A favourite of Louis XIV, François Couperin (1668-1733) was the harpsichord superstar of the 18th century. At the time, the harpsichord was a prestigious instrument which was at the height of its fame (although it would return to obscurity in the following century), and Couperin revolutionised the way it was played, breaking a path that would later be trod by other virtuosos of the period like Dandrieu or Rameau. The Quebecois harpsichordist Olivier Fortin tells Qobuz the story of "Couperin the Great".

Just like Johann Sebastian Bach, François Couperin was a member of one of the greatest musical families of the 17th and 18th centuries. After his father's death, and when he was still a child, he inherited the post of organist at the church of Saint-Gervais. It was in the course of his duties there that he wrote his first works – his organ masses – before receiving an official nomination to the court at the age of 25. His instrumental music, in the form of sonatas, suites and royal concerts, were written for the Sunday concerts given by the King. As for his solo harpsichord pieces, some were meant for these entertainments, some for his students, and some, possibly, for private performances for the King and his nobles.

Couperin revolutionised the art of the harpsichord, and early on he abandoned the model of the traditional suite of dances which was in fashion during the second half of the 17th century. The titles of these pieces shed light on the world in which he lived and worked, full of a great intellectual and musical variety. "In composing these pieces, I have always had an object in view, furnished by various occasions. Thus the titles reflect my ideas; I may be forgiven for not explaining them all." Couperin's "descriptive" pieces are more than just portraits of individuals: some are named for scenes or places. The descriptions are stylised but paint an atmosphere or a character. He was soon imitated by his contemporaries. Dandrieu, Daquin, D'Agincourt and then Rameau who, in their harpsichord works, also forsook the suite of dances which represented an older world, in favour of genre pieces which were descriptive or imitative. The composers and theoreticians of this period were above all looking to create an expressive music: "In a word, the expression of thought, sentiment and passions ought to be the true aim of music", thought Jean-Philippe Rameau.

Rameau, almost 20 years Couperin's junior, produced a body of work for French-style harpsichord which contains some pieces (with the exception of his Premier Livre) which are every bit as evocative: Les Tendres plaintes Le Rappel des oiseaux, etc.. But his works went a lot further in terms of experiments with virtuoso techniques: "rocket scales", crossed hands, leaps. The end of the harpsichord was drawing near.

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