Pavane in F# minor

Louis Couperin's Pavane in F# minor is one of the most extraordinary keyboard works of the 17th century. Written in the stately duple meter of the Renaissance pavane, it is set in the remote and unusual key of F# minor and marked by harmonic boldness of a kind not heard again in keyboard music until much later: unexpected chromatic shifts, dissonances held at length without resolution, and a pervasive sense of controlled grief. The piece is measured (unlike the unmeasured preludes) but deeply contemplative in spirit, and represents the highest achievement of French Baroque keyboard composition alongside the Prélude in B minor and the Tombeau.

The Pavane requires extreme patience and a willingness to let time stop. Resist any impulse to hurry. Each chord should be fully resonated before the next; the dissonances must be heard as such — do not blunt them with fast passing. The tempo should be slow enough that each harmonic event registers as something unexpected and emotionally weighted. On the harpsichord, dynamics come from texture and pacing rather than key pressure; on piano, the use of the sustaining pedal and a careful, graduated tone are crucial.