Musikalischer Salon: Les Nations

In the organizer's words:

With his trio collection "Les Nations", published in 1726, François Couperin looked beyond the borders of his own country. The four parts of the instrumental cycle bear quasi-programmatic headings: "La Françoise", "L'Espagnole", "L'Impériale" and "La Piémontoise" - the nation states of Germany and Italy, which only emerged a hundred years later, were still being circumscribed in absolutist France.

Couperin's titles therefore initially refer to his preoccupation with various musical styles, including the Italian trio sonata, which he particularly admired. This was also influential for Johann Sebastian Bach. The autograph of his collection for organ, probably written in 1727-32 as teaching material for his son Wilhelm Friedemann, reveals that they were originally conceived as "real" trio sonatas for two melody instruments and basso continuo.

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