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‘Couperin on the Road’ came about after the harpist from the Beau Soir Ensemble, Michelle Lundy, contacted me over another piece of my music that she wished to perform, and we started chatting about other possibilities. For years now the four volumes of the Éditions Heugel complete harpsichord works of Couperin have sat on a corner of my desk, along with four volumes of the complete Haydn String Quartets – two very different strands of creative musical thought. It seemed to me that some of Couperin’s pieces would work perfectly in arrangements for flute, viola, and harp. As Stravinsky had done with Pulcinella I selected the pieces I wanted and sliced them around in order to create a convincing narrative throughout the set. The melody and harmony remains much the same but the timbral possibilities of the ensemble allowed me to point up different aspects of the music, and to be inventive with the textures. The Beau Soir Ensemble, and especially Michelle Lundy, have been great collaborators, giving me feedback on tempi and ornamentation; as what I’d originally imagined in my head didn’t always work out in practice!
