François Couperin - 1er Prélude

Описание: François Couperin 1668-1733
"1ere Prélude"
L'art de toucher le clavecin

The Première Prélude is the opening piece of Couperin’s influential harpsichord treatise L’Art de toucher le clavecin (1716). Unlike a strictly metered composition, this prelude is written in the style of a prélude non mesuré (unmeasured prelude), a typically French Baroque form that allows for rhythmic freedom and expressive flexibility.

The piece serves both musical and pedagogical purposes. It introduces students to expressive ornamentation, refined touch, and the elegant, singing style characteristic of French harpsichord music. The flowing, arpeggiated textures and delicate harmonic progressions create an improvisatory atmosphere, encouraging the performer to shape phrases with sensitivity rather than strict tempo.

Harmonically, the prelude unfolds through gentle modulations and rich suspensions, demonstrating Couperin’s sophisticated sense of color and nuance. As an introduction to the treatise, it embodies his aesthetic ideals: clarity, grace, expressive ornamentation, and a controlled yet natural rubato.

Overall, the Première Prélude is both an artistic miniature and a practical model for refined harpsichord playing in the French Baroque tradition.

Markus Stein, harpsichord
after Nicolas Blanchet 1715
Jan Kalsbeek, 1984