=The Couperin Family=.—Two, at least, of the famous musical family of Couperin also came under the instruction of Champion. These were =Louis Couperin= (1630-1665), and =François Couperin= (1631-1701), who, with their brother =Charles Couperin= (1638-1669), and his son =François Couperin=, called “le Grand” (1668-1733), were all at various times organists of the church of St. Gervais, at Paris. The Couperins may be considered as classic composers for the clavier, as their style, though having an harmonic basis, was mostly in the line of instrumental voice writing. The first-named published three suites of dances for clavier; and the second was eminently popular as a teacher. =François Couperin=.—François Couperin, “le Grand,” deserves special attention, and has been called the _first great composer_ distinctively _for the clavier_. He was a pupil of the organist Thomelin, and rose quickly to so commanding a position as player of the organ and clavier that, in 1701, he was appointed court clavier player and organist at the Royal Chapel. He was very accurate as a composer; and in the four books of clavier pieces which he published successively, he gave minute directions for interpreting the wealth of ornamentation with which his melodies are surrounded. Most of these pieces are _written in two voices_, with the upper melody most prominent; and they reflect the artificial show and glitter of the French court in their endless _turns_ and _embellishments_. Yet for this very reason they have amplified the resources of clavier compositions, preparing the way for composers like Scarlatti, Bach and Handel. Many of them show the French taste toward attaching definite meaning to music, by their fanciful titles, like “La tendre Nanette,” “La Flatteuse”—a custom followed by others of this school. Couperin wrote also a treatise on clavier touch, and was _one of the first to make use of the thumb in playing_. =Louis Marchand= (1669-1732) was a brilliant though dissipated figure in clavier playing. Becoming organist at the court of Versailles, he lost the post through his reckless habits, and, going to Dresden, he was somewhat subdued in his conceit by the evident superiority of Bach. On his return to Paris, he became exceedingly popular as a teacher, although his extravagant style of living brought him finally to poverty. His pupil, =Louis Claude Daquin= (1694-1772), received through him an appointment as organist at the church of St. Paul, in preference to Rameau, of whose superiority Marchand became jealous. Daquin published a number of rather superficial clavier pieces. [Illustration: JEAN-PHILLIPPE RAMEAU.]