Nouveau Concert No. 8

When Couperin wrote four Concerts royaux in 1714-15, he was doing so at the request of the king. A few years later, Couperin composed eleven additional Nouveaux concerts with a more specific aesthetic purpose. Titled Les Goûts-réünis or “the [national] styles reunited,” these suites attempt to fuse the best of French and Italian instrumental styles. The final work in the collection amplifies the Italian element into an “Apotheosis of Corelli,” signifying the importance of Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) in Couperin’s maturation. In the lofty preface to Les Goûts, Couperin claims to “value those things that deserve praise, no matter who wrote them or what country they come from.” Equally important was the example of Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-87), who had made his name in opera. Couperin’s Nouveau concert No. 8, subtitled “In the theatrical style,” pays direct homage to Lully. It opens with the distinctive French-Overture style which Lully helped to codify. Subsequent movements include several Airs (such as the Delicate Air and Air of the Bacchantes) and named dances like Loure and Sarabande.

(c) Jason Stell