Couperin - Pièces de clavecin

Here are two Nightingales, a startled Linnet and some singing warblers, in the third book of keyboard pieces (Pièces de clavecin) written in 1722 by François Couperin (1668-1733). The books are divided into suites, or ordres, and these bird pieces make up the first four of the seven pieces from the 14th ordre. I nearly put in another piece by Couperin called the Dodo, then I found out that 'dodo' is a word that kids and parents use in France for going to sleep. I suppose I could have just lied. Anyway ...

Leading on from last week, Olivier Messiaen said, "I think that Couperin, given what he wrote, never heard a Nightingale, but this takes away nothing from the charm of the piece." That's not actually true, because Couperin does attempt to create the effect of the most well known part of a Nightingale's song - the machine gun repeated notes - which Couperin imitates on the keyboard with accelerating trills at ends of sections. But the Linnet and warblers are written in a generic bird-style.

- Le Rossignol en amour (the Nightingale in love)
- La Linotte éffarouchée (the startled Linnet) 3:14
- Les Fauvéttes plaintives (the plaintive song of the warblers) 4:59
- Le Rossignol vainqueur (the vanquished Nightingale) 10:00

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