The art of combination of organ stops in French Baroque era, from G.-G. Nivers to G. Corrette: origin and evolution of «stop combination» types
Abstract
In the era of the French Baroque organ drafting of registrations (combinations of stops) was regarded as an integral part of a performance. In 17–18th centuries many French organ composers devoted a special section in the Preface of their Organ works to the explanation of their register principles. The first composer of this kind was Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers (1665). This article contains and analyzes six systems of combination of stops used by French major organ composers in the second half of the 17-early 18th centuries, namely G.-G. Nivers, N. Lebègue, A. Raison, J. Boyvin, F. Couperin and G. Corrette. The author reveals a «stops combination types» principle, established by Nivers, and ascertains it as a fundamental category of the French Baroque registration thinking in this era. The main «stops combination types» in this period are: Plein jeu, Grand jeu, Jeu de Tierce, Fond d’Orgue, Jeu doux, Flûtes. This article presents a comparative analysis of the French register principles that the organ composers used during the period from 1665 to 1703, and traces their evolution. The author argues that, in spite of the logical coherence and internal integrity of the French register system of this period, it features some combination options, which show its “openness” and allowed its further development.
Keywords:
organ, France, Baroque, organ stop, combination of stops, Nivers, Lebègue, Raison, Boyvin, F. Couperin, G. Corrette
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Articles of "Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Arts" are open access distributed under the terms of the License Agreement with Saint Petersburg State University, which permits to the authors unrestricted distribution and self-archiving free of charge.