Armand-Louis Couperin (1727 – 1789) was a French
composer, organist, and harpsichordist of the late
Baroque and early Classical periods. He was a member of
the Couperin family of musicians, of which the most
notable were his great uncle Louis and his cousin
François. He was born in Paris. His mother died when
he was only 17 months old and he was raised by his
father, Nicolas, also a composer and the successor to
François "Le Grand" as organist at St. Gervais Church
in 1748. Nothing is known ...(+)
Armand-Louis Couperin (1727 – 1789) was a French
composer, organist, and harpsichordist of the late
Baroque and early Classical periods. He was a member of
the Couperin family of musicians, of which the most
notable were his great uncle Louis and his cousin
François. He was born in Paris. His mother died when
he was only 17 months old and he was raised by his
father, Nicolas, also a composer and the successor to
François "Le Grand" as organist at St. Gervais Church
in 1748. Nothing is known of Couperin's education,
though his library at the time of death contained 885
books, unusual for a musician and evidence of scholarly
interest.
At age 21, Couperin's father died without leaving a
will, making him the sole heir of both his parents. His
inheritance included Nicolas's post at St. Gervais. In
1752, Couperin married Elisabeth-Antoinette Blanchet, a
professional musician and the daughter of the best
harpsichord maker in France, François-Etienne
Blanchet. They had four children, three of whom became
musicians.
Couperin and his wife taught harpsichord lessons and
she was the organist at the abbey of Montmartre.
Following his departure from St. Gervais, Couperin's
many posts included St. Barthélemy (to 1772), St
Jean-en-Grève, the convent of the Carmes-Billettes,
Notre Dame (from 1755), the Sainte Chapelle (from
1760), Sainte Marguerite, and the royal chapel (from
1770). Couperin died at age 61 in Paris in a traffic
accident while hurrying from Vespers at Ste. Chapelle
to St. Gervais.
References to Couperin by his contemporaries, including
Charles Burney, laud his improvisational virtuosity
(often on the Te Deum hymn) and established his
reputation as one of the two best organists of the era.
Nevertheless, only one piece for organ exists
today.
Couperin did not publish his church music and he
refused to write for the theater. His surviving works
are almost exclusively for the keyboard, or keyboard
and small chamber ensemble.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, Couperin remained
attached stylistically to la grande tradition
française, and his pieces have been criticized for
their lack of modernity. However, David Fuller cites
his experimental impulse and urge to explore the
possibilities of instruments. An example is his
Simphonie de clavecins, the only work in existence that
requires two harpsichords with genouillères
(knee-levers that allowed diminuendos).
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armand-Louis_Couperin)
Although originally written for Harpsichord, I created
this arrangement of "La Grégoire" from "Pièces de
Clavecin" (Op. 1 No. 5) for Concert (Pedal) Harp.
