Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. He enriched established German styles through his skill in counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organisation, and the adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from abroad, particularly from Italy and France. Bach's compositions include the Brandenburg Concertos, the Goldberg Variations, the Mass in B minor, two Passions, and hundreds of cantatas. His music is revered for its technical command, artistic beauty, and intellectual depth.

Bach's abilities as an organist were highly respected during his lifetime, although he was not widely recognised as a great composer until a revival of interest in and performances of his music in the first half of the 19th century. He is now generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time.

François Couperin was a French composer. He is the most imporant and best known member of the Couperin family, which consisted of a whole dynasty of composers. Couperin was nicknamed 'Le Grand' (the Great), and is considered to be one of the most seminal composers of the Baroque period, especially in regard to his music for harpsichord. His keyboard music is characterised by a strong idiomatic nature, both in its personal style and in its close relation to the instrument's features.

Next to his harpsichord music, Couperin composed music for organ, vocal music, both sacred and secular, and chamber music. Moreover, he published several theoretical treatises on the playing techniques on the harpsichord and its role in the accompaniment of music.

Jean-Henry D'Anglebert was a French composer of keyboard music from the Baroque period. D'Anglebert might have been a student of Jean Champion de Chambonnières, the founder of what the early French harpsichord school. In any case, both these harpsichordists have had a major impact on keyboard music, and in particular the keyboard suite. Only one publication of D'Anglebert, one from 1689, is known to survive. This collection consists of 57 works - original works and transcriptions of orchestral parts and arias from operas by Jean-Baptiste Lully - for harpsichord in 4 suites, and 5 works for organs and 5 educational pieces for keyboard accompaniment. The suites are quite long due the inclusion of transcriptions of works by Lully and vaudevilles (popular melodies), to fill the pages. This strive for using the space of the pages most optimally can also be found in his own music, which is strongly modified making the pages black with all the notes and embellishments. This creates a very thick, musical texture. The keyboard arrangements of the full, five part orchestral works by Lully, too, influenced D'Anglebert's own dances. In his allemanes and gigues he made use of thick, five-voiced chords and cramped elaborations within the work itself. His gigues are remarkably fast in tempo and his two polyphonic gigues in 12/8th measure are the first of their kind in France.