French School of organ

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One of the most prestigious European traditions

The French school of Orgue knew its apogee with. It is also (and it is not a chance) the moment when the “  traditional invoice française  ” reached its perfection with factors of genius: Dom Bedos of Those, the Clicquot, the Lefebvre, etc

The type-setters for this instrument are very numerous. If none left a written work comparable with those of Buxtehude or Bach in Germany at the same time - and even by taking account of lost works, their collective production forms a considerable corpus and of quality.

In fact, the majority of the type-setters spent more time to to improvise than to write for the posterity, the organ in the beginning being regarded more as utility instrument intended to accompany the liturgy than like instrument by approval suitable to allure the audience and to emphasize the virtuosity of the interpreter. Even the most endowed with the type-setters, holders of loads or prestigious instruments like François Couperin and Commercial Louis, left few works for the organ. As for Rameau, which was organist during tens of years, he did not write anything for this instrument.

The majority of these artists are established in Paris or in rather close big cities of province: Rouen, Rheims, Chartres, Laon, Beauvais… whose cathedrals have prestigious instruments.

The beginning of their career is often marked by the publication of a “first book” intended to attest their science, and that they think in a certainly sincere way of making follow other works in the 8 let us tons ecclesiastical. But much of them stop before having carried out this program. It is true that they have, for the majority, much of other fascinating loads and perhaps more gratifiantes near the king and of large of the Court. Thus, in spite of some undeniable successes, few works reach the proportions of those written at the same time by the contemporaries of the north of Germany. Make exception, for example: the Great Dialog of the 5th tone of Commercial Louis and the Offertoires on the Big games of Nicolas de Grigny and François Couperin ( Mass with the use of the parishes ).

For this period, the style evolves of a austere Polyphonie to a style more and more concerting. When this last tendency carries it, it will be the sign of an accelerated decline which will be prolonged until second half of the 19th century.

A characteristic of the French school is the special attention paid to the Registration: the type-setters often indicate it in an extremely precise way (Couperin: Dialog on the trumpets, bugle and thirds of the large keyboard and the bumblebee with the larigot of positive the ).

This distinctive feature must be announced to one time when one worries rather little about the stamp of the instruments, and where many musicians write parts of which they specify that they can be played indifferently “on the violin, the flute, the oboe, the viol, etc”. The famous gambist Marin Marais went even until indicating that its works could be played with the organ, the harpsichord, the violin, the top of viol, with the théorbe, to the guitar, the flute, the recorder and the oboe ! It however should not be believed that these musicians did not have an ear: it was a question of a commercial argument to try to better sell their compositions, at one time or the impression and, especially, the engraving of the parts partitions were extremely expensive; reason for which many was not published and remained in manuscripts that one borrowed and recopied.

The compositions (until worms 1750) are organized in four groups:

  • the mass S;
  • the Anthem S;
  • the continuations;
  • the noëls.

On the end of the period, the organists will allow much more imagination (sonatas, concertos, etc), often with the detriment of the character of the instrument.

The king names for his service with the Royal Chapelle the most endowed interpreters, being distributed the load by “district” i.e. per quarter.

Disappeared or forgotten works

With XVIIe, few organists worried to make publish their works, company expensive and probably difficult to show a profit. Moreover, they generally composed for their own needs, preserving their manuscripts which also circulated in copies. Many compositions thus had to disappear, when the only existing specimen was lost. Many more prestigious artists, and, left only some rare parts, or even nothing the whole: Etienne Richard, Joseph Chabanceau of the Bar, Jacques Thomelin, Jean-Baptiste Buterne, Antoine Calvière etc

One of the principal type-setters of sacred music of the period baroque, Marc-Antoine Charpentier regularly mentions the intervention of an organ in its works, without we being able to conclude from it that the type-setter wrote for this instrument. According to the tradition the French school of organ, it acts certainly here of improvisations, of which there does not remain any trace. See on this subject, the Mass with four choruses , for example.

The Messe for several instruments instead of the organ however testifies to a perfect knowledge of the treatment of the Plain-chant by the organists the French school of organ.

The redécouverte of its work started in 1953, with the choice of the Te Deum for the Eurovision. All the work of Marc-Antoine Charpentier was preserved in the form of 28 handwritten volumes, with the royal Library, become National library of France. This work includes/understands in particular sacred music written starting from 1680, when Marc-Antoine Charpentier was with the service of the Jésuite S. Seulement half of the work of Marc-Antoine Charpentier was recorded at present.

Type-setters and their works

(nonexhaustive list).

First period: until in 1660

Organ, instrument of the polyphony.

Second period, of 1660 with 1700

New forms and new style.

  • Jacques Boyvin (v. 1650 - 1706), Parisian bench in Rouen or it is titular with the cathedral

    • 1689 - 1690 - 1st book: continuations of parts in all let us tons them
    • 1700 - 2nd book: continuations of parts in all let us tons them

  • Lambert Chaumont (v. 1640 - 1712), priest with Huy (Wallonia)

    • 1695 - a book: 111 parts in all let us tons them

  • François Couperin (1668 - 1733) organist of the Saint-Gervais church in Paris

    • 1690 - 1st book: Mass with the use of the parishes and Mass with the use of the convents

  • Nicolas-Antoine Lebègue (1631 - 1702) titular of the Parisian church of Saint-Merry

    • 1676 - 1st book: 8 continuation S in the 8 let us tons ecclesiastical
    • 1678 - 2nd book: 1 mass and verses of Magnificat in the 8 let us tons ecclesiastical
    • 1685 - 3rd book: 10 Offertoires, 4 symphonies, 9 noëls varied, the Bells , 8 Rises.
  • Commercial Louis (1669 - 1732)
    • scattered Parts - certain datable of 1696 and 1700 - published after 1740.

  • Andre Raison (v. 1640 - 1719)

    • 1688 - 1st book: 5 masses (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 8th let us tons) and one Offerte of thanksgiving of the 5th tone
    • 1714 - 2nd book: various parts and 18 noëls.

Third period: the 18th century

Organ, instrument in concert.

  • François Dagincour or of Agincourt (1684 - 1758)

    • approximately 45 parts remained in manuscript
  • Jean-François Dandrieu (1682 - 1738)
    • 1729 - 45 noëls varied (some perhaps of Pierre Dandrieu)
    • 1739 (posthumous publication) - 6 continuations (each one with Offertoire, Magnificat and various parts)

Organ at the time of the Revolution

  • Jean-Jacques Beauvarlet-Carpenter (1734 - 1793)

    • 12 newspapers of organ, 1 book of noëls, is the vastest corpus for the French organ of the 18th century, to put in relation to the instruments of Clicquot, Isnard…

  • Guillaume Lasceux (1740 - 1831)

    • 1772 - Newspaper of parts of organ containing masses, Magnificat and noëls
    • 1782 - New Newspaper
    • 1809 - Test (handwritten) theoretical and practical, comprising 133 pages of musical examples
    • 1819 - Directory of the organist
    • 1820 - 12 runnings away

The last organists of the 18th century have fun to imitate the storm, the thunder and force with entonner the air soldiers or revolutionists with the mode ( Ah, that will go! ', the Marseillaise , the Chant of the departure , etc), to prove their very convenient rallying with the new capacity - what does not prevent them besides from losing their subsidies.

For all this period, the trades of Organist and Clavecin ist were then the same ones and exerted by the same artists. A great number of them thus also took part in the radiation of the French École of harpsichord. The two instruments thus follow a rather comparable evolution for all the period “baroque”. The revolutionary period is the signal of the disappearance of the harpsichord and a prolonged quartering of the organ in the field of the liturgical accompaniment, little adapted which it is with romantic esthetics.

Rebirth at the end of the 19th century

All the musicologists recognize it without sorrow: the beginning of XIXe constitutes for the organ, in France, a true crossing of the desert.

It is the revival of its invoice, with Aristide Cavaillé-coll, and of its literature, with César Franck as well as the new generation of organists which succeeds to him, which will give again a new prestige to him.

The tendencies which are expressed at the end it 19th century emphasize two currents, which are not excluded one besides the other: the “liturgical” current and the “symphonic” current. The great names are Camille Saint-Saëns, Charles-Marie Widor, Alexandre Guilmant, Eugene Gigout and, a little with share, Louis James Alfred Lefébure-Wely, born in the years 1830 - 1840. All instrumentalists of talent, Improvisers and Type-setters, they were also professors at the origin of a long line of direct and indirect disciples become famous in their turn.

Revival of the 20th century

They are precisely the heirs to this movement symphonist who will consolidate the reputation of the French school of organ and will enrich it by printing the mark there at the same time neo-classicism and neo-symphonism and by drawing up there impossible to circumvent monuments in the history by the organ, not only French but also international.

The pioneers of this revival have as a name Louis Vierne, Marcel Dupres, Charles Tournemire, quickly followed by Jehan Alain, Olivier Messiaen, Jean Langlais, Maurice Duruflé and well of others. Their styles will be qualified in turn post-romantic, neo-classic the, impressionist one, it is to say that the French school of organ strongly influenced the musicians of today and opened a great number of ways whose new type-setters hardly began exploration.

See too

Internal bonds

External bonds

  • This site proposes a big number of works of many type-setters above to listen to or charge

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