The French organ school formed in the first half of the 17th century. It progressed from the strict polyphonic music of

Jean Titelouze Jean (''Jehan'') Titelouze (c. 1562/63 – 24 October 1633) was a French Catholic priest, composer, poet and organist of the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. He was a canon and organist at Rouen Cathedral. His style was firmly rooted ...

(c. 1563–1633) to a unique, richly ornamented style with its own characteristic forms that made full use of the French classical

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

. Instrumental in establishing this style were

Louis Couperin Louis Couperin (; – 29 August 1661) was a French Baroque composer and performer. He was born in Chaumes-en-Brie and moved to Paris in 1650–1651 with the help of Jacques Champion de Chambonnières. Couperin worked as organist of the ...

(c. 1626–1661), who experimented with structure, registration and melodic lines, expanding the traditional polyphonic forms, and Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers (1632–1714), who established the distinct forms and styles of what was to become the French organ tradition.

Characteristic forms and nomenclature

French organ composers cultivated four major genres: masses, hymns, suites and noëls. Noëls are variations on

Christmas carol A Christmas carol is a Carol (music), carol on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas and holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French or ...

s, whereas the first three genres were all realized as collections of brief pieces in various characteristic forms. Such forms included the following: * Récit: a piece in which a single voice emerges soloistically above all others by means of special registration. The latter is usually indicated in the title, i.e. in a ''Récit de Cromorne'' the solo voice would be played using the cromorne stop. Cromorne, cornet, tierce, nasard, trompette and voix humaine are the most commonly encountered solo stops. The titles of such compositions frequently omit the word "récit" and simply indicate the registration (''Cromorne'', ''Cornet'', etc.) and/or the position of the solo voice. Typical combinations include the following: : ''Dessus de Cromorne'': the solo voice is in the

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

(dessus), played using the cromorne stop : ''Tierce en taille'': the solo voice is in the

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

(taille), played using the tierce stop : ''Basse de Trompette'': the solo voice is in the

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

(basse), played using the trompette stop * Dialogue: a piece which constantly alternates between two different registrations. A Dialogue sur les grands jeux would be alternatively played on the ''Grand orgue'' (Great) and the ''Positif''. *

Fugue In classical music, a fugue (, from Latin ''fuga'', meaning "flight" or "escape""Fugue, ''n''." ''The Concise Oxford English Dictionary'', eleventh edition, revised, ed. Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson (Oxford and New York: Oxford Universit ...

: usually, three- or four-voice polyphonic pieces that adhere more or less strictly to the imitative style. The designation ''Fugue grave'' indicates a piece of a serious character, whereas the ''Fugue gaie'' (or ''gaye'') is its opposite. Rarely, four-voice fugal pieces bear the title ''Quatuor'' ("quartet").

Nicolas de Grigny Nicolas de Grigny (baptized 8 September 1672 – November 30, 1703) was a French organist and composer. He died young and left behind a single collection of organ music, and an ''Ouverture'' for harpsichord. Life Nicolas de Grigny was born in R ...

cultivated five-voice fugues. * Echo: phrases are played twice, quieter on the second time, giving the impression of an echo. This impression is heightened in ''echos'' that repeat only the endings of phrases. Such pieces used specially designed echo divisions. * Prélude: mostly homophonic pieces in duple or quadruple meter. They are almost invariably used as introductory movements. Additionally, a number of standard registrations may be indicated by the following designations: * Plein jeu: combination of the organ's principals and

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

s, with the mixtures also included. * Grand jeu: a loud combination, based on the reed stops, frequently used in homophonic sections of larger pieces or standalone movements. The designations dessus, taille and basse stand for "soprano", "tenor" and "bass", respectively.Silbiger, 111. A rarely used type of voicing is

haute-contre The ''haute-contre'' (plural ''hautes-contre'') was the primary French operatic tenor voice, predominant in French Baroque and Classical opera, from the middle of the seventeenth century until the latter part of the eighteenth century. History ...

(or ''haulte contre''), "high tenor". Such designations are used to point to the position of the solo stop in a récit (see examples above), or of the chant melody in a setting (i.e. the title ''Kyrie en basse'' indicates that the chant itself is in the bass).

Composers

First period: the development of free polyphony

(c. 1563–1633) * Charles Racquet (1598–1664) *

(c. 1626–1661) * François Roberday (1624–1680) * Nicolas Gigault (c. 1627–1707)

Second period: the establishing of the French Classical Organ School

* Nicolas-Antoine Lebègue (1631–1702) * Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers (1632–1714) * Jean-Nicolas Geoffroy (1633–1694) * Jean-Henri d'Anglebert (1635–1691) *

André Raison André Raison (c. 1640 – 1719) was a French Baroque composer and organist. During his lifetime he was one of the most famous French organists and an important influence on French organ music. He published two collections of organ works, in 1688 ...

(c. 1640–1719) *

Lambert Chaumont Lambert Chaumont (c. 1630 – April 1712) was a Flemish Baroque composer and organist. Chaumont was from the Liège area, possibly born in that city. The earliest mention of his name dates from January 1649, when he is listed as a lay brother ...

(c. 1645–1712) * Gilles Jullien (1650/53–1703) * Jacques Boyvin (c. 1650–1706) * Mathieu Lanes (1660–1725) * Pierre Dandrieu (c. 1660–1733) *

François Couperin François Couperin (; 10 November 1668 – 11 September 1733) was a French Baroque music, Baroque composer, organist and harpsichordist. He was known as ''Couperin le Grand'' ("Couperin the Great") to distinguish him from other members of the musi ...

(1668–1733) * Charles Piroye (c. 1668/72– c. 1728/30) *

Louis Marchand Louis Marchand (2 February 1669 – 17 February 1732) was a French organist, harpsichordist and composer. Born into an organist's family, Marchand was a child prodigy and quickly established himself as one of the best known French virtuosos of ...

(1669–1732) *

Gaspard Corrette Gaspard Corrette (c. 1671before 1733) was a French composer and organist. He was born around 1671, probably in Rouen, where he served as the organist for the church of St-Herbland. In approximately 1720 he moved to Paris. The exact date of his dea ...

(1671–before 1733) *

(1672–1703) *

Pierre Dumage Pierre Du Mage (also Dumage; baptised 23 November 1674 – 2 October 1751) was a French Baroque organist and composer. His first music teacher was most likely his father, who was the organist at Beauvais Cathedral. At some point during his youth, ...

(1674–1751) * Jean-Adam Guilain (c. 1675/80 –after 1739)

Third period: 18th century

Louis-Nicolas Clérambault Louis-Nicolas Clérambault (19 December 1676 – 26 October 1749) was a French musician, best known as an organist and composer. He was born, and died, in Paris. Biography Clérambault came from a musical family (his father and two of his sons w ...

(1676–1749) *

Jean-François Dandrieu Jean-François Dandrieu, also spelled D'Andrieu (c. 168217 January 1738) was a French Baroque composer, harpsichordist and organist. Biography He was born in Paris into a family of artists and musicians. A gifted and precocious child, he gave hi ...

(c. 1682–1738) *

François d'Agincourt François d'Agincourt (also d'Agincour, Dagincourt, Dagincour) (1684 – 30 April 1758) was a French harpsichordist, organist, and composer. He spent most of his life in Rouen, his native city, where he worked as organist of the Rouen Cathedra ...

(1684–1758) * Louis-Antoine Dornel (1685–1765) * Christophe Moyreau (c. 1690– c. 1772) *

Louis-Claude Daquin Louis-Claude Daquin (or D'Aquino, d'Aquin, d'Acquin; July 4, 1694 – June 15, 1772) was a French composer, writing in the Baroque and Galant styles. He was a virtuoso organist and harpsichordist. Life Louis-Claude Daquin was born in Paris to a f ...

(1694–1772) * Guillaume-Antoine Calvière (1695–1755) *

Pierre Février Pierre Février (21 March 1696 – 5 November 1760) was a French baroque composer, organist and harpsichordist. Biography Born in Abbeville in 1696, he arrived in Paris in 1720 and served as titular organist of two churches on Saint-Honoré str ...

(1696– after 1762) * Jean Girard (1696–1765) * Dom George Franck (c. 1700/10– after 1740) *

Louis Archimbaud Louis Archimbaud (November 1705 – 13 May 1789) was a Comtadin composer. He was one of the last representatives of the Baroque style of French organ school. Archimbaud was born in Carpentras and educated there in the Carpentras Cathedral school. ...

(1705–1789) *

Michel Corrette Michael Corrette (10 April 1707 – 21 January 1795) was a French composer, organist and author of musical method books. Life Corrette’s father, Gaspard Corrette, was an organist and composer. Little is known of his early life. In 1726, ...

(1707–1795) * (1709–1794) * Claude-Bénigne Balbastre (1724–1799) * Armand-Louis Couperin (1727–1789) *

Jean-Baptiste Nôtre Jean-Baptiste Nôtre (4 September 1732 – 20 February 1807) was a French composer and organist. Biography Born in Toul, Jean-Baptiste Nôtre's father, Jacob Notter, from Mels near Sargans in Switzerland, married in Toul in 1721 and settled th ...

(1732–1807) *

Jean-Jacques Beauvarlet-Charpentier Jean-Jacques Beauvarlet-Charpentier (28 June 1734 – 6 May 1794) was a celebrated French organist and composer. He was born in Abbeville. From 1763, he was a member of the Académie des Beaux Arts de Lyon (now École des Beaux-Arts). Then, from ...

(1734–1794) * Josse-François-Joseph Benaut (c. 1743–1794)

Late 18th century and post-revolutionary period

* Guillaume Lasceux (1740–1831) *

Nicolas Séjan Nicolas Séjan (17 March 1745 – 16 March 1819) was a French composer and organist, from a family allied to the Antoine Forqueray, Forqueray. Born in Paris, Séjan was one of the best organists of his time. He was co-titular of the organ of Not ...

(1745–1819) *

Jean-Nicolas Marrigues Jean-Nicolas Marrigues (1757 – 15 March 1834) was a French organist. During the French Revolution period, Marrigues was an organist at the Versailles Cathedral. Later he came to Paris and became an organist at the Clicquot-organ von Saint-Tho ...

(1757–1834) *

Gervais-François Couperin Gervais-François Couperin (22 May 1759 – 11 March 1826) was a representative of the famous Couperin family of composers and organists. Biography He studied with his father Armand-Louis Couperin. In 1789, Gervais-François replaced his fathe ...

(1759–1826) * Jean-Baptiste Charbonnier (1764–1859) *

Jacques-Marie Beauvarlet-Charpentier Jacques-Marie Beauvarlet-Charpentier (31 July 1766 – 7 September 1834) was a French organist and composer.. Biography Born in Lyon, Jacques-Marie Beauvarlet-Charpentier succeeded his father Jean-Jacques Beauvarlet Charpentier at the pipe orga ...

(1766–1834) * François-Louis Perne (1772–1832) * Alexandre Pierre François Boëly (1785–1858) * Louis-Nicolas Séjan (1786–1849)

Notes

References

* Apel, Willi. 1972. ''The History of Keyboard Music to 1700''. Translated by Hans Tischler. Indiana University Press. . Originally published as ''Geschichte der Orgel- und Klaviermusik bis 1700'' by Bärenreiter-Verlag, Kassel. * Beckmann, Klaus. Repertorium Orgelmusik. Komponisten - Werke - Editionen. 1150-2000 (3., neu bearbeitete und erweiterte Auflage 2001). Vol. I. Schott. * Douglass, Fenner. 1995. ''The Language of the Classical French Organ: A Musical Tradition Before 1800''. Yale University Press. * Owen, Barbara. 1997. ''The Registration of Baroque Organ Music''. Indiana University Press. * Silbiger, Alexander. 2004. ''Keyboard Music Before 1700''. Routledge. {{Pipe organs French music history * Baroque music