Couperin, F: La Steinkerque (Sonade en trio)

After the success of its CD devoted to the Sonatas of Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre, Florence Malgoire’s ensemble Les Dominos now explores the first French sonatas.

All of these works date from the 1680s, the time when the French had just discovered the Italian sonata style and had begun to use it, albeit in some secrecy.

This recording contains the complete sonatas of François Couperin, four of which are the original versions of sonatas that Couperin would later make use of in Les Nations.

This is the first recording to present the sonatas in their entirety, in particular because the sonata La Convalescente is here recorded for the very first time; this sonata was discovered only recently in a manuscript copy in Germany.

Though much of Couperin’s harpsichord music was written for a solo instrument, he composed a small number of pieces for two harpsichords, somewhat in the manner of a trio sonata. Lucy Carolan and John Kitchen pair their considerable talents on two of the world’s most exquisite original French instruments, the 1769 Pascal Taskin and the 1764/83 Goermans/Taskin double-manual instruments in the Russell Collection of Early Keyboards. This unique and unforgettable recital is a must-have for enthusiasts and serious Baroque connoisseurs alike.