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The Uses and Limits of Performance Practice in François Couperin
The Uses and Limits of Performance Practice in François Couperin
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TheUsesandLimits
ofPerformance
inFranqois
Practice Couperin's
HuitimeOrdre
Kevin
Bazzana
12
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Practice
Performance inCouperin13
1
Therearea largenumber oftheoretical
treatises
andotherwritings on music
from theseventeenthandeighteenth andwearequitewell
centuries,
informed aboutmanyaspects oftheperformance ofFrench baroqueclavecin
music.We know,forexample, thatsophisticated
clavecinmusicin early
Francewasplayed,
eighteenth-century whenever possible,on a full-sized
harpsichordwitha lowermanualcontrollingtwosetsofstrings (8' + 4') and
an uppermanualcontrollinga second8' set.(A buffstopwasa likely feature
on thelower8'.) The manuals couldbe playedseparatelyorcoupled,and
thesetsofstringscouldbe engagedandcombined bymeansofhand-,knee-,
or (rarely)
foot-levers.
The compass oflargeharpsichordsinFranceat that
timewasgenerally GG-c"',either chromatic
fully orwitha splitlower
octave.3Indeed,theHuitiAme Ordrehaspreciselythisrange:GG is called
fortwice,in theSecondeCourante,mm.1 and7; c"' is touched once,in
m. 15 of "La Raphadle."
Musicaland written evidencefromCouperinhimself confirms thatthis
instrument was the assumednorm.4Les bagatelles(SecondLivre,Dixiame
Ordre)is one of severalCouperinpiecesformainscroisdes,requiringone hand
on each of the twomanualsto preventthefingers frombecomingentangled.
Couperin'sinstructionsto the playerofLes bagatelles
assumetwomanualsand
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14 TheMusical
Quarterly
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inCouperin15
Practice
Performance
C'estquenousecrivons
diffbremment
de ce quenousexecutons:ce quifaitque
les&trangers notremusique
jotient moinsbienquenousne fesons la leur....
Parexemple,nouspointons croches
plusieurs = conjoints;
de suitespardegrds
Etcependantnouslesmarquons 10
egales.
2
But obviously,thisis farfromtrue.The aspectsof interpretation
just
reviewedamountonlyto the outershellof Frenchbaroqueclavecinstyle,
yieldingonlythe superficial
soundscapeof theperiod.Missingfromthislist,
ofcourse,are theparticular valuesthatcharacterize
and distinguishthe
Huitime Ordrein particular, and missingfromthehistoricalsourcesare pre-
ciselythe methodologies thatwouldhelp us to recognize,interpret,
and com-
municatethesevalues.Anyhypothetical performancethatwas concerned
onlywiththe aspectsalreadydiscussedwouldrevealmerelya tasteful
potpourriof somber,antiquateddances.But thereis muchmoreto this
ordrethanthat,and to expresswhatis mostdistinctive in it we must
supplement-andsometimes openlycontradict-thehistoricalsources.The
mostbasic issuehereis the articulation
of musicalform,and moreparticu-
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16 TheMusical
Quarterly
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inCouperin17
Practice
Performance
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18 TheMusical
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Example1. Ordre,Passacaille,seventhcouplet
FrangoisCouperin,Huitieme
Racinianqualitythan
Certainlythereis no musicwhichhas a moreprofoundly
in whichtherigidity
thisPassacaille, convention
ofa socialandtechnical (hav-
ingreference to acceptedstandardsin social intercourse),onlyjustsucceedsin
holdingin checka passionso violentthatit threatens to engulfboththeper-
sonalityand thecivilizationofwhichthatpersonality is a part.Justas we are
consciousofRacine'sIn
as socia
alexandrine
holding
his usic,
in
so loselycontrolthe
aiedwtkhwayward passionof i
eigito
muchmusicl.
Phldre'srhythms so we are awareofthe severechaconne-
and metaphors,
rondeauformdammingthe floodofCouperin'schromaticism and dissonance.19
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inCouperin19
Practice
Performance
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20 TheMusical
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inCouperin
Practice
Performance 21
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22 TheMusical
Quarterly
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Performance inCouperin
Practice 23
4
Historical evidence leadsus onlyto an understanding ofthestylish surfaceof
theHuitieme Ordre;to realizeitsmoreindividual qualities, wemustturnto
othermusical criteria.Myexamination ofrepeats, registration, andtempo
relationships suggests an interpretation oftheworkas a uniqueformal whole.
Butbothsurface andsubstructure areessential to a satisfying interpretation,
anda balanceofhistorical scholarship andmusical analysis is needed.And
yet,I thinkthatthisbalanceis notentirely evenandthatthescalestip
toward analysis as thefinalarbiter in all conflicts between thebarescoreand
thenorms ofhistorical performance practice. Positivistic verifiability should
neverhavethelastwordbecausehistorical evidence canneverapplyto all
individual cases.(Composers arealways moreinteresting thantheorists!)
Thereareconspicuous placesin theHuitieme Ordreinwhichone is advised,
on musical grounds, to depart from common historical practice, andthese
exceptions offer proof oftheimportance ofcreative musicianship to eventhe
mosthistorically minded performer. I willexamine a fewsuchexceptions
drawn from "La Raphadle."
I saidthatthecharacterization ofthedancemovements in thisordre is
straightforward, in is
but fact,"La Raphadle" notso simply pinneddown.
Mellers callsit"a magnificent allemande,"29 andso itcertainly is. But,
uncharacteristically, Couperin does not label itan allemande, andthereason
maybe thatit is intended tohavea dualcharacter, fortherearestriking
similaritiesto a French overture.30 The movement is imbued withthepomp
andgravity, thesharprhythms andtirades, oftheoverture. Yettheflowing
sixteenth notesoftheallemande arealsopresent. (The twostyles aresome-
timeslaidoneatoptheother,as in mm.2-5; seeEx. 2.) In fact,in the
opening ofthesecondstrain, mm.12-15,Couperin evenmimics thefugal
entries thatcharacterize thesecondhalfoftheoverture, returning to the
grander texture in m. 18 (see Ex. 3).
Whatwehavein thismovement is,in fact,a fusion ofallemande and
overture.31 No historical sourcewilltellushowto dealwithsucha creature,
though dealwithitwemust.First, weshouldslowthetempoenoughto
accommodate thedenseornamental texture andto givethemovement a
suitable gravity; Table 1 suggests circa 45 to the quarter note. The sharp
overture rhythms shouldbe as sharpas possible(notoverdotted, though), but
theflowing allemande figurations shouldremain smooth. Registration could
adaptto mimictheoverture textures: after a majestic opening (8' + 8'), the
secondreprise couldbeginon theupper8' alone,justas thesecondreprise of
an overture inevitably openswitha thinner, quieter texture offugalentries.
Withthereturn to theopening gravetexture in m. 18,thetwo8' stops
wouldagainbe used.
"La Raphadle"also providesintrinsicmusicalevidencethatmightlead
us to questionthe appropriatenessof inequality.Most Frenchbaroquetheo-
ristsheld thatmovements not in Frenchstyle(allemande,giga,etc.) were
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24 TheMusical
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Ordre,
Example2. Huiti~me mm.2-5
"LaRaphadle,"
Reprise.
S3 Him O "La I m
"LaRaphale,"mm.11-17
Ordre,
3. Huiti0me
Example
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inCouperin25
Practice
Performance
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26 TheMusical
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inCouperin27
Practice
Performance
5. Huitime
Example "LaRaphale,"mm.1,2
Ordre,
Example6. Author's
interpretation devoixinEx. 5,m.2
ofport
ofport
Example7. Twootherinterpretations 7b)common
devoixinEx.5,m.2: 7a) Neumann; practice
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28 TheMusical
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Notes
to Dr. ErichSchwandt
I amverygrateful ofVictoria)
(University andDr. George
Houle(Stanford
University)foradviceandencouragement
at all stagesofworkon
thisarticle.
1. Wilfrid
Mellers, Couperin
Francois andtheFrench
Classical newversion
Tradition,
(London:FaberandFaber,1987),192.
2. Mellers,
192.
3. FrankHubbard, inhisstandard reference bookThree CenturiesofHarpsichord
Making (Cambridge: Harvard UniversityPress,1965),84-132,provides a wealthof
evidencetosupport thesegeneral conclusions,drawing from French makers,perform-
andobservers
ers,writers, ofCouperin's time.See alsoJames R. Anthony, French
Baroque Musicfrom Beaujoyeulx toRameau, rev.ed. (NewYork:W. W. Norton &
Co. 1978),245-46.
4. Thereis alsosomeevidence from Couperin's contemporaries. See Hubbard,
chap.3, and alsoDavid Fuller's
articleon harpsichord in
registration TheNewGrove
ofMusicandMusicians,
Dictionary vol. 15,689-91.Foran example ofa contemporary
sourceassuming a standard full-sized
harpsichord, seethePraface toJean-Frangois
Dandrieu'sPremier LivredePiecesdeClavecin (Paris,1724).
5. Couperin's instructions read:"Pourtoucher cettepiece,il fautrepousserundes
ClaviersduClavecin,6terla petitte Octave,poserla maindroite surle Clavierd'en
haut,etposerla gauchesurceluid'enbas."("To playthispiece,onemustpushback
oneofthemanuals oftheharpsichord [i.e.,uncouple it],remove the4' stop,place
therighthandon theuppermanual, andplacethelefton thelowerone.")
6. He writes thatcross-hand pieces"devront etrejotidessurdeuxClaviers, dont
l'unsoitrepousse,ou retird"("shouldbe playedon twomanuals, oneofwhichis
pushed back,orretired [i.e.,uncoupled]").
7. Mellers,336-38.
8. Anthony, 375.
9. "After takingsuchcareto marktheornaments suitableformypieces. . . I am
alwayssurprisedto hearof thosewho have learnedthem with no heedto myinstruc-
tions.Thisis unpardonable negligence,themoreso as it isno arbitrary mattertoput
inanyornament thatonemaywish.I declare, therefore,thatmypiecesmustbe
executedas I havemarked them,andthattheywillnevermakean impression on
thosepersons ofrealtasteunlessoneobserves to theletterall thatI havemarked
withoutanyadditions ordeletions."Thistranslation inAnthony, 261.
10. "We write differentlyfromthe we
way play, which is whyforeigners playour
musiclesswellthanweplaytheirs. . . . Forexample, wedotseveral eighthnotesin
succession
[thatmove]byconjunct degrees; however, wenotatethemequal"(39).
11. Robert Donington, TheInterpretationofEarlyMusic(London:FaberandFaber,
I in
1963),314,errs, think, crediting Couperin withthesamekindofcasualness
abouttheformal integrityofhisordres as otherFrench baroque composers. Donington
quotesfrom thePriface toCouperin's ConcertsRoyaux (published as theSuplementto
theTroisieme Livre)inwhichCouperin that
relates he wrote these piecesforLouis
XIV'schamber concerts andarranges themherebykey.Thisdoesnotnecessarily
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Practice
Performance inCouperin29
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30 TheMusical
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