Antoine Forqueray (c. 1671 - 1745)
Harpsichord Suites Nos. 1, 3 and 5

Antoine Forqueray is said to have composed over three hundred works for his instrument, the bass viol. Of these, none has survived in autograph manuscript form. Apart from a handful of pieces in collections dating from his lifetime, only twenty-nine works attributed to him have come down to us, compiled by his son Jean-Baptiste (1699 -1782), he too an excellent viol-player. These pieces, to which are added three others composed by Jean-Baptiste (La Angrave, La Du Vaucel, and La Morangis ou la Plissay), are ordered in five Suites and were published in 1747 in two volumes :Pieces devioleavec la bassecontinue (two viols and harpsichord), and Pieces de viole mises en pieces de clavecin (an arrangement of the former for solo harpsichord).

When considering these collections, one is faced with two as yet unanswered questions. Are the