He officially succeeded his uncle and father as organist at St. Gervais church in Paris when he was eighteen.

He enjoyed royal patronage under Louis XIV and, in 1693, was appointed royal organist and harpsichordist.

He won fame as a composer of sacred works and of music for the harpsichord.

Couperin was greatly admired by Johann Sebastian Bach who arranged one of his trios for the organ.

Couperin composed church music for the royal chapel under Louis XIV.

The surviving Leçons de ténèbres are possibly the best example of this form of composition, the first of the three for soprano solo and continuo and the third for two sopranos, settings of the Lamentations of Jeremiah for the Holy Week liturgy.

Couperin's chamber music includes L'apothéose de Lully, a tribute Jean-Baptiste Lully the leading composer in France in the second half of the 17th century; L’apothéose de Corelli, a tribute to the Italian composer Corelli, part of a larger collection of ensemble pieces under the title Les goûts réunis (Tastes United), an exploration of the rival French and Italian tastes in music, a quarrel in which Couperin remained neutral.

The Concerts royaux represent another important element in Couperin's music for instrumental ensemble.

Couperin is best known for his 27 richly varied harpsichord suites or "odres", most of which were published between 1713 and 1730, and his famous text-book "L’art de toucher le clavecin" (The Art of Playing the Harpsichord).