Recorded in the pretty old town of Haarlem in the Netherlands in May 1987, this album, dedicated to the Couperin dynasty (of Louis, François and Louis-Armand) is like a distillation of a whole life's worth of practice and reflections on the French music of the 17th century that Leonhardt so loved. In it, we find the great harpsichordist's sobriety, his way of deploying his immense erudition and his own Dutch heritage, which bring to the music an almost monastic inwardness. But for all his intimate knowledge of the music and the wisdom of his years, Gustav Leonhardt seems here to let himself go with joyful abandon, setting the keys alight with his liberty and refinement.
The programme is like a meditation on solitude, from Louis Couperin's austere Suite in D Minor to Louis-Armand's gallant pieces, via the Preludes from L’Art de toucher le clavecin by the great François. The impressive calm of Dodo ou L’Amour au berceau, the graceful effervescence of L’Évaporée, the elegance of La Princesse de Chabeuil and the joyous final pirouette of L’Arlequine are all spirited flights that reaffirm the Dutch harpsichordist's pre-eminent position in the heart of the baroque musical movement. © François Hudry/Qobuz