François Couperin’s Allemandes for Harpsichord: Linguistic Characteristics of 18th Century French Oratory as an Interpretive Resource

Abstract

This text discusses the linguistic characteristics of French oratory of the eighteenth century as an interpretive resource for François Couperin’s allemandes for harpsichord. The main objective was to investigate the oratory and its equivalence with the musical discourse of this time and place as a tool for interpreting the genre. The methodological approach followed was an analysis of the linguistic variations of French oratory of the eighteenth century and its correspondence with the allemandes of François Couperin contained in the four Livres de pièces de clavecin. Upon establishing the close relationship between the spoken language and musical expression, it was possible to apply the study of the suggested discourse to interpretative decisions.

Keywords

• François Couperin. Allemande. Repertório para cravo. Discurso oratório francês.