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Of the composers who could be considered Rococo, François Couperin was the finest and most influential. As we might guess from his name, Couperin was French and his dates were 1668 to 1733.
Couperin is credited with blending the French and Italian styles. By his own admission, Couperin was influenced by the style of the Italian Arcangelo Corelli.
Couperin is not a household name but his harpsichord theory and compositions influenced such household names as J. S. Bach, Brahms, Richard Strauss, and Ravel. Ravel went so far as to compose Le Tombeau de Couperin as a memorial to long dead master.
Couperin was influential during his lifetime and even received the title of “the great”. His book The Art of Harpsichord Playing could be his most significant contribution if only because it exercised a lasting influence on Bach’s playing and compositional style for the keyboard.
There are some who consider Couperin to be a Baroque composer but if we give him to the Baroque, who does that leave for the Rococo? It is hard to say.
Bach was a Baroque composer but he died 17 years after Couperin. Handel died 26 years after Couperin but is not designated as Rococo.
Does Couperin fit as a Rococo composer because he was French? The movement started and ended in France and that could be why we have Couperin as our Rococo master.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avMIRubcGVY
Of the composers who could be considered Rococo, François Couperin was the finest and most influential. As we might guess from his name, Couperin was French and his dates were 1668 to 1733.
Couperin is credited with blending the French and Italian styles. By his own admission, Couperin was influenced by the style of the Italian Arcangelo Corelli.
Couperin is not a household name but his harpsichord theory and compositions influenced such household names as J. S. Bach, Brahms, Richard Strauss, and Ravel. Ravel went so far as to compose Le Tombeau de Couperin as a memorial to long dead master.
Couperin was influential during his lifetime and even received the title of “the great”. His book The Art of Harpsichord Playing could be his most significant contribution if only because it exercised a lasting influence on Bach’s playing and compositional style for the keyboard.
There are some who consider Couperin to be a Baroque composer but if we give him to the Baroque, who does that leave for the Rococo? It is hard to say.
Bach was a Baroque composer but he died 17 years after Couperin. Handel died 26 years after Couperin but is not designated as Rococo.
Does Couperin fit as a Rococo composer because he was French? The movement started and ended in France and that could be why we have Couperin as our Rococo master.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avMIRubcGVY