François Couperin: Les Concerts Royaux – Les Folies Françoises

Louis XIV enjoyed holding private concerts for himself, performed by the musicians in his service. In 1714, François Couperin composed an ensemble of short pieces for this very purpose, brought together in four Concerts, each one a marvel of the King’s Chamber Music. By turns dancing or mysterious, the pieces by Couperin, who presided over the harpsichord during these musical moments in the twilight years of the Sun King’s reign, form a veritable compendium of Grand Siécle music. They dazzle like never before at the hands of Patrick Cohén-Akenine and his Folies françoises…