French Classical Style

January 20, 2014 by Improviser

The French classical style runs parallel with the German baroque. The organ had a highly standardized stoplist, in line with its (almost exclusively) liturgical use. The compositions were highly standardized too, generally named by the stops that were to be used (e.g Plein jeu, Basse de Trompette, Tierce en Taille) and the function within mass or the chant theme (e.g Kyrie, Gloria, Ave Maria Stella).

A series in the newsletter covered the style and the different movements and registrations often used during the period:

Videos:

Michel Chapuis

January 18, 2014 by Improviser

Chapuis was organist for the Paris churches of St. Germain l’Auxerrois (1951-54) and St. Nicolas des Champs (1954-72), accompanied at Notre Dame (1955-64), and was titular organist of St. Séverin from 1964. He also toured widely as a concert artist. From 1956-79 he was Professor at the Conservatoire de Strasbourg, 1979-86 at the Besançon Conservatoire, and 1986-95 at the Paris Conservatoire. In 1995, he was named organist to the Versailles Royal Chapel.

Full bio. You can hear him on Spotify.

Videos:
Michel Chapuis – Grand Jeu Classique – St. Ouen
Michel Chapuis – Improvisations in French classical style – Chapelle Royale, Paris
Michel Chapuis – Improvisation sur “Ubi Caritas” – Cathédrale Saint-Vincent, Saint-Malo
Michel Chapuis – Improvisations dans le style classique français – Orgue Aubertin, Karuzawa, Japan

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French Classical Style

Michel Chapuis