Les Nations

Although the composers of the French baroque were remarkably prolific, they left US relatively little chamber music. Luckily, the few works extant are as well-written those by Vivaldi or Bach and they provide listeners a new perspective on music of the period. Francois Couperin, the finest composer at the court of Louis XIV, wrote several masterworks of chamber music, including the elegant and beautiful collection of sonatas entitled Les Nations, performed here by the ensemble Les Ombres. Couperin greatly admired Italian baroque composers such as Corelli, and his sonatas demonstrate his lifelong commitment to uniting, in his music, the best of both French and Italian musical conventions.