France was the last stronghold of the harpsichord before all the world was benighted under the spell of that vulgar clunk of iron we call the piano (I say this with a wink). French harpsichord music of the period is perhaps mankind's greatest achievement in musical nobility and subtlety; the harpsichord's own "limitation" was also its crowning asset: it did not allow a player to bang on some keys to make a lot of sappy or sensational noise.
One of the last harpsichord composers of the period was Jacques Duphly, who died the day after the storming of the Bastille. When I listen to his music, I feel I am at the apogee of an age, a form of art. It feels like a noble end, a death with dignity.
Take, for instance, La Félix (played on a German harpsichord):
Or the same piece on a 1776 French harpsichord from Lyons:
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