François Couperin

France, 1690–1733

French composer and harpsichordist (1668-1733) at the royal court. His four books of descriptively titled keyboard pieces and his treatise on harpsichord playing set out the French keyboard style.

MusicRoots documents 2 artists who influenced François Couperin and 2 artists François Couperin influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.

Who influenced François Couperin?

• Jean-Baptiste Lully — Couperin's L'Apothéose de Lully (1725) is a written monument to his French model — Lully carried to Parnassus in music.
• Arcangelo Corelli — Couperin's Le Parnasse, ou L'Apothéose de Corelli (1724) honours his Italian model by name — the other pillar of his 'goûts réunis'.

Which artists did François Couperin influence?

• Maurice Ravel — Ravel claimed to be far more influenced by the structured classical forms of Couperin and Mozart than by Debussy — his Le Tombeau de Couperin is an explicit homage.
• Richard Strauss — Strauss orchestrated Couperin's harpsichord pieces as his Dance Suite (1923) — a documented act of homage to the French master.