David Ponsford (organ)
French Organ Music from the Golden Age Volume 8
Gaspard Corrette (c1671-before 1733)
Messe du 8e ton pour l’orgue
Jean-François Dandrieu (c1682-1738)
Pièces d’orgue, [Premier Livre, 1739]:
Offertoire en ré mineur
Tierce en taille en La majeur
Magnificat en ré mineur
Noël: Quand le sauveur Jesus Christ, ou Bon Joseph écoutez moi
Ofertoire pour le jour de Pâques: O filii et filiae
rec. 2023, Saint-Étienne, Marmoutier (Alsace), France
Reviewed as a 16/44 download with pdf booklet from Nimbus Records
Nimbus Records NI6438 [79]
The British organist David Ponsford is a specialist in French organ music of the 17th and 18th centuries. In 2011, Cambridge University Press published his book Organ Music in the Reign of Louis XIV. For Nimbus, he is recording a number of collections of organ works, published by some of the main composers of such music. He started with the two organ masses by François Couperin, which were followed by organ music by André Raison, Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers, Nicolas de Grigny, Jacques Boyvin and Louis Marchand. The latest volume is devoted to Gaspard Corrette, and in addition we get some pieces by Jean-François Dandrieu.
The name of Corrette is mostly associated with Michel, one of the most prolific French composers of the 18th century. His father was Gaspard, born and educated in Rouen where one of France’s most famous organists of his time, the above-mentioned Jacques Boyvin, was at the cathedral. On the title page of his organ mass, printed in 1703, Corrette called himself organist of the cathedral. He probably substituted for Boyvin who died in 1706. Corrette attempted to be appointed as his successor, but failed; François Dagincour was chosen instead. Corrette then played in several other churches before moving to Paris, where he may have worked as a dancing master. However, little is known about his years there.
Gaspard was a far less productive composer than his son was going to be. The organ mass recorded here is his only extant composition and whether he has written more is not known. Most French organ music was written for liturgical use, which is the case here; this organ mass is comparable with the two by François Couperin. It comprises a number of verses which are to be played during mass. As David Ponsford explains in his liner-notes, the number of pieces in organ masses was around 21; in Corrette’s case it is 22. It needs to be mentioned that the Credo was always omitted.
The verses not set as organ couplets needed to be sung, but composers of organ masses didn’t include the vocal items in their collections. The original title of Corrette’s mass is Messe du 8e ton pour l’orgue à l’usage des Dames Religieuses. During the 17th century the number of women’s convents greatly increased and this resulted in new repertoire to be sung during liturgy. This was something between the traditional plainchant and the music written by composers of the time. One of the main sources of such chants is a collection by Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers, organist of Saint-Sulpice in Paris since the early 1650s and considered the founder of the classical French organ school. In 1658, he published a Gradual, with chants for the Proper of the Mass. Maybe these chants were used in alternation with Corrette’s organ couplets. Ponsford mentions another possibility: the Messes musicales by Henri Du Mont (c1610-1684), which were reprinted in 1701. It does not matter in this case, as Ponsford decided to play the organ couplets without plainchant, which is perfectly legitimate option.
French organ music is probably less well-known than what was written in Germany in the late 17th century and the first half of the 18th century. The music by Buxtehude and Bach is played across the world on a variety of organs. French organ music is less easy to translate to different organs, as the French baroque organ has very characteristic registers, whose sound is hard to imitate. In Germany, organ works seldom included a specification of the registers that should be used, because there was a wide variety of organs and dispositions. Moreover, in Germany only few organ works were printed. That was different in France, and composers often specifically indicated which registers to use, as the titles of pieces indicate. Examples in Corrette’s organ mass are Cromorne en taille, Basse de trompette ou de cromorne and Récit tendre pour le nazard. Corrette served the performer with an extensive preface in which he gives instructions about which registers to use, discusses the character of the different pieces, and includes an ornament table. This is very helpful in achieving an interpretation that does justice to the composer’s intentions.
It is typical of Ponsford’s approach in this series that he tries to come as closely as possible to what the composer had in mind. Not only in the way he uses the various registers and in his interpretation, but also in his choice of instrument. Not that many organs of the baroque era have been preserved in their (more or less) original state, due to the French Revolution and the change of aesthetics in the 19th century. Fortunately, there are instruments available, often restored to their original state, that are suitable for the performance of the French classical repertoire. In this recording, Ponsford plays an organ which was built in 1709/10 in Marmoutier in the Alsace by Andreas Silbermann. He was a remarkable organ builder, who was educated in Germany, but then went to France to become acquainted with French organs. Between 1704 and 1706 he lived in Paris, where he was trained by the leading organ builder François Thierry. However, it was 1745 before the organ was completed, by Andreas’s son Johann Andreas. In the course of history the instrument underwent some changes, but in the 20th century it was restored by Alfred Kern (1955) and Quentin Blumenroeder. The latter’s work resulted in the inauguration in 2010 by Gustav Leonhardt.
In the description of the organ, Pierre Dubois, organist and organ historian, states that “all the registrations mentioned by the composer [Corrette] can be faithfully and beautifully expressed on it”. Only in one case an alternative register was needed. This is confirmed by Ponsford: “The 1709 Andreas Silbermann organ, built in Parisian style in the abbey of Saint-Étienne, Marmoutier, is as near to being the perfect instrument for Corrette’s Messe du 8e ton as one could wish.” The recording as it has been released confirms this. I have been very impressed by these performances, and by the organ, which I can’t remember having heard before. It does make little sense to mention ‘highlights’, but the pieces which I particularly enjoyed are those I mentioned before (where Corrette has indicated the registers to be used) and the Offerte, a Grand dialogue à trois choeurs.
As a kind of bonus, we get some pieces by Dandrieu. I am sure that he will make another appearance in this series. The Premier Livre de Pièces d’Orgue was printed in 1739, the year after his death, but the pieces included in it were probably written at about the same time as Corrette’s mass. Originally, he had planned to publish two books of organ pieces, which should include twelve suites, six in a major key, and six in a minor key. Each suite was to open with an Offertoire and close with a Magnificat. About the character of his organ works, he stated: “I have endeavoured throughout to grasp this noble and elegant simplicity which is the specific character of the organ, and taken care to indicate the movement and the mood of each piece, using terms which seemed to me to be the most appropriate to indicate my intentions.” Probably due to his death, only one book with six suites was published. Ponsford has selected two separate pieces, one of the Magnificats, a Noël and variations on the Easter hymn O Filii et Filiae. The playing of Noëls – variations on traditional Christmas carols – was highly popular in France. Quand le sauveur Jesus Christ, ou Bon Joseph écoutez moi is one of the better-known, also outside France. It is a wonderful specimen of Dandrieu’s art of variation, and so is O Filii et Filiae.
The latter brings to a close this superb disc, which every lover of organ music should add to his or her collection. In case he or she does not know or have the previous volumes, each one of them is worth having. They are listed in the booklet.
Johan van Veen
http://www.musica-dei-donum.org
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