Couperin's Leçons de Ténèbres , which have become, through recordings and concerts, one of the most famous sacred works of the 18th-century French repertoire, lacked a reliable and practical edition with an introduction, translation of the sung text, performance materials, and most importantly, a historically informed realization of the basso continuo.

The CmbV therefore offers a new edition of the Leçons in two separate volumes:

• The first, presented here, contains an Urtext score, two separate parts (figured bass and unfigured bass), and an edition of Couperin's Principles of Accompaniment for continuo players
• The second contains a voice and keyboard score with a new realization of the basso continuo that attempts to respect these principles and, more generally, the treatises on basso continuo from the early 18th century.

Both volumes include an introduction in French and English, as well as the original Latin text with French and English translations.