Classical Music Factoid of the Week: François Couperin (1668-1733)

Context first.

“It was around [the time of his masses for organ] that the composer came under the sway of the Italian school. He would display this influence in several chamber works he wrote in 1692 that he called sonades.” (excerpted from Classical Archives bio)

Couperin looking back on one group of his sonatas:

“The first sonata in this collection is the first that I composed, and the first to be composed in France. Charmed by those works of Signor Corelli whose works I shall love as much as I live, much as I love the French works of M. de Lully, I attempted to compose one.

Knowing the greed of the French for foreign novelties, and lacking in self-confidence, I pretended that a relative of mine in the service of the King of Sardinia had sent me a sonata by a recent Italian composer. I rearranged the letters of my own name into an Italian one [Coperuni or Pernucio], which I used instead. The sonata was devoured eagerly. I wrote others, and my Italianized name brought me much applause under the disguise.”

~ From The Book of Musical Anecdotes by Norman Lebrecht [1985] 

Deception for profit isn’t new to the music industry.