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 philosophically picaresque novel Candide. The opening allemande conjures up the pomp—and pretension—of the castle of Baron Thunder-ten-Tronch by weaving a web of complex polyphony and glittering ornamentation.

The illustration above is based on an historic portrait of Voltaire colorized and modified with the addition of new material by Dillon Ford.