Baroque-Classical History 6 February 2017

Keyboard music of Couperin, Rameau, and Scarlatti

Franois Couperin
Dates 1668 - 1733
Instruments organ, harpsichord
Nickname Couperin le Grand, because many of his relatives were musicians
Born in paris, employed by royal court, would give weekly recital and would play harpsichord,
admired corelli and played a lot of his chamber works in his concerts and popularized him in
france.

Keyboard music
How many volumes of individual pieces?
Four volumes, over 230 pieces

How were these pieces grouped?

Not suites, but what Couperin called ordres, wide range of # of pieces in ordres: 4 - 15
The difference is not all the pieces in an ordre had to be played like movements in a suite.
Grouped in same or parallel tonalities.

L'art de toucher le clavecin

Meaning of title -- Art of playing harpsichord
Date 1716
Contents technique, fingering, ways of practicing, fingering suggestions for some of his pieces

Couperins contribution to performance practice

Ornamentation, gave specific instructions about his own ornamentation

Characteristics of Couperins piano pieces

Forms three main forms:
binary, two sections AB
rondeau, sectional with a section that repeats ABACADA
chaconne, based on repeating harmonic pattern

Titles Programmatic titles, not all but many

Les Barricades Mystrieuses

Meaning of the title The Mysterious Barricade
Style of piece many suspensions, a lot of seventh chords which not normally used in Baroque
Harmonies are romantic sounding, modulations nontypical of baroque

Le Tic-Toc-Choc ou Les Maillotins

Meaning of the title onomatopoeic words, Les Maillotins family of entertaioners, acrobatic act
they used to do. Play on the word mallet, hammers of keyboard
Style programmatic, eclectic, many notes staccato, hand crossing, very clearly imitative of
motion of acrobats
Twentieth century work inspired by Couperin Le Tombeau do Couperin Maurice Ravel
Jean-Philippe Rameau
Dates 1683 1764
53 pieces for keyboard

Trait de l'harmonie
Meaning of title The Treaties of Harmony
Date 1722
Important theoretical concept articulated by Rameau
The identity of the chord is determined by its root; ie inversions dont change chords.
Hierarchy of chord importance; tonic, dominant, subdominant.

Les tendres plaintes

Meaning The Tender Complaint
Style very romantic, expressive, a lot of grace notes and trills, ornamentations

La poule
Meaning The Chicken
Style repetitive notes, quick gestures, lively, staccato, imitative

Domenico Scarlatti
Dates 1685 - 1757
Nationality Italian
Famous father Alessandro Scarlatti, whom is famous for opera

Time in Portugal
Reason he went Taught music to the Portuguese Princess Maria Barbara.
Length of stay 8 years

Time in Spain
Date he arrived 1729
Served under whom? Music master to Princess Maria, eventually Queen of Spain.
Length of stay 25 years, basically rest of life

Scarlattis Keyboard Sonatas

How many? 555
The use of the term sonata at this time, sonata is generic term for instrumental works. Most of
his sonatas were written in the Spanish part of his life.

Stylistic characteristics most were binary, AB and those sections are both repeated. Sometimes
A ends w V and B starts on V, sometimes they are mirrored, guitar-like keyboard sounds

Numbering systems 2 numbers found, K#, L#

L# - Used by Longo, grouped Scarlatti sonatas in suites by corresponding tonalities and
numbered them.
K# - Kirkpatrich, went back to manuscripts and ordered them chronologically.

Ralph Kirkpatrick and the Scarlatti sonatas produced one of the first complete editions,
recorded all of them, great harpsichordist and pianist, a lot of analytical works on the Scarlatti
sonatas.