French Organ Music of the Golden Age Volume 1

French Organ Music of the Golden Age 

Volume 1

François COUPERIN (1668-1733)

Messe pour les couvents (1690)

Pierre DU MAGE (1674-1751)

1er Livre d'orgue contenant une suite de premier ton (1708).

David Ponsford (Organ) 

Recorded on the historic Lavasseur/Dangeville organ in the Prytanée National Militaire, La Flèche. Restored to its 17th to 18th-century specification by Jean-Pierre Conan, half of its 35 stops are original. 

French organ music from the period of Louis XIV to the Revolution has always held fascination for performers and listeners alike. The kaleidoscope of colours, the rich and varied styles, and the sheer exuberance of the music never fail to captivate. Yet, performance practice of this music has never been fully understood. David Ponsford has spent much of his career studying this repertoire, resulting in his book ‘French Organ Music in the Reign of Louis XIV’ (Cambridge University Press, 2011). The present series of recordings on the most important historical organs in France, including the music of Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers, Louis Couperin, Nicolas-Antoine Lebégue, André Raison, Jacques Boyvin, François Couperin, Nicolas de Grigny, Louis Marchand, Louis-Nicolas Clérambault, up to composers of the Revolution such as Balbastre, Beauvarlet Charpentier and Lasceux, is therefore the fruit of many years of research by a seasoned performer whose aim is to combine technical brilliance with intellectual understanding, to bring the music alive with authority and meaning. ‘Actively engaged in Organ and Harpsichord Recitals, Recordings, Publications, Lectures and Master-Classes, Conducting and Continuo Playing’.

“I can think of no finer disc for those who have already uncovered the secrets which make this, for its aficionados, such an absorbing period of musical history. Ponsford is a wholly unpretentious, open player, keen to communicate his own love for the music, but he is also an intensely scholarly one, finding compelling solutions to the issues of ornamentation and registration. Ponsford lets the music flow with a graceful, dance-like feel, giving plenty of high drama in the big movements and delicious delicacy in the lighter ones.”

International Record Review

“His masterly playing demonstrates a thorough absorption of the style.”

Early Music Magazine