the court, reducing him to a small part of Lully's orchestral force. After his retirement, Chambonnières must have continued to perform in order to make a living, but only a single record of a concert survives, that for 1 November 1665 at the Duchess of Orleans' salon. He published two volumes of harpsichord pieces in 1670 and died two years later, in difficult financial circumstances. The posthumous inventory of his property survives, listing furniture, tapestries, etc., in mediocre condition, as well as four keyboard instruments: two harpsichords (one probably a two-manual instrument), a spinet and a regal. Work Due to lack of manuscript sources, little is known about French harpsichord music of the first half of the 17th century, and Chambonnières emerges as the sole major composer of the time with a large surviving oeuvre. Some 150 pieces are extant, almost all of them dances. Sixty were published by the composer himself in 1670 in two volumes of Les pièces de clavessin, and the rest are known through some 20 manuscript sources, most of which were discovered only in the mid- and late 20th century. Two of these are of particular importance: the famous Bauyn manuscript and a manuscript in the collection of Guy Oldham in London. The Bauyn manuscript includes, among other pieces, alternative versions of almost all the published works. The Oldham manuscript contains 22 pieces by Chambonnières, 13 of which may be in Chambonnières's hand, and at least one (Allemande Le moutier) was apparently composed into the manuscript. Chambonnières's style formed under the influence of earlier and contemporary harpsichordists such as Étienne Richard and Pierre de la Barre, and more importantly, lutenists such as René Mesangeau, Germain Pinel, Ennemond Gaultier, and Denis Gaultier. Since the exact course of evolution of the classic French harpsichord style remains a mystery, it is impossible to ascertain the role Chambonnières played in establishing said style. He was obviously influenced by the French lute school, adapting its style brisé to the harpsichord, and he may have been among the first to do so. Another important influence was a thorough grounding in counterpoint, probably transmitted from his grandfather Thomas through his father. The vast majority of Chambonnières's pieces are allemandes, courantes, sarabandes, and gigues, standard dance types of the era. The courantes completely outnumber all other genres: there are more than 60 of them. Also extant are Chambonnières's forays into other dance types,