Published in 1722 as a supplement to the third book of harpsichord pieces, the Concerts Royaux (Royal Concerts) were written for a mixed ensemble of strings and woodwinds, playing together or in alternation; like other French composers of the time, François Couperin (1668-1733) left the instrumentation to the musicians’ discretion. When performing them at Versailles for the court, Couperin played the harpsichord and was accompanied by violinist François Duval (a member of the Vingt-quatre Violons du Roy), oboist Philidor (André Danican, known as Philidor “the elder” or his son Anne, both of whom were close to the King), bassoonist Pierre Dubois, and gambist Hilaire Verloge, nicknamed “Alarius.”
