ABSTRACT
The history of the harpsichord class at the Conservatoire de Paris from the end of the eighteenth century to the present day adheres very closely to that of the harpsichord itself, particularly its reception in France. Mapping this history for the very first time is like putting together the pieces of an elaborate puzzle: it is a discontinuous narrative, with periods of darkness and light that make it a fascinating story and tell us a great deal about musical trends in France from the Revolution to the twenty-first century. Under the progressive leadership of Conservatoire director Claude Delvincourt and the guidance of Norbert Dufourq, after a long period of dormancy the harpsichord class was revived in the middle of the twentieth century and successively led by Jacqueline Masson, Marcelle Delacourt, Robert Veyron-Lacroix, and Kenneth Gilbert (1988 to 1996). In addition to providing a complete chronology of harpsichord instruction at the Conservatoire, the author proposes an analysis of their different pedagogical approaches and links the transmission of knowledge at this institution to some of the major trends that informed the early keyboard revival.
