Couperin, François: Pièces d’orgue

Two organ masses with appropriate plainsong settings
Detailed notes on background, performance and registration in English and French
Full commentary
Critically acclaimed in peer-reviewed journals
Colour hardback cover with a matt finish
Edited by Jon Baxendale

François Couperin’s only volume of organ music, Pièces d’ orgue, was not printed but published instead in manuscript format when the composer was just 21 years old. Nevertheless, the music marks one of the highpoints of French Classical organ literature. First published by Cantando Musikkforlag in 2018, this is the only commercially available critical edition. Editor Jon Baxendale revisits the five known sources to discover which is most accurate and provides detailed notes on the instruments of the day, ornamentation, notes inégales and registration.

For those wishing to perform Couperin’s music within a liturgical context, this handsome volume contains settings of Missa Cunctipotens genitor Deus for Messe des paroisses, along with propers for feast days with instructions on the order of service by Guillaume Gabriel Nivers. For Messe pour les convents, an appropriate plainsong setting by Paul D’Amance has been chosen.