Louis-Nicolas Clérambault is known primarily for his vocal compositions and, that he was a master in such genres becomes apparent for those performing either his harpsichord or organ pieces. In comparison with his other publications, Clérambault’s keyboard music is somewhat meagre but demonstrates a vocal composer’s infinite attention to detail and a rhetorical plan that that sets him apart from other composers of the Grand siècle.

Containing the suites for harpsichord and organ, this new edition in Lyrebird’s critically acclaimed early keyboard music series includes copious notes on the genesis of the music, its performance (including information on fingering, rhetoric, stylistic playing and registration) as well as appropriate plainsong settings for the Magnificat and Benedictus, which allows for the organ suites’ performance within liturgical settings.

Jon Baxendale adopted a new editorial technique for the unmeasured preludes by reproducing them as ‘pseudo-facsimiles’, with notes and lines reproduced with spatial accuracy. The book also contains revisions of these preludes and includes several pieces attributed to the composer.