Richard Egarr (harpsichord) Harmonia Mundi HMU 907511.14 (Four CDs for the price of two) *****

This is a set that should win a lot of new friends for the music of Louis Couperin (ca 1626-1661), the second most famous member of a French musical dynasty that stretched from the 16th to the 19th centuries – his nephew François was the family’s and one of France’s greatest composers. Christophe Rousset played two of Louis’s suites at the start of Kilkenny Arts Festival, but the tone and tuning of the two instruments Richard Egarr uses for his complete survey bring an individuality and depth to the sound that simply weren’t possible in Kilkenny. There’s also a greater ebb and flow of tension, especially in the movement and sonic clashes of the rhythmically free preludes (a Louis Couperin speciality), and an impressive slow surge in the chaconnes. See url.ie/55ay