December 1, 2014

  • Beautiful New Daquin Noel Release

     

    Daquin: Livre de Noels
    Vincent Boucher, organ
    Atma 2703
    Total Time:  70:00
    Recording:   ****/****
    Performance: ****/****

    One of the wonderful aspects of Baroque and Rococo organ music is its interweaving of classic hymnody and occasional folk music.  In France, there was a grand history of organ music that used well-known carols, or noels, in sets of variations.  These settings were part of a nostalgic and wistful culture looking back on more rural settings and country life rooted in the regions of Bourgogne, Provence, Lorraine, and Gascogne as well as the general countryside.  These pieces were annually part of the new Concerts Spirituels on during the Christmas season when virtuoso organists would come to perform their latest imaginative sets of variations on these popular tunes.  Among the greatest of these, and perhaps most known today, was Louis-Claude Daquin (1694-1772).  Daquin became organist at Petit-Saint-Antoine church when he was only 12 and would study with the great Louis Marchand.  He even beat out Rameau for an organist position, and later succeeded Dandrieu (another of the great period organists) at the Chapelle royalle de Versailles concurrently with being the organist at Notre Dame.  While it is suspected he wrote a great deal of music, only two collections seem to have survived and his book of 12 carol variations are perhaps the best known.

    The present release features a student of the great Bernard Legace, Vincent Boucher, who has gone on to great critical acclaim through Europe and his many releases are well-admired.  The recording was made last July (2014) at the Oratoire Saint-Joseph du Mont-Royal in Montreal, Quebec.  One of two organs in this massive building overlooking the city, the one recorded here is the Basilica Gallery organ designed by Beckerath in 1960 and recently restored in 2012.  It boasts 5 manuals, 32 available pedal notes, 78 stops, and 118 ranks.  It is truly a sight to behold and worth going to see, and hear if one is lucky, when in Montreal.

    One of the delights of the pieces here is that even if one is not familiar with these carols, Daquin’s variations allow anyone to pick up on the tunes and enjoy the final results.  The variations may take small segments of a tune, or interweave a couple of carols, to create often intricate writing.  The larger key is to explore the vast capabilities of the organ itself and Boucher does that very well here allowing for many fascinating combinations to play out over the course of this album.  The noels move between ones that focus on rapid passage work, and those that are intended to be a bit more nostalgic as they slowly unfold.  The noels are arranged to follow the pronouncement of the Christ child, through noels of shepherds ( with descriptive writing imitating musettes and bagpipes), on to Bethlehem and reflections on the walk of faith, Mary, and the meaning behind the birth of Jesus.  The excellent notes help guide the reader through the brief history of the tunes Daquin uses which further helps appreciate both his choice of musical texts and the way in which he launches into each variation.  One of the very outstanding noels features echo effects among the keyboards which is truly remarkable (“Noel les jeux d’anches, sans tremblant, et en duo”) and well-captured in this performance.  The folk-like “Noel estranger” is a delightful piece that simulates peasant celebrating and dancing.  It is also one of the more performed noels of the set.

     

    The recording is quite stunning capturing the organ within the space very well and managing to let the dynamic range be fully explored.  The imaging of the sound pulls the listener into the best spot in the cathedral to hear the magnificence of this amazing instrument and these significant works.  Boucher’s performances provide plenty of registration variety to explore the organs stops and displays.  His ability to shape phrases over longer stretches while managing technical passages with great facility.  Certainly this is a Daquin release for organists and fans of organ music to revel in as we head into the holiday season.