French Organ Music in the Reign of Louis XIV

Presenting a fresh approach to French organ music, David Ponsford analyses the repertory from the reign of Louis XIV by genre. The colourful French organ was so consistent in design that the very titles of pieces that were constituent parts of organ masses, Magnificats and suites prescribed the registrations: plein jeu, fugue, duo, récit, trio, fond d'orgue and grand jeu. Particular examples from published livres d'orgue and important manuscript collections are analysed chronologically, so that influences from Italian as well as French sacred and secular music can be traced. This analysis reveals the dynamic development of compositional styles in which each composer developed, modified or reacted against the exemplars of his predecessors. Composers discussed include Louis Couperin, François Couperin, Raison, Clérambault and Marchand. The reader will gain an enhanced understanding of performance practices such as notes inégales, fingering and ornamentation, and the influence of French composers on J. S. Bach.

• Proposes a new view and demonstrates a radically different study of French Baroque organ music, which will be of special interest to organists, scholars and admirers of the musical culture of Louis XIV
• Examines the repertory by genre, so that readers will understand how each plein jeu, fugue, duo, récit, trio and grand jeu developed in the hands of successive composers, with particular implications for performance practice
• Discusses the influence of this repertory on J. S. Bach, leading to a more enhanced understanding of French influence upon Bach