Par COUPERIN LOUIS / CURTIS. The complete Harpsichord work - Volume 2 by Louis Couperin is the second of a series of volumes with suites for Harpsichord. Composed in a Baroque style, the whole series features 133 pieces for advanced players. Louis Couperin (1626-1661) was a French composer and performer, who created many pieces for Organ and for Harpsichord who later became musician at the court. He invented the genre of Unmeasured Prelude for which he created a form of notation where the harpsichordist can choose how long each note lasts. François Couperin, Louis' nephew, is also a very famous musician who played the Harpsichord./ Répertoire / Clavecin

Par SIEGEL RICHARD. Richard Siegel won prizes for the Harpsichord and Chamber Music at the Paris Conservatoire before going on the win first prize in the 1977 International Harpsichord Competition. He has since recorded over 30 CDs and his passion for the instrument has been further apparent in his production of Apprendre à Toucher le Clavecin. As stated in the preface, the study of the Harpsichord has long been reserved, frequently dismissed as an 'old-fashioned' instrument. However, a recent rise in the popularity of early music has rekindled interest in the Harpsichord. In Apprendre à Toucher le Clavecin, volume 1 beingthe first of two helpful volumes to aid student's learning and progression, Siegel enables Harpsichord beginners to learn through repertoire pieces themselves, drawn from the Keyboard masters of the Baroque period. The pupil will be guided towards an understanding of technique and style suited to the Harpsichord. Furthermore, Apprendre à Toucher le Clavecin, which is accompanied by a CD, enables adults who learnt the instrument as a child to return to the instrument and have the instant feeling of making music./ Méthode / Clavecin

Par ANGLEBERT D' / GILBERT. Jean-Henri d'Anglebert (1629-1691) was one of the foremost composers of Keyboard music of his day. Therefore, the collection of his works, Pieces for Harpsichord is essential to all players of early Baroque Keyboard music. D'Anglebert 's Pieces for Harpsichord represents some of the finest achievements of the French Harpsichord school and shows the composer's mastery of counterpoint as well as his ability to experiment with texture to achieve orchestral sonority. Moreover, d'Anglebert 's collection contains a table of ornaments which formed the basis of those of J. S. Bach and other significantcomposers. The first volume of Pieces for Harpsichord comprises four Harpsichord Suites composed by d'Anglebert, each of which consist of the usual dance movements together with transcriptions from Lully's operas. Furthermore, the three unmeasured preludes included in Suites one, two and three are truly remarkable examples of their kind. With a descriptive preface in French, English and German, volume one of d'Anglebert 's Pieces for Harpsichord is a sublime addition to the repertoire of early Baroque Keyboard music./ Recueil / Clavecin

Par FROBERGER / SCHOTT. Second volume of the second tome and fourth book of the Complete Harpsichord Work by Johann Jakob Froberger, this volume is a set of twenty-five pieces for Harpsichord. Edited by Howard Schott, the book has its preface and information in French, English and German. It features eighteen suites numbered from Suite XIII to Suite XXX, as well as seven other works, including three guigues and four other pieces. The works are of medium difficulty and can be played by intermediate players. Johann Jakob Froberger (1616-1667) is a German Baroque composer. He was a famous musician among hispeers and influenced many of them./ Répertoire / Clavecin

Par COUPERIN FRANCOIS / GILBERT. The second volume of Couperin 's Pieces for Harpsichord does not contain a date of publication, however, it is thought to have been composed during 1716-1717, due to the address which the composer gave on his other Harpsichord compositions. Yet, the compilation remains a favourite. François Couperin (1668-1733) is often nicknamed 'Couperin the Great' to distinguish him from other members of the musical family. Many of the composer's works have picturesque titles. Examples of this in his second volume of Pieces for Harpsichord include, Le Moucheron (The Gnat), L'Adolescente (The Teenager) and La Fringante(The Elegant). Couperin 's moods are expressed through choices of keys, adventurous harmonies and discords. With a significant amount of variation and inspiration, Pieces for Harpsichord are essential to the repertoire of aspiring players of the instrument./ Répertoire / Clavecin

Par PURCELL HENRY. Book 2 of Henry Purcell's Complete Harpsichord Works - contains a magnificent miscellany of pieces edited by Howard Ferguson. Includes 18 pieces from The Second Part of Musick's Handmaid, 1689; 6 pieces from A Choice Collection of Lessons, 1696/99 and other pieces from various sources. Selected for the ABRSM examinations grades 4 and 5./ Répertoire / Clavecin