Nicolas de Grigny (1672 - 1703)

Started by XB-70 Valkyrie, June 19, 2016, 01:17:15 PM

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XB-70 Valkyrie

One of the major composers of French baroque organ music, Grigny died young and left a small but extremely beautiful and interesting body of work including the mass Cunctipotens Genitor Deus, as well as five shorter hymns. In addition to the beauty and inventiveness of his melodies and registrations (don't know how well these were specified in his manuscripts), for me, the work is infused with a serenity and medieval spirit. Many of the melodies are very lengthy and take quite a while to unfold. J.S. Bach admired his work and transcribed some of his manuscripts. Indeed, if I am not mistaken, he has been called "The French Bach". For me, he is one of the most intriguing "what if" composers--as in, what if he had lived to 70 or even 50?

Recommended recordings include those by Marie Claire Alain, Michel Chapuis, and Gerre Hancock.
If you really dislike Bach you keep quiet about it! - Andras Schiff

Mandryka

#1
My feeling is that French organ music had a great start with Titelouze, but then was followed by a very long period of relative disappointing music: Roberday, Louis Couperin, D'Anglebert's organ music possibly being the best of the bunch. It only started to flourish again in the time of  Grigny, and then only in the parishes (away from the pomp of Versailles - though a French friend of mine is sure that the influence of Louis XIV's taste was strongly felt in the provinces too, even in provincial churches.)
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darĂ¼ber muss man schweigen