Louis Couperin: Nouvelles Suites de clavecin (Remastered 2024)

Christophe Rousset’s performances of French Baroque repertoire are characterized both by the superb quality of his playing and by the historical instruments on which he chooses to perform. For this recording, captured in rich, intimate sound, there’s a near-perfect confluence of artist, composer, and harpsichord as Rousset showcases Couperin’s divine suites on a rare instrument by the Flemish builder Ioannes Couchet, part of the Stradivari Collection at Paris’ Musée de la Musique since 2003. Built in 1652, Couchet’s intricately decorated harpsichord was originally conceived as a single-manual instrument, but was modified in France in 1701, an additional keyboard fitted to give it a broader expressive palette. Couchet’s instrument combines a full bass sound with a midrange transparency that allows the music’s multiple voice parts and intricate ornamentation to shine through. Rousset understands the performance traditions of this music better than most, and lavishes care and attention on every note and phrase, all the while relishing the drama, passion, and abundant joy in each movement.