This work, which appeared in Book III of Couperin's Pièces de clavecin, in many ways exemplifies the composer's efforts to explore the infinitely rich universe of images and feelings.

As Philippe Beaussant observed, the "disorders" of Book I were followed by a desire to create a "unity of mood." According to Beaussant, in Book III, the Ordres "seemed to be centered on themes which are more picturesque than emotive, such as birds, plants, and the countryside. Here the system is more external, more concerned with images than with sensibilities." Ordre No. 15 opens with an Allemande, with the title La Régente, ou La Minerve, indicating, perhaps, that the movement was addressed to France's Regent, the music-loving Philippe d'Orléans. Couperin's reference to Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom and war (identified with Athene), which the Regent may have appreciated as pure flattery, nevertheless seems appropriate for this stately, almost serene, piece.

Le Dodo, ou L'Amour au berceau (Love in the Cradle), an example of a pièce croisée, is a gentle lullaby, in rondeau form, in which Couperin masterfully employs the hypnotic power of repetition, creating a constant, reassuring motion, in which the first theme, reiterated in the minor mode, almost imperceptibly becomes a distinct statement.

L'Evaporée (The Vanished), a comical vignette in the form of a two-voice invention, is followed by two musétes, La Muséte de Choisi and La Muséte de Taverni. The composer's choice of place names is not random: Choisy was the residence of the Princess de Conti, Couperin's illustrious student, while Taverny was the location of the Philippe's (the Duke of Orléans) country house.

The following piece, entitled La Douce et Piquante (Gentle and Vivacious), is quite unlike the two musétes: removed as far as possible from the simplicity of a rustic event, Couperin is attempting the describe two distinct, perhaps even contradictory, qualities. According to mores of Couperin's time, a women, in order to be attractive, should maintain the perfect balance of

these qualities, and this exactly what the music attempts to attain: using a alluring motion of triplets, Couperin, by introducing subtle changes, demonstrates how seemingly imperceptible alterations in the musical material result in surprising transformations.

Les Vergers fleuris (Orchards in Bloom), with second part "in bagpipe style" is a stylized depiction of a rustic scene, typical of eighteenth-century art. While the second part, with its unsophisticated character and major mode, simply description a rustic scence, the minor key orchards are more than a mere physical place: this is an evocation of sadness, but tastefully rendered by refined ornamentation and smooth phrasing.

The concluding piece, La Princesse de Chabeuil, ou La Muse de Monaco, was dedicated to the fourteen-year-old Princess of Monaco, an accomplished harpsichordist, who may have been disappointed by the soothing and technically undemanding music: more of a lullaby than an intriguing composition for a young virtuoso.

© Zoran Minderovic, All Music Guide