Musician of the Grand Siecle
AFTER a long period of comparative neglect and under-estimation, the greatness of Francois Couperin is being slowly but surely recognised. The revaluation of his talents may be said to have begun with the bi-centenary celebrations in his honour in Paris and Versailles in 1933. The inaugural concert was an official affair in the presence of the President of the Republic. For this occasion Maurice Emmanuel wrote an introductory note in the programme; in it he said that a superficial examination of Couperin's works might leave one with the impression that the composer only possessed qualities of secondary importance, such as "l'esprit et la grace du dessein, la lendresse du pinceau, l'ingenieuse exactitude du rendu," whereas in reality he was endowed with these to so supreme a degree "qu'on est tense de le tirer du nombre des petits maitres pour le compter parmi les Brands." (I am not venturing on translations, neither does Wilfrid Mellers ; to read his book in comfort more than a superficial knowledge of French is essential.) The next important event was the publication by Mrs. Louise Dyer of Couperin's complete works in twelve volumes by the Lyre- bird Press, and, in 1949, a brief but admirable monograph in English by Paul Brunold, together with a thematic index compiled by Maurice Cauchie. Unfortunately, single volumes of the complete works are hard to come by. Alec Robertson devoted eight pages to Couperin in the Music Masters series, edited by Bacharach and published in 1948. Now, however, we have this substantial volume of over 400 pages which is more than a biography. It contains a broad survey of Couperin's whole world and the aesthetic standards of civilised society during the grand siecle.
The account of the music itself is comprehensive and ably done, but here we are on more controversial ground. There are too many references to Bach whose name recurs like a leis-motiv ; one also wonders whether some of Mr. Mellers's analogies, for instance between Couperin and Faurd or Chopin, are not perhaps rather far- fetched. Practical musicians approach music more directly, and comparisons like these tend to confuse rather than clarify their con- ception. There is one point which-is not a question of opinion, but of fact. It concerns Couperin's notation. Mr. Mellers makes a dis- tinction between slurs_ (curved lines) and dashe', (straight lines), the latter supposedly indicating " a more exaggerated effect." This theory falls to the ground on scrutinising Couperin's engraved scores, in which curved lines are used exclusively to tie notes of the same pitch, whereas slurred notes are bracketed by straight lines with or without hooks at each end. And, in any case, a perfprmer may well wonder by what means he can possibly exaggerate the effect of slurred notes.
However, the great point is that, from the book as a whole, Couperin really does emerge as le grand, not merely the most eminent musician of the Couperin dynasty, but a great composer. It is true that he did not create on the massive scale of a Handel or a Bach, but the measure of his genius is greater than the dimen- sions of his compositions. The illustrations are well chosen and the book is replete with musical examples ; unfortunately, many of the latter are not as meticulously accurate in every ornament and slur as Couperin himself would have wished. The volume ends with useful documentary appendices which include a bibliography and
Previous page
