Armand-Louis Couperin (25 February 17272 February 1789) was a French composer,

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational h ...

, and harpsichordist of the late Baroque and early Classical periods. He was a member of the

Couperin family The Couperin family was a musical dynasty of professional composers and performers. They were the most prolific family in French musical history, active during the Baroque era (17th—18th centuries). Louis Couperin and his nephew, François Coupe ...

of musicians, of which the most notable were his great-uncle

Louis Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ( ...

and his cousin

François François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, Kin ...

Biography

Couperin was born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. 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 Couperin "Le Grand" as organist at St. Gervais Church in 1748. Nothing is known of Armand-Louis 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 Montmartre ( , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Right Bank. The historic district established by the City of Paris in 1995 is bordered by Rue Ca ...

. 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 The Sainte-Chapelle (; en, Holy Chapel) is a royal chapel in the Gothic style, within the medieval Palais de la Cité, the residence of the Kings of France until the 14th century, on the Île de la Cité in the River Seine in Paris, France. ...

(from 1760), Sainte Marguerite, and the Royal Chapel (from 1770). Couperin died at age 61 in Paris in a traffic accident while hurrying from

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at Sainte Chapelle to St. Gervais.

Music

References to Couperin by his contemporaries, including Charles Burney, laud his improvisational virtuosity (often on the ''

Te Deum The "Te Deum" (, ; from its incipit, , ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to AD 387 authorship, but with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin Ch ...

'' 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

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. 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

diminuendo In music, the dynamics of a piece is the variation in loudness between note (music), notes or phrase (music), phrases. Dynamics are indicated by specific musical notation, often in some detail. However, dynamics markings still require interpreta ...

s).

Works

* ''3 cantatilles'' (lost) : ''Le Printemps, La Jeunesse, La Vieillesse'' * ''Cantatille pour l’Amour Médecin'' (soprano, 2 violins, bass) (1750) * ''Pièces de Clavecin'', Opus I (1751) * ''Sonates en pièces de clavecin'', Opus II (1765) * ''Sonates en trio'' (1770) * ''Quatuors à deux clavecins'' (1773) * ''Symphonie'' * ''Dialogue entre le chalumeau et le basson'', for organ (1775) * ''Variations pour clavecin:'' ** sur l’air ''Vous l’ordonnez'' (1775) ** ''Aria con variazione'' (1781) ** sur l’air ''Richard Cœur de Lion'' (1784) * Several motets of which only one remains: ''Motet au Saint Sacrement'' (1787)

Pièces de Clavecin (1751)

* ''La Victoire'' * ''Allemande'' * ''Courante, La de Croissy'' * ''Les Cacqueteuses'' * ''La Grégoire'' * ''L'Intrépide'' * ''Premier menuet, deuxième menuet'' * ''L'Arlequine ou la Adam, rondeau'' * ''La Blanchet'' * ''La de Boisgelou'' * ''La Foucquet'' * ''La Sémillante ou la Joly'' * ''La Turpin'' * ''Première gavotte, seconde gavotte'' * ''Premier menuet, second menuet'' * ''La du Breüil'' * ''La Chéron'' * ''L'Affligée'' * ''L'Enjouée'' * ''Les tendres Sentiments'' * ''Rondeau'' * ''Les quatre nations'' ** ''L'Italienne'' ** ''L'Angloise, rondeau'' ** ''L'Allemande'' ** ''La Françoise''

References

* David Fuller and Bruce Gustafson: "Couperin, Armand-Louis", Grove Music Online, ed. Deane L. Root (Accessed 23 April2019)
(subscription access)

External links

*
Les cacqueteuses
Score from Sibley Music Library Digital Scores Collection * Complete works for 1 & 2 keyboards edited b
Martin Pearlman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Couperin, Armand-Louis Armandlouis French male classical composers French Baroque composers French Classical-period composers Composers for harpsichord French classical organists French male organists 1727 births 18th-century classical composers 1789 deaths 18th-century keyboardists 18th-century French composers 18th-century French male musicians 17th-century male musicians Male classical organists