French Baroque harpsichord style

The French Baroque harpsichord tradition of the mid-17th century, to which Louis Couperin belongs, is characterised by: unmeasured preludes, elaborate ornamentation, the suite as the primary formal unit, and a highly refined treatment of harmonic tension and resolution. The ornaments (ports de voix, tremblemens, coulés) are not decorations but structural elements that create the rhythmic and expressive life of the music. The notation of this period typically under-specifies rhythm and dynamics, leaving much to the performer's knowledge of the conventions. Couperin's teacher Chambonnières established the style, which Louis Couperin and d'Anglebert both extended before it reached its mature expression in François Couperin's four Livres de pièces de clavecin (1713–1730).

When approaching French Baroque keyboard music from a modern piano background, three adjustments are essential. First: ornamentation. The trills begin on the upper note (the note above the written note) in French practice of this period, not on the written note as in German practice. Second: inégalité. In flowing passages of equal-looking notes, the convention requires that the first of each pair is lengthened and the second shortened — a lilting, gently dotted effect. Third: registration/tone. The harpsichord cannot crescendo. All dynamic shaping comes from rhythmic and harmonic emphasis, not key pressure. On piano, aim for a clean, articulate sound with varied touch.