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ARMAND-LOUIS COUPERIN, the most significant musician in the Couperin family after the death of François, died in February 1789, just months before the storming of the Bastille, in what his burial notice called "one of those cruel accidents that have become so common in this capital, where one will soon no longer be able to walk." At about 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 1, having finished playing the organ for a service, he was, according to one account, returning home; according to another, he was hurrying to St-Gervais to finish playing the office which had already been begun by his elder son, Pierre-Louis. As he was passing by the Port au Blé, he was knocked down by a horse that had gone out of control and thrown its rider.
He received a mortal wound on the head; and the horse brake two of his ribs over the heart; he was carried home, where, without uttering a single word, and almost without giving any sign of life he died at the end of 24 hours. His funeral was attended by a crowd of people and a procession, which attested to the great esteem in which he was held. (From his eulogy, believed to be by the abbé de Feller.)
He died at home on February 2 and was buried under the organ at St-Gervais two days later. In October, Pierre-Louis died (some said out of grief) and was buried in the same vault as his father. However, four years later, their tombs were opened by order of the republic, which needed lead from coffins for ammunition, and their bones were thrown into a common grave.
The core of Armand-Louis' musical life and reputation, as well as of his income, was in his work as an organist. He is known to have held organ posts in at least eight churches. For some of them, we do not have the details of exactly when he held the positions, his responsibilities, or his salary, but we do know that he held a number of them simultaneously:
* He held the traditional Couperin post at St-Gervais, where he succeeded his father Nicolas in 1748 and remained as organist until his death in 1789;
* He was at St-Barthélémy until 1772;