ABSTRACT

 

The Courante Françoise is the musical form most frequently found in harpsichord sources from the seventeenth century and also the most fashionable dance in France during that period, being even the dance preferred by the king Louis XIV. This and the particular difficulties in the performances of this musical form attracted my attention towards this dance. I decided to focus on the Courante during the first important generation of French harpsichord composers (Jacques Champion de Chambonnières, Louis Couperin and Jean-Henry d’Anglebert) who created a new harpsichord style and are close to the time of splendour of the Courante as a dance.

In our field of work, as early music performers, we need to have a deep knowledge about the dances of the suite. The rhythmical ambiguities of the French Courante are among the biggest challenges for a successful performance. For solving this and other issues I suggest applying the knowledge that the dance can offer us. During the seventeenth century, music and dance were closely related, their relationship being both fluent and rich; so, if we are looking for historically informed performances, we must have in mind this connexion. 

My discovery of the historical dance totally changed my way of understanding and performing the music, so for all these reasons, and for my personal interest on this musical period, I have decided to start this research. Based on historical sources and my personal experiences, I consider that this research paper could be a good tool for performers.