A harpsichord, also known by the name cembalo, is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed. In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard. François Couperin is known above all for his harpsichord music: between 1713 and 1730 he published four books of suites (ordres) for harpsichord. The movements of these suites have highly ornamented melodies and complex accompaniments, with frequent dialogues between treble and bass. Some of Couperin’s more than 200 harpsichord pieces are frankly programmatic.
