved by Louis than by Francois. I think this is due to Louis's extraordinary use of dissonance which is very advanced for its time. The music has such raw emotional power. It is the work of genius and an enormous advance on the music of his teacher Chambonnieres and the French lutenists.
When I started to play/study/listen to more baroque music I found out that there were hidden gems that are hardly considered in the mainstream media... If I just type on RUclips "baroque music for study" then I just find a long list of Bach and Vivaldi... it's not like I have something against them but we need more variety... What about Alessandro Marcello, Jacques Hotteterre, Michel de la Barre, Esprit Philippe Chedeville and many others? I believe they need more attention and it's our duty to do so... that's what I am doing with my channel recently... if I have the chance of performing unknown composers I will be glad to do it:)
Very interesting video! I've mostly dug into and enjoyed the Romantic period but am dipping my toe in Baroque lately. Would love some suggestions of composers I should look into if you'd be so kind!
Thank you! I would suggest starting with these composers: Louis Couperin, Jacques Champion de Chambonnières, Nicolas Lebègue, Jean-Henry d' Anglebert, and Johann Jacob Froberger. Once you start listening to their music on RUclips, you are probably going to get suggestions of videos with music by their contemporaries, so this way you can slowly start exploring the music of other composers as well. It's kind of like doing research: you start with a few sources, but each source points you to multiple other avenues! Hope that helps!
Thank you for your suggestion! I am working on a couple of other projects at the moment, but I will put La Piemontoise on the list of pieces for a video in the near future! :-)
I couldn’t agree more with your presentation which was very good. I would alert musicians to the ABRSM collection of Baroque “masters”. There are 6 books in the collection which cover a whole variety of composers, including L. Couperin. So there is traction for this philosophy out there, I guess you just have to go searching for it.
Your comments on how JSB dominates are well described. Moving to the younger member of the Couperin dynasty, I wonder how many have compared FC's 'La Visionnaire' with Bach's 'Ouverture' in the Goldbergs. A genuine French overture compared with an overture in the French style by a German composer!!!
I think presenting these two pieces and talking about their similarities (and there are many!) and differences would make a great video! It's a wonderful idea for a future project :-)
I'm pretty sure it's on imslp. If you go to Louis Couperin's page, click on the "collections" tab, and then under the letter "P", click on "Pieces de clavecin du manuscrit Bauyn. There should be two editions there: one by Steve Wiberg, and one by Davitt Moroney. Moroney's edition is excellent (this is the one I have). Hope this helps, but let me know if you still can't find it!
That's pretty wild starting out with an A+ chord. As I'm just a dumb guitar player, what's the significance of the 3 sitting to the left of the G and F clefs in the first bar?
It signifies triple time, and it's just a more "archaic" way to do it (in other words, this is how it was originally indicated in the manuscript). In modern notation, there would be a 3/4 time signature.
The attitude to notation in this period is way more open to interpretation than it became in later years. The obsession with exactitude reaches a kind of neurotic zenith with the music of Brian Fernyhough where humble notes are almost obliterated by an avalanche of performance instructions.
Hi John, I really enjoyed the episode, like most of your your videos. Very insightful, interesting and inspiring to play. I do recommend you invest a bit in a better microphone. I think your instrument and your voice could be done more justice. Keep posting! Sander
I'm happy you liked the video! And you're absolutely right about the sound. I have indeed invested in better equipment since then, and if you watch my latest videos I think you will hear a significant improvement. I've actually contemplated re-making this video, because I also don't like the sound :-)
I have a different on interpreting these pieces. A sarabande is a dance, and should be played in a way to make it danceable. You can interpret all you like, but the rhythm should be almost completely regular to make it danceable. Ditto for any other dances (gigue, minuet etc etc).
He's not saying that you should be adding rubato to these pieces, he's talking about performing note inegales. If you don't understand what note inegals is, you don't have any room to be speaking about the performance or interpretation of French music.
There are so many wonderful performers nowadays that it would be very difficult to only name a few. It is also important to keep in mind that there is more than one way of interpreting the information we read on historical sources. This means that although historically informed performers do share certain ideas, there are also going to be aspects of interpretation where you will hear some differences - which personally I think is a very healthy situation, because it means there is always something new to discover, and new perspectives to consider.
As a confirmed devotee of J. S. Bach, I am nevertheless extremely grateful to Dr. Moraitis for his advocacy on behalf of such wonderful and relatively neglected composers as d'Anglebert, Froberger, Geoffrey, Weckmann, and of course Louis Couperin. Just as many lesser known figures of the German baroque (including not a few members of the Bach clan!) have been unfairly sidelined by the admittedly extraordinary achievements of Sebastian, I have no doubt that the eminence of Francois Couperin and Rameau has come at the expense of many gems of the French tradition. I hold out hope that the twenty-first century will yet see a resurgence of interest in this repertoire - if so, we will have the wisdom of musicians like Dr. Moraitis to thank.
as a french couperin is one of the great baroque composers to us, not as popular as Bach but still. Though i appreciate your idea and i would love to be able to discover composers because "classical music" is very much in a bubble relaying the same pieces over and over.
Thank you for your thoughts! They are very interesting! But I am still doubting .. When I look at the score of Courperin's suites, I find the pieces quite complicated and not -- as you tell us -- providing too few details. I wonder, why Couprin uses such a variety of small notes and complex rhythmical figures and ornaments, but allegedly refrains from doing so elsewhere and writes just something like a hollow scheme, that has to be filled out ... E. g. in the 9-th bar the first four notes are not dottet, only the last two. I know, that harpsichord players always use to play such passages in "French style", but why then Couperin uses dottet notes at all, when he expects, that we play the normal notes everywhere as if they were dottet? And somethimes -- at least for me -- a non-arpeggiato chord sounds much more expressive, especially, when it contains a dissonant note. Of course, I also try to variegate a passage, when I repeat it (even if I play Bach), but I consider it as my freedom and not as filling out something, which is lacking in the original.
First of all, I apologize for the belated response. The trouble with 17th-century scores is that they are based on a different set of conventions than modern scores, and therefore are meant to be read in a very different way (which is why they can seem complicated). The use of dotted notes, for example, may imply two different possibilities. Looking at measure 9 that you mention, the fact that the last two notes are dotted can mean a more pronounced distinction between long and short, and also a very short separation (like a breath) between the two notes - something that not be done if they were notated as even eighth notes (like the first four notes in the measure). Regarding arpeggiated chords: this is very much a personal decision, and one that will also depend on the context (in other words: there is no "objective" rule as to how much to arpeggiate). And I completely agree that non-arpeggiated chords can also be very expressive. And I also do think that the more you play 17th-century repertory, the less complicated most of the scores will look :-)
What you are saying about Couperin applies even more to Rameau, if you'd ask me. Rameau deserves way more attention in conservatories and music schools than he usually gets. After all, he has been called the 'French J.S.Bach' for a reason. Rameau was a genius in both composition and in musical theory. Historically, his work is of tremendous importance and every musical student should therefore be familiar with it.
Thank you for your video!
I adore Bach, but if I hear another cellist play the G major Suite, I going to scream!
Michael as a cellist I couldn’t agree more
I understand the prelude, but what about the other movements? I tend to avoid playing the prelude unless I need to perform it, but I always love going through all the other movements.
@@levismith8009 Yes the whole suite is so, so beautiful!
Me likewise the Toccata in D! A music lover once said to Piet Kee, organist of St Bavo, Haarlem "If you play the Toccata in D I'm not coming to the recital!" He didn't, but added that it's often what the recording companies rather than the organist want. The other tired old warhorse is Widor's Toccata. Yet (speaking for myself) I can listen to Bach's Passacaglia frequently and never tire of it
I think the cellist's guild declared an embargo on this piece, so we should be ok for a couple decades (by then, we'll probably be fed up with the C major suite)
Good work. Do not be discouraged by the lack of traffic and support here. Our world needs more insight and scholarship you bring to attention. Of course, in my case you are preaching to the choir. Perhaps you may wish to add to the description the temperament of tuning you chose to use here as well as the type of instrument.
Best wishes to you.
Thank you so much for your encouraging comments! In fact, I am surprised this video has already reached over 1000 views given that its subject matter is not particularly popular :-) And thank you for your suggestion to add the type of instrument and the tuning to the description -- I normally do that, but somehow neglected to do it for this video. I have just added that information.
I really want to thank you for introducing me to Couperin's keyboard music. No one should stop playing Bach, Handel, Scarlatti and Rameau, but no one should ignore the other lesser known Baroque masters, especially the ones that predate those great composers, considering that Bach was of the time when the Baroque era was coming to an end and slowly transitioning to Classicism. As a pianist, I truly believe that to enrich yourself with more knowledge and understanding of the Baroque era, and developing a much bigger appreciation for the genre, you should explore as many composers as you can as they offer their own challenges in technique, expression and overall interpretation. It is really worthwhile to listen something composed by the uncle of the great Francois Couperin.
And Bach wouldn't disagree. He has a large library of other composers music and was always playing and studying etc
And transcribing 👍🏼😊
And pumping out children and teaching Latin
A Couperin piece from my violin teacher was the beginning of being able to play ornaments. 😀
to paraphrase Mozart on hearing his first Bach, "finally! someone new I can learn something from"
That is so true. Bach never innovated. But he did bring together so many different forms. Bach was the crossroads of Baroque music.
12:19, he begins playing Couperin.
It is no wonder than Francois Couperin and J S Bach were pen pals in the day: Both understood and enjoyed each others music!
@@erica.kantchev6144 pen pals- means that they wrote letters to each other
Which they didn’t
Just to keep in mind: Louis Couperin was Francois's uncle
@@Fraizh They apparently did, but the letters have been lost.
@@CameronK665 They were re-purposed as jam jar lids! Sounds surreal but it's true.
It is so good to hear another musician advocating to play beyond the usual masters. Couperin certainly was a master as well. 11:32 Yes! Agreed. There are so many other composers that are equally interesting.
I was most intrigued by the opening of Couperin's Sarabande, especially his dissonance handling: the progression A+ Gm6 in first inv A7 Gm6 is pretty strange for the time and the Bb9 in bar 6 is wonderful. I feel inspired to seek out more of L. Couperin's music (I have passing acquaintance with the unmeasured preludes, but no more). Thank you for this video: I believe you're absolutely right to advocate for so-called minor composers - there's always room for more great music to be heard, both from the past and from the current age.
Very well said. It is so enjoyable to read such passionate and high intellect musical conversation with others. It's a shame that most people don't share the same sentiment and appreciation for things of high intellect and substance.
Which Sarabande? Does it have a specific name?
@@zacharybond23 The one discussed in the video - I don't know whether it is a part of a suite or a standalone composition.
Hmm, I’m would say the first chord is an augmented F6. Genuinely curious about it though. I like that it goes to a gm6 rather than Bb.
@@zacharybond23 Download from imslp.org/wiki/Pièces_de_clavecin_du_manuscrit_Bauyn_(Couperin,_Louis)
the Monaco: Editions de L'Oiseau-Lyre, 1985. Plate OL 58.
and go to number 51
I noticed a similar phenomenon in Iberian music during the baroque era as well. People only really focus on D. Scarlatti. Understandable, he did after all write 555 sonatas. But Scarlatti had many equally great musical contemporaries such as Antonio Soler, Sebastian De Albero, and José Antonio Carlos De Seixas. Sebastian De Albero, for example wrote these very unique Ricercare, Fuga, and Sonata pieces. A unique blend of the old and the new.
Also there's one region of european baroque music that doesn't get much attention and that's the Czech region.
Yes, though it's more accurate to say Domenico Scarlatti was of the Neapolitan School. His style was of course very unique though, and not really alike to other Italian or Spanish composers of the time.
Wonderful fandango by Soler - often wondered if the Portuguese had an equivalent - and lots of interesting South American baroque
Extremely important points about less well known composers producing some equally wonderful works and also different composers producing unique challenges and the performer being impoverished by skipping such works - very well articulated. This applies to composers or all periods also.
i love the fact that there are a zillion composers and more great music than anyone can play or even listen to - the top 20 composers or even top 100 composers did not have a monopoly on talent or genius
Agreed!
Tell me about it... I started a project to record at least one work from as many composers as possible (from the 16th-18th century). I previously had no idea how many there were, even among those whose music (at least something) has come down to us. I have found over one THOUSAND of them. I've recorded over 300 of them now, and have plans to do many more. Oh: My YT channel is "The Digital Harpsichordist" (John, I hope you don't mind my mentioning my channel here, but it seemed relevant... oh, and keep up the GREAT work!)
True - we would not live long enough to listen to all the fine music written in the Baroque era before we croaked - and I mean that which has been recorded; there is a vast wealth of as yet unrecorded music in the archives!
A succinct exposition of what we lose by compartmentalizing and looking at things in isolation. A double edged sword!
I'm happy you liked the video!
Great video and thought provoking. The Baroque era was such an amazing period of harmonic innovation. Thanks for shining a light into the shadows.
It is such a pleasure to listen to when John Moraitis talks. It is very clear and easy to understand and follow, while at the same time not at all simplistic, but rather subtle, well expressed and balanced. And of course, interesting.
Thank you!
Thank you so much for this wonderful video! I'm sitting at home nursing an infected root canal (all the dentists are closed!) and your video gave me a 15-minute relief from the pain.
I'm happy you liked it!
I appreciate your love and generosity in sharing your knowledge and love of music. From San Jose, California.
I kind of came for the brief lecture but ended up being mesmerized by this beautiful harpsichord and it’s quarter comma, meantone tuning. Of course, your performance was amazing too. I will go back and listen to your points again now.
Couldn't agree more! Louis Couperin has always been a favorite. When my teacher in grad school insisted I play a Bach toccata on a recital I thought it was absolutely ridiculous. There was so much other stuff out there that was more interesting and, well, better!
New huge fan of Couperin here. Finally, at 60, I understand why my favorite piano work gave homage to his tomb.
In music school I found him "too too."
Now, he is wonderful.
Back in our day, "Early Music" was poorly taught and the recordings available to expose students to it were mostly un-inspiring!
Ravel wrote it for his nephew - Francois Couperin.
The beauty of this is magnificent the art of Louis couperins the unmeasured preludes are unbelievably beautiful perfection as well as his Sarabands far more far more intelligent deep and majestic a missing part in many of Francois couperins music why Louie is not more well known than Francois is a mystery to me his music supercedes in quality the examples of the imperial Court of Versailles and the Elegance of the sound there! 💕❣️💕 the richness of this must be exploited throughout the world to set a new standard of quality and elegance and class ⚜️👑⚜️❣️
Very true what you say, John, of the importance of getting to know those composers who are routinely neglected. No composer appears from a vacuum; all have been influenced by the musical currents of their time. May people listen to more Louis Couperin.. and of course, also to his great mentor, Chambonnières!
Don't forget Jacquet, Marchand, Lebègue and d'Anglebert ! I have to say though, I'm more impressed with the later school: Balbastre, Duphly, Royer, Forqueray, &c... when the suite has pretty much disappeared
100% agree ! and Rameau as well ! and François "le Grand" Couperin too, thanks for your video.
What a wonderful and comprehensive tutorial. Superb.
Thank you!
I have been studying Louis during the past year - I love his sound and "quirky" harmonies. Working on the unmeasured preludes reminds me of Keith Jarrett's Koln concert recording. Love that Sarabande, that I studied over the summer.
I also really like the quirky harmonies of his music -- and yes, there is definitely a correspondence between unmeasured preludes and jazz improvisation!
This is really cool. I'm sure you're correct that Couperin and other Baroque composers were pro-improvisation, just like jazz masters. The harpsichord is just as beautiful and sonorous an instrument as the saxophone.
Less sonorous, but MUCH more beautiful to my ear!
I really apprecuate this perspective.
Very glad to have found your channel. Nice to hear these peculiarities and strengths brought out in couperin
I guess your comment is very true for professionals and listeners but for amateur players it is hard enough to try to conquer pieces by Bach and there is the rewarding feast of recognition because there are a lot of examples how to play the music of J.S. Bach.
WOW, thank you, I've always arpeggiated Bach, I think because I started playing guitar before piano and you mostly always arpeggiate everything on the guitar, I always thought I was playing Bach wrong even though I liked it that way, now I know other people think it sounds better that way too, many thanks again.
What a great video, first time here and already loved it!
I would really love if you could suggest some reading material about how to execute these imbellishments and baroque improvisation as well as maybe make some detailed videos about how you would approach doing this.
The first thing to do is consult the tables of ornaments that harpsichord composers published. There are very detailed tables of ornaments by French composers (notably d'Anglebert, Couperin, and Rameau). In other countries the situation is more sketchy, but there is, for instance, a table of ornaments by Bach (he follows d'Anglebert, but uses less ornaments), and one associated with Purcell. This should provide you with quite a variety of both ornaments and types of arpeggiations that you can apply to the music you play. The second source-and this is the most difficult to talk about without writing a full-length essay :-) - is to look at how composers ornamented their own music, as well as ornamented versions that later composers or performers wrote for earlier pieces. Here I would not limit myself to harpsichord repertory though. Again, seeing how contemporary musicians are applying ornamentation can serve as your guide. The third suggestion is to listen to recordings by established historically-informed performers with the score and see what they do. It's not so much a matter of imitating, but rather getting ideas on where and how you can ornament. And then it takes a lot of experimentation trying to synthesize all of this in a personal style that feels comfortable to you and-very importantly-does not get in the way of the musical flow. I hope this helps a little bit, and you have definitely given me an idea for a future video :-)
I agree ! I feel like counterpoint is a better vehicle for harmony. I will look for more composers , thanks to you.
Thanks so much for this video. I LOVE Couperin! I knew that earlier composers generally expected performers to ornament but didn't know much was left out of the scores. Interesting that you're using meantone here.
Thank you very much for your video. Louis Couperin is a very interesting composer especially his unmeasured preludes, a real challenge to interpret convincingly
I'm happy you liked the video! And I agree, Louis Couperin is definitely challenging in terms of interpretation.
I can get lost for entire evenings sight reading Couperin. OK it's not at speed but the beauty brings such joy DX happy practising ppl
Thank you. I’ll put this in mind when working on JSB block chords as written to be played as a chord or not. Is this a short hand notation for a continuo player. Play it according to context and instrument played. Music is a living art form and as a musician one needs to refer back to what the composer intends. Bach has been jazzed up and there is nothing wrong with this. Yes as chords on a harpsichords the chords do sounds dry. A piano had a different sound. Good video thank you.
My, you have a nice harpsichord.
Thank you! Unfortunately I didn't do a good job with the audio recording in this video, so if you want to hear a better quality recording check out some of my more recent videos.
@@johnmoraitis I'm curious: what microphone/recording machine do you use your your videos?
@@thedigitalharpsichordist1541 For this video, I was trying out a Sony camcorder which I never used again, so this video doesn't count :-) For video, I use the Sony HRD-MV1 camcorder. For audio-only (i.e. when the performance is accompanied by the score) I use an Olympus LS-100 audio recorder.
@@johnmoraitis Thanks for the info. But you say "this video doesn't count"...OK, the sound quality isn't the very best BUT the content is superb. I wish you a Merry Christmas!
Just watched parts of it again: the sound isn't really too bad after all. But I have the impression that the microphones could have been placed a bit better. But then, maybe the acoustics of the (small) room are keeping the harpsichord from sounding its very best? Pardon my curiosity about such matter, but harpsichord sound is my "thing". Oh: If you ever wish to "sample" your fine instrument let me know: I will be glad to help you!
Hello, Mr. Moraitis!
I'm a new subscriber, and your videos have been terribly informative about a subject yet undiscovered for me-baroque music. Where would you recommend one start in this time period, that is, what obscure composers and pieces would you recommend in order to more fully appreciate Baroque music?
Thank you very much in advance!
First of all, sorry for the late response! Unfortunately, RUclips doesn't send me notifications for every comment…
I would suggest starting with these composers: Louis Couperin, Jacques Champion de Chambonnières, Nicolas Lebègue, Jean-Henry d' Anglebert, and Johann Jacob Froberger. Once you start listening to their music on RUclips, you are probably going to get suggestions of videos with music by their contemporaries, so this way you can slowly start exploring the music of other composers as well. It's kind of like doing research: you start with a few sources, but each source points you to multiple other avenues! Hope that helps!
@@johnmoraitis Thank you for your response!
Thank you very much for this lucid and important discussion.
Thank you for sharing this music, and for presenting it in such an interesting way.
Thank you for sharing your perspective on baroque composers!
Louis Couperin is the best, truly harpsichord music. Great playing! I'd rather show more the difference between croches inégales v.s. pointè
Beautiful... Thank you. Fascinating. Agree with you completely
Thanks for explaining. So true. The harpsichord is the perfect instrument to help us understand your point. As an organist I think I would be more versatile had I spent more time with Couperin and a harpsichord. Would have benefited from spending more time with figured bass, also. We get too soon old and too late smart.
Thanks to your video, now i can register a bit of meantone tuning sound signature. Yes it has more colours, it might sound so much reduced when i play it on modern tuning piano.
Gorgeous harpsichord! Loved the presentation.
Excellent information and as always you are a very explicit "communicator" !
Thank you!
Fantastic video John!😊
I agree in 100% :)
Thank you for pay attention to Couperin music, and general problem of creativity and artistic self-reliance in baroque :)
I'm happy you liked the video!
Lovely performance, beautiful piece! Such surprising harmonies! Love LC!
Wow great comments! Enjoyed very much!!!
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
I find your videos, which I just discovered today, extremely interesting and unexpected!!! I also hear comparisons with jazz and baroque music (also middle eastern!) for the same reasons. I'm really enjoying, thank you!! Janet Alexander, BM MM LMT
wonderful conversation. cheers!
Thank you for the wonderful video!
I'm happy you liked it!
Great and inspiring video! A question: how should I think of “don’t play all the notes of a block chord at once” when looking at Bach’s WTC1 E-flat minor prelude, which has many block chords with arpeggiation marks and many other block chords without? I suppose I should be treating them differently, but how exactly if I don’t want to play all the notes of block chord at once? Thanks!
Thank you! Sometimes it's useful to keep in mind that, in baroque notation, certain indications alert us to what is exceptional or necessary. This means that, in this case, Bach may simply want to suggest that the chords with arpeggiation marks must be arpeggiated, while for the rest arpeggiation is optional (but can still be done). One solution would be to play the arpeggiated chords with a slower arpeggiation, but that's too easy and uniform :-) I'd have to play the piece and see what I would do, but my feeling is that it would all depend on the harmonies and especially which harmonies I would want to emphasize or bring out-but chances are I would not play anything with more than two notes as block chords. With two-note chords, I might play those that are simple thirds almost together, but perhaps play the larger intervals slightly less together. It also depends on the instrument. On a clavichord, for instance, some chords could work in an almost block form, as the sound decay is completely different and you have slightly more dynamic range without having to use arpeggiations to achieve it (as on a harpsichord). And on a piano-especially a modern one-if you arpeggiate everything it might end up sounding like a mannerism rather than an expressive device: here you can use dynamics and especially the piano's ability to differentiate between two notes played together by "bringing out" one more than another without having to arpeggiate.
Note it depends on the publication you use. Many 19th century composers and editors "fixed" old music: added many suggestions and marks that weren't there. Always get UrText publications that are faithful to the source and by so doing you'll create your own unique interpretation. Maybe compare it to such an edition but I long no longer do so. It'd be best to probably learn to read the old "middle tone" clef correctly I guess.
Well and so clearly stated and beautifully demonstrated. Lovely playing, expressive!
Thank you! I'm very happy you liked it!
No need to apologise for your transitions, Mr. Moraitis.
We really do sleep on Couperin. His music is gorgeous. I think John should have made it clear that reason JS Bach was criticized for putting too much ornamentation is because it was seen as overly controlling to his contemporary musicians. Kind of like jazz where all the solos are written out by the composer/arranger.
Great point and wonderful content. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and insights.
Thank you for watching!
Can't agree more. People who don't play any middle Baroque repertoire really can't claim to understand Baroque music, and can't possibly understand where Bach's music came from.
BAH FOOEY! Bach’s music comes from his soul!
Bach was constrained by form because he lived at the end of an era and was not progressive like his contemporaries.
No need. I don't need to be a mechanic to drive a car. I just enjoy the Ride. More Bach, less Mozart.
@@DocTommy1972 I'm sorry you think performing Bach is like driving a car. Most unfortunate.
@@cliveso I have been unable to walk for the last 6 months. I have had the opportunity to listen to early, middle and late baroque music. Although my comment was meant in jest, I think that the title should have read "Why keyboard instrument players should be playing more Louis Couperin (and perhaps less Bach)". Perhaps we could do with a video entitled " why ornaments and dynamics cannot overcome a deficiency in harmonic and melodic invention" or even one on "the relative scarcity of major Italian piano works between 1800 and 1900". I haven't played for a year after 44 years of constant playing. It's difficult when the music in your ears isn't made by your own hands. But, one day, I will play more L. Couperin. And I will love it. For now, let me get back to the Goldberg variations (played by someone else). Stay safe.
I totally agree. I have come to appreciate Couperin's music much more as I listen to it. I think his counterpoint is pretty much just as great as Bach's. There are many undervalued and less well understood composers and one which always springs to mind is Soler, his keyboard writing is quite amazing. you may like to know that Brilliant classics are issuing a new edition, Couperin's Complete Harpsichord Music by
Massimo Berghella, an Italian, which is really superb!
I agree, and you extend this even more. As you know, Bach assembled lots of material and transformed them into masterpieces. The project is thus to track who were the orginator of his ideas.
Exactly! I think we can understand Bach's music better (and also have a better understanding of Baroque aesthetics) if we know more about the music and composers he knew and emulated.
I agree! Not that Bach isn't great, but Couperin's music is more imaginative and open to interpretation, like you said.
Exactly!
Thank you for this special upload which is meant to do justice to all those composers that History forgot them. Lois Couperin was indeed an icon! I admit to prefer his compositions even more than his famous nephew - Francois. I liked most his unbarred Preludes. Being a performer as well as a composer, gave him the chance to demonstrate free spirit of invention, which you yourself demonstrated and performed wonderfully even on a 'non-free' Sarabande. Bravo!
Thank you, and I'm really happy you liked the video!
Thanks for this perspective! I learned a lot.
As a classical accordion player, I love Louis Couperin ! He certainly deserves to be called Couperin le Grand (the Great) as much as his nephew François (who clearly is a genius too).
I have yet to play any Louis Couperin but really fascinating music, can't wait to listen to more.
It's really wonderful music, and certainly worth playing. There are quite a few pieces, but if you're looking for a place to start I would recommend the chaconnes and passacaglias, and then the unmeasured preludes. I will record more of his music in the future too :)
Great video! And also true for comrades of Couperin like d'Anglebert, Froberger, Marchant and Elisabeth J. de la Guerre
Thank you , for a most informative point of view .
Provocative title for sure. But of course it is not a choice between the two. Couperin's music blows me away!!! His music reminds me of conversation...someone talking and I want to listen. Good to hear your point. I agree--Couperin was not offering something pretty, but music that was rich--and right up to this day it holds true.
Sometimes a provocative title will compel people to watch :-) I just think there's so much wonderful music out there, so why limit ourselves to just a select few composers? I've been playing a couple of Louis Couperin's unmeasured preludes, lately, and his harmonic language is utterly fascinating, with surprises waiting at every turn!
I’m officially hooked! I only knew Francois Couperin who wrote Les Barricades Misterieuses, but apparently Louis had 2 brothers, Francois and Charles, and Charles’s son was the composer of that famous work. If you have a repertoire list or composer list of the lesser known keyboard composers somewhere, I would love to see it! Stunning playing btw-this is artistry 👏🏾
Thank you! I've never made a repertoire list, and perhaps I should. However, one of my aims of posting videos is to promote lesser-known composers, so if you scroll through the videos I've posted there are many lesser composers there!
Thank you very much for this very convincing video, which explains well some "healthy" and common sense reasoning, in a simple way. May I suggest that your ornament at 7:12 (bar 8, first beat) creates parallel fifths with the bass? I know this ornament is typical of this style, but if the parallel fifths are intentional and intended, I would be interested in knowing why. Anyway, thank you for this video! Bonne continuation.
If the affect requires it, I play the chord without any arpeggio. And a good way of playing the piece without it being boring is also using the weight of the hand differently on different chords and feeling the bigger movement so you can get direction in the piece. I think that if you can not play well without the ornaments and diminutions, you can not play with them when it is even more difficult
And I am 100% with you, the unknown repertoire is awesome, I love it so much
So nice! Thank you.
Well, this was an education! I didn't know how much a performer might need to add to or improvise on a Baroque score to produce something musically consistent with what the composer actually had in mind. The music you played at the end was interesting, but to my ear, accustomed as I am to modern instruments, the harpsichord always sounds tinny or harsh. In this video, I'd say harsh. I suppose if I had been born in the time of Bach, I would have loved the harpsichord, but I wasn't, and I don't. My loss, no doubt, but I can't make myself like something I don't. I read most of the 205 comments. So I know that, in this regard, I'm the only philistine here leaving a comment. Still, this was a very informative video, and I appreciate that you are engaged in a labor of love.
I'm happy you liked the video! As for the harpsichord, unfortunately the sound in this video is not good (I was trying out a new camcorder), and the harpsichord does sounds harsh. If you check out one of my recent videos, you'll see that the sound is very different. You might still not like it, but at least you will have heard a more accurate representation of its sound :-)
@@johnmoraitis I just watched your video Geoffroy: Suite in a minor - Sarabande, uploaded just 2 days ago (Dec 19, 2020). Wow, what a difference. The harpsichord is neither tinny nor harsh! It doesn't have the expressiveness of a modern piano (imo), but now it seems like a legitimate musical instrument.
I've started watching some videos of trios that include a harpsichord. I have to say I like the harpsichord more when it's part of the sound and not solo. I listened to a guitar and harpsichord trio (with only those 2 instruments) and then another trio that was actually 4 instruments, including a well-tempered clavier, an instrument that sounds to me midway between a harpsichord and a modern piano. None of these works would have sounded right with a modern piano.
Thanks for encouraging me to pursue this. I obviously have a great deal to learn.
I was just about to make a post on social media saying that my discovery of Louis Couperin in 2019 qualifies also as the greatest music discovery I've made in the whole decade. Absolutely remarkably beautiful and daring music, I come to view him as an analog to Scriabin at the piano: each wrote uniquely idiomatic music for their chosen instrument, each, to my ears, wrote comprehensively great works throughout.
I remember how equally delighted I was when I first discovered Louis Couperin, and I think the parallel with Scriabin is very appropriate, as they both indeed wrote highly idiomatic and consistently good music. If you haven't played any of Louis Couperin's preludes yourself, please do! I know there are recordings of them, but these pieces are unique and finding your own way through them is a wonderfully rewarding experience!
@@johnmoraitis I got my first harpsichord last week. Louis Couperin is a definite once I find a piece I think I can tackle with my limited skills.
@@chrisquinn11218 Wonderful! And I hope you are enjoying your new harpsichord!
I had a similar experience. Bach is my desert island composer, but no other music speaks to me as personally as LC's. F. Couperin has been called "the Chopin of the Baroque", but the appellation really should go to LC. His music evidences an almost hypersensitive personality, and he particularly exploited the harpsichord's sonority (and especially tone decay), just as Chopin exploited the sonority of the piano. Have you heard Skip Sempe's recording of LC? Here's one of the unmeasured preludes: ruclips.net/video/rYQuv7wG0zI/видео.html
@@TheGloryofMusic Thank you for that link. I'll be looking for more of Sempe's LC.
Very interesting video. I think there's a case for saying that Louis Couperin is as important a composer as Francois Couperin though they are completely different. I am generally more moved by Louis than by Francois. I think this is due to Louis's extraordinary use of dissonance which is very advanced for its time. The music has such raw emotional power. It is the work of genius and an enormous advance on the music of his teacher Chambonnieres and the French lutenists.
Beautiful music. Beautiful harpsichord.
Great video
When I started to play/study/listen to more baroque music I found out that there were hidden gems that are hardly considered in the mainstream media... If I just type on RUclips "baroque music for study" then I just find a long list of Bach and Vivaldi... it's not like I have something against them but we need more variety...
What about Alessandro Marcello, Jacques Hotteterre, Michel de la Barre, Esprit Philippe Chedeville and many others? I believe they need more attention and it's our duty to do so... that's what I am doing with my channel recently... if I have the chance of performing unknown composers I will be glad to do it:)
That's precisely what I'm doing too!
@@johnmoraitis 🙏🙏🙏 great job as always.
I used to think the name Louis Couperin had 5 syllables. Still, I give this video a like. Couperin being known much more would only be a good thing.
i completely agree. they contribute different ideas to music.
Very interesting video! I've mostly dug into and enjoyed the Romantic period but am dipping my toe in Baroque lately. Would love some suggestions of composers I should look into if you'd be so kind!
Thank you! I would suggest starting with these composers: Louis Couperin, Jacques Champion de Chambonnières, Nicolas Lebègue, Jean-Henry d' Anglebert, and Johann Jacob Froberger. Once you start listening to their music on RUclips, you are probably going to get suggestions of videos with music by their contemporaries, so this way you can slowly start exploring the music of other composers as well. It's kind of like doing research: you start with a few sources, but each source points you to multiple other avenues! Hope that helps!
I would be very happy if we could watch a video with this great musician explaining Louis Couperin's Piémontoise.
Thank you for your suggestion! I am working on a couple of other projects at the moment, but I will put La Piemontoise on the list of pieces for a video in the near future! :-)
It will be great to listen to your excellent work!
I couldn’t agree more with your presentation which was very good. I would alert musicians to the ABRSM collection of Baroque “masters”. There are 6 books in the collection which cover a whole variety of composers, including L. Couperin. So there is traction for this philosophy out there, I guess you just have to go searching for it.
Yeah I agree that it becomes a bit tedious at a point with all the "Bach Societies" and they call themselves secular...
I like Bach
@@RustuPai You've missed the point. Of course we love J.S.Bach. But...
Wonderful video!!
Thank you!
Your comments on how JSB dominates are well described. Moving to the younger member of the Couperin dynasty, I wonder how many have compared FC's 'La Visionnaire' with Bach's 'Ouverture' in the Goldbergs. A genuine French overture compared with an overture in the French style by a German composer!!!
I think presenting these two pieces and talking about their similarities (and there are many!) and differences would make a great video! It's a wonderful idea for a future project :-)
Thanks for the reply! There are great similarities, as you say. Good to have given you an idea for another video :-)
Do you know where I can find the sheet music for L. Couperin's Pavane in f# minor? I cannot find it on IMSLP or anywhere else.
I'm pretty sure it's on imslp. If you go to Louis Couperin's page, click on the "collections" tab, and then under the letter "P", click on "Pieces de clavecin du manuscrit Bauyn. There should be two editions there: one by Steve Wiberg, and one by Davitt Moroney. Moroney's edition is excellent (this is the one I have). Hope this helps, but let me know if you still can't find it!
Thank you so much. I had missed the "Collections" tab.
That's pretty wild starting out with an A+ chord. As I'm just a dumb guitar player, what's the significance of the 3 sitting to the left of the G and F clefs in the first bar?
It signifies triple time, and it's just a more "archaic" way to do it (in other words, this is how it was originally indicated in the manuscript). In modern notation, there would be a 3/4 time signature.
The attitude to notation in this period is way more open to interpretation than it became in later years. The obsession with exactitude reaches a kind of neurotic zenith with the music of Brian Fernyhough where humble notes are almost obliterated by an avalanche of performance instructions.
Hi John,
I really enjoyed the episode, like most of your your videos. Very insightful, interesting and inspiring to play. I do recommend you invest a bit in a better microphone. I think your instrument and your voice could be done more justice.
Keep posting!
Sander
I'm happy you liked the video! And you're absolutely right about the sound. I have indeed invested in better equipment since then, and if you watch my latest videos I think you will hear a significant improvement. I've actually contemplated re-making this video, because I also don't like the sound :-)
Love Louis.
Couperin and Scarlatti were both great composers whose music deserve more exposure. Thanks
I have a different on interpreting these pieces. A sarabande is a dance, and should be played in a way to make it danceable. You can interpret all you like, but the rhythm should be almost completely regular to make it danceable. Ditto for any other dances (gigue, minuet etc etc).
He's not saying that you should be adding rubato to these pieces, he's talking about performing note inegales. If you don't understand what note inegals is, you don't have any room to be speaking about the performance or interpretation of French music.
What recording artists do you think follow the original Baroque expressions (and instructions) the best?
There are so many wonderful performers nowadays that it would be very difficult to only name a few. It is also important to keep in mind that there is more than one way of interpreting the information we read on historical sources. This means that although historically informed performers do share certain ideas, there are also going to be aspects of interpretation where you will hear some differences - which personally I think is a very healthy situation, because it means there is always something new to discover, and new perspectives to consider.
As a confirmed devotee of J. S. Bach, I am nevertheless extremely grateful to Dr. Moraitis for his advocacy on behalf of such wonderful and relatively neglected composers as d'Anglebert, Froberger, Geoffrey, Weckmann, and of course Louis Couperin. Just as many lesser known figures of the German baroque (including not a few members of the Bach clan!) have been unfairly sidelined by the admittedly extraordinary achievements of Sebastian, I have no doubt that the eminence of Francois Couperin and Rameau has come at the expense of many gems of the French tradition. I hold out hope that the twenty-first century will yet see a resurgence of interest in this repertoire - if so, we will have the wisdom of musicians like Dr. Moraitis to thank.
as a french couperin is one of the great baroque composers to us, not as popular as Bach but still.
Though i appreciate your idea and i would love to be able to discover composers because "classical music" is very much in a bubble relaying the same pieces over and over.
Thank you for your thoughts! They are very interesting! But I am still doubting .. When I look at the score of Courperin's suites, I find the pieces quite complicated and not -- as you tell us -- providing too few details. I wonder, why Couprin uses such a variety of small notes and complex rhythmical figures and ornaments, but allegedly refrains from doing so elsewhere and writes just something like a hollow scheme, that has to be filled out ... E. g. in the 9-th bar the first four notes are not dottet, only the last two. I know, that harpsichord players always use to play such passages in "French style", but why then Couperin uses dottet notes at all, when he expects, that we play the normal notes everywhere as if they were dottet? And somethimes -- at least for me -- a non-arpeggiato chord sounds much more expressive, especially, when it contains a dissonant note. Of course, I also try to variegate a passage, when I repeat it (even if I play Bach), but I consider it as my freedom and not as filling out something, which is lacking in the original.
First of all, I apologize for the belated response. The trouble with 17th-century scores is that they are based on a different set of conventions than modern scores, and therefore are meant to be read in a very different way (which is why they can seem complicated). The use of dotted notes, for example, may imply two different possibilities. Looking at measure 9 that you mention, the fact that the last two notes are dotted can mean a more pronounced distinction between long and short, and also a very short separation (like a breath) between the two notes - something that not be done if they were notated as even eighth notes (like the first four notes in the measure).
Regarding arpeggiated chords: this is very much a personal decision, and one that will also depend on the context (in other words: there is no "objective" rule as to how much to arpeggiate). And I completely agree that non-arpeggiated chords can also be very expressive. And I also do think that the more you play 17th-century repertory, the less complicated most of the scores will look :-)
inspiring, also when writing ( music), (now), thank you. i think you are a good teacher.
Thank you! I'm happy you liked the video!
Great video.