Saint Lambert's Principles of the Harpsichord of 1702 was the first tutor for harpsichord to be published in France. It draws upon the dance-oriented harpsichord style developed during the reign of Louis XIV by such masters as Jacques Champion de Chambonnierès, Louis Couperin, and Jean Henry d'Anglebert. In subject matter it ranges from the fundamentals of music through questions of meter and tempo to particulars of harpsichord technique and ornamentation. Because of its broad scope it is an important source of information about both late seventeenth-century French performance practice and music theory. It provides a good complement to Francois Couperin's well-known book l'Art de toucher le clavecin of 1717 in that it deals with the musical style of the generation preceding Couperin and includes subjects not discussed by him. Although nothing is known about Saint Lambert himself, it is clear from this work that as a teacher he was thorough, sympathetic, and open-minded. His book is deserving of a place on the shelf of anyone, professional or amateur, who is interested in the music of the Grand Siècle. For this first English edition, Rebecca Harris-Warrick has added a substantial introduction and full annotation throughout the text [Publisher description]

Mary Cyr addresses the needs of researchers, performers, and informed listeners who wish to apply knowledge about historically informed performance to specific pieces. Special emphasis is placed upon the period 1680 to 1760, when the viol, violin, and violoncello grew to prominence as solo instruments in France. Part I deals with the historical background to the debate between the French and Italian styles and the features that defined French style. Part II summarizes the present state of research on bowed string instruments (violin, viola, cello, contrebasse, pardessus de viole, and viol) in France, including such topics as the size and distribution of parts in ensembles and the role of the contrebasse. Part III addresses issues and conventions of interpretation such as articulation, tempo and character, inequality, ornamentation, the basse continue, pitch, temperament, and "special effects" such as tremolo and harmonics. Part IV introduces four composer profiles that examine performance issues in the music of Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre, Marin Marais, Jean-Baptiste Barrière, and the Forquerays (father and son). The diversity of compositional styles among this group of composers, and the virtuosity they incorporated in their music, generate a broad field for discussing issues of performance practice and offer opportunities to explore controversial themes within the context of specific pieces.