Louis Couperin - Prelude a l'imitation de Mr Froberger for Harpsichord [Score-Video]

Louis Couperin - Prelude a l'imitation de Mr Froberger for Harpsichord
Giovanni Paganelli, harpsichord
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[@OutbackBoy]

0:05 - Unmeasured
2:51 - Changement de mouvement (Fugue in basically 6/4)
4:22 - [Suitte] (Unmeasured again)

[@fromsuntosun24]

Very contemporary way of notation and of playing in the first part and third, something we would see again only centuries after. Checking a bit, this technique is called "Unmeasured prelude". According to Wikipedia:
"Unmeasured preludes for harpsichord started appearing around 1650. Louis Couperin is usually credited as the first composer to embrace the genre. Couperin wrote unmeasured preludes using long groups of whole notes, and these groups were connected by long curves. This kind of notation is found in Couperin's unmeasured preludes and was also done by Élisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre. Another important contribution to the development of the genre was made by Nicolas Lebègue, who used diverse note values in his unmeasured preludes. The first ever published unmeasured preludes appeared in Lebègue's Le pieces de clavessin in 1677 [...]
Thanks George for this upload!

[@lucaslemonholm5492]

Yeah, these were written for virtuosi who would alter and embellish the written rhythms of their preludes so much that composers eventually just stopped bothering writing. Within a generation, though, this notation style died out because there were no performers who were interested and able to do that kind of embellishment.

[@Archiekunst]

@@lucaslemonholm5492 which is a total shame, really.

[@Ninja_204]

@@lucaslemonholm5492 the tempo isn’t steady and there’s no groups of beats in bars (4/4 for example), that’s what "non mesuré means". The freedom is the purpose, not a negative cause for this notation

[@reubenbance2085]

Thank you!

[@sebastian181812]

very beautiful

[@user-fn9sp6pg5i]

excellent

[@fortepianowalter]

Bellissimo

[@1bluebulb]

In the E major chord (the fourth quantity before the conclusion) in the last staff in the right hand the "D" on top is missing (however it's present in the recording).

[@raulsimon2218]

Good. But why should a notable composer, like L. Couperin, waste his time imitating Froberger?

[@christophalthoff70]

Wahrscheinlich weil Froberger ein grandioses Genie und zu Couperins Zeiten hochberühmt war....