Brian Kachur, tenor saxophone
Nathan Canfield, harpsichord

Arranged for cello and piano by Paul Bazelaire. Original adaptation for saxophone and harpsichord.

Prélude 0:00
Sicilienne 2:15
La Tromba 4:11
Plainte 5:47
Air de Diable 10:44

Performed live in McClintock Choral and Recital Room on May 14, 2024 as part of my first Doctoral recital at Northwestern University.

François Couperin (1668–1733), French Baroque composer, organist, and harpsichordist, was a prolific musician of his time. To distinguish him from other musically talented members of his family, he was known as Couperin le Grand, or “Couperin the Great.” Couperin published a great deal of music for harpsichord, making up four volumes of works totaling over 230 individual pieces. He also wrote countless other collections of keyboard and chamber music, as well as a manual for harpsichord playing. Notably, in 1717, Couperin was appointed the ordinaire de la musique de la chambre du roi pour le clavecin, or a major court musician to the king of France at the time; this was one of the highest possible appointments for a court musician during the time. His main musical influences include Arcangelo Corelli and Jean-Baptiste Lully.

Pièces en Concert is a compilation of selected movements from Couperin’s Concerts Royaux. These were chamber music suites written for harpsichord, a bass instrument, and three melodic instruments–often a violin, viola da gamba, and an oboe or flute. Movements of these works mainly centered around baroque dance styles. Originally, four of these Concerts were written in 1714, but ten more were composed later in 1724, known as the Nouveaux Concerts or Les Goûts Réunis, referring to the “reuniting” of French and Italian musical tastes. All five movements were originally arranged by French cellist Paul Bazelaire for solo cello and strings, and later a reduction for cello and piano was made. The Prèlude is arranged from the first movement of the 14th Concert Royaux (originally in D minor), the Sicilienne is from the sixth movement of the 7th Concert, La Tromba is from the fourth movement of the 10th Concert (originally in A major), the Plainte is from the third movement of the 10th Concert (also originally in A major), and the Air de Diable is from the fourth movement of the 6th Concert. This compilation is performed today by tenor saxophone and harpsichord.