The French Suite No. 2 in C Minor is a virtuoso keyboard solo whose program elaborates the principal characters and situations in chapter one of Voltaire's picaresque philosophical novel, Candide. The second movement is a courante depicting the alluring but ingenuous Cunégonde, daughter of Baron Thunder-ten-Tronch, whose longing for "knowledge" seems to be answered by the opportune presence of the equally naive Candide. The movement is unified by a steady rhythmic pulse and tightly knit yet intensely expressive three-voice counterpoint.