The course is devoted to the study of historical piano playing on original and facsimile instruments: German, Viennese and French pianofortes (1770-1900) and an introduction to the clavichord. It combines practice in musical performance and specific techniques with research into the repertoires and interpretation of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, as well as the creation of new repertoires. Students are made aware of the professional context through off-site projects, visits to collections of pianofortes, restorers' workshops and museums. They also take part in cross-disciplinary projects with other classes (composition classes, instrumental disciplines, FSMS, etc.).

Set up by Olivier Trachier in 1989, the ^XVth - ^XVIIth Century Polyphony class is now a unique feature of the Paris Conservatoire. It is devoted to the study of compositional techniques and the polyphonic repertoire in the West, from the ^fifteenth to the ^seventeenth centuries, particularly between 1550 and 1650. Combining analysis and composition, this course focuses on the main genres of sacred and secular vocal music for 2 to 12 voices, including the motet, psalm, mass, madrigal and chanson.