Samuel Messenger 12/12/23

Prof. Sharon Mirchandani Music Historiography I

Comparing Sources of Research for the Term “Pieces de Clavecin”

The first source of research, Grove Music Online, was somewhat difficult to use.

Searching “Pieces de Clavecin” only yielded random images with short descriptions —

references to Pieces de Clavecin by other articles. Even when searching by title or heading, the

results were not that helpful or relevant in finding information about Pieces de Clavecin.

So I moved on to Wikipedia. Immediately accessible was a page entitled “Pièces de

Clavecin” which informed me of the composer, publication dates, and complete list of works.

According to Wikipedia, French Baroque composer Jean-Philippe Rameau wrote three books of

Pièces de clavecin for harpsichord: Premier Livre de Pièces de Clavecin, published in 1706;

Pièces de Clavessin (1724); and Nouvelles Suites de Pièces de Clavecin, (1726 or 1727).

Wikipedia also showed Pièces de clavecin en concerts (1741). These were pieces for harpsichord

and an accompanying instrument such as violin, flute, and viola de gamba, or solo. There was

also a standalone piece, “La Dauphine” (1747). Wikipedia then lists all works in Premier… de

Clavecin, Pièces de Clavessin, and Nouvelles… de Clavecin, organized into Suites and with

approximate performance times. There is also a brief section explaining the history of

controversy surrounding the publication date of Nouvelles… de Clavecin.

Upon discovering that the term “Pieces de Clavecin” was related to Rameau, I searched

Grove Music Online for Rameau, and found, buried in paragraphs upon paragraphs, references to

the term “Pieces de Clavecin” as it related to the story of Rameau’s life. The information was

ultra-specific. For instance, there was information about the influence of a performance by two

Louisiana Native Americans at the Théâtre Italien on his harpsichord piece Les sauvages,
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published in Nouvelles… de Clavecin — and many details about the instrumentation of works

from Pieces de clavecin en concerts. The redating of Nouvelles… de Clavecin as well another

publication, Cantates françoises à voix seule, was discussed. They were both determined to be

published in 1729 or 1730, a year later than originally thought. This contradicted Wikipedia’s

information.

Further down, a helpful section called Keyboard Music devoted itself to describing the

types and nature of works in each publication, as well as keyboard works not found in

collections. Interestingly, it was recently discovered (late 1900s) that Rameau wrote for keyboard

outside of Premier… de Clavecin, Pièces de Clavessin, Nouvelles… de Clavecin, Pièces de

clavecin en concerts, and “La Dauphine”: about two dozen harpsichord arrangements of

orchestral music from Les Indes galantes and possibly Les petits marteaux.

Premier… de Clavecin opens with an old-fashioned, partly unmeasured prelude (one of

the last of its kind printed in that time) and contains mostly standard dances: two allemandes,

courante, gigue, two sarabandes, gavotte and menuet. There is also one genre piece,

‘Vénitienne’. The following two keyboard collections, Pièces de Clavessin and Nouvelles… de

Clavecin, have two suites each — one with mostly traditional dances, and the other with the

more modern-for-that-time genre pieces. Rameau, Couperin, Castel, Kircher, and Lully are all

listed as possible influences for various pieces from the collections. Pièces de clavecin en

concerts is notably the first collection for harpsichord to include other instruments, and is almost

entirely genre pieces. There is even more information about the development of rameau’s writing

style throughout the four collections, and the helpfulness of his detailed prefaces in interpreting

the music.
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ChatGPT went in an entirely different direction. Prompted with, “Tell me about Pieces de

Clavecin”, it responded, “‘Pieces de Clavecin’ refers to a collection of keyboard music,

specifically written for the harpsichord or clavichord. The term is often associated with French

Baroque keyboard music, and one of the most famous composers in this genre is François

Couperin.” It then proceeded with a brief biography (he was an influential French Baroque

composer and harpsichordist born in 1668 to a musical family), detailed his “Pieces de Clavecin”

(four books published between 1713 and 1730, containing 27 ordres), defined the term “ordre” (a

suite of pieces, typically dance movements, often following a specific thematic or programmatic

idea and linked by a common key or tonal center), and explained what his “Pieces de Clavecin

were characterized by (expressive character, rich ornamentation, and imaginative use of

harmony). Then it explained that Couperin’s “Pieces de Clavecin” are historically significant.

This was all very interesting, but not at all related to what the other sources had procured.

I typed, “Tell me about Rameau Pieces de clavecin”. It interspersed information about Rameau

(ex: he was known for his operas) with information about his “Pieces de Clavecin.” Some of the

same information was shared as in Grove, but only two “Pieces de Clavecin” books were

referenced (one in 1706 and one in 1724), neither of which was mentioned by name. ChatGPT

also stated that “Rameau often organized his pieces into suites.” There was a paragraph on

Rameau’s “Treatise on Harmony” and neat little conclusion which talked about the enduring

relevance of his “Pieces de Clavecin” today.

Prompted with, “Didn't he publish a third ‘Pieces de Clavecin’ book later?”, ChatGPT

politely apologized for any confusion and reaffirmed what it said, denying a third collection! So I

specifically asked, “What about Nouvelles… de Clavecin? Does that count?”, since it only
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appeared to be including Premier… de Clavecin and Pièces de Clavessin. It agreed with me,

provided some information about it, and thanked me for my patience.

All three sources have merits, but they are very different. The Wikipedia article was very

convenient because it was the most concise and was also highly accurate. Yet it lacked more

specific details about context or any in-depth analysis of the information it provided. It did,

however, cite its sources. Grove Music Online was rather inconvenient at first, because of the

sheer amount of information, and because the search engine was rather non-specific. But the

extra work brought a lot more interesting, in-depth information. And obviously, its sources were

rigorously cited. ChatGPT was the most convenient but the least helpful. It originally discussed

“Pieces de Clavecin” from a different composer. Although it seemed legitimate, it confidently

asserted a falsehood — twice! And it failed to give some specific relevant information, like the

titles of Rameau’s publications. It did give some helpful definitions, summaries, lists, and

random (somewhat related) facts. But when asked to cite its sources, it failed to do so.

If only one source could be used, Grove would be best, by far! But I would argue that

using all three as tools for finding accurate information on a topic is super helpful. Wikipedia

saved a lot of time because everything was so concise. Grove gave more comprehensive and

in-depth information. And ChatGPT, when guided with and checked against knowledge from the

other sources, provided small but relevant details including biography, other context, term

clarification, and lists within certain categories. It could serve as a kind of garnish on top of the

more guided information from the other two sources.

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References

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Dec 12 version) [Large language model].

https://chat.openai.com/chat

Sadler, G., & Christensen, T. (2001). Rameau, Jean-Philippe. Grove Music Online. Retrieved 12

Dec. 2023, from

https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001

.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000022832.

Wikimedia Foundation. (2023, December 11). Pièces de Clavecin. Wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi%C3%A8ces_de_Clavecin