Nicolas Gigault: Prélude - Warren Steel

Clashing dissonances never let up in this plein jeu Prelude by Parisian organist Nicolas Gigault (1627-1707), played by David Warren Steel on the Karl Wilhelm organ at the University of Mississippi. Pictorial organ tour of Paris churches, including some where Gigault played. From "Baroque Pearls" CD -- Centaur CRC 2846.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• nicolas
• gigault
• pipe
• organ
• orgue
• baroque
• warren
• steel
• paris
• early
• music
• karl
• wilhelm
• mississippi

[frzewski]

Lovely, expressive interpretation. The performer has a great sense of the amazingly dramatic suspension-dissonance compositional technique, and the organ is tonally wonderful.

Bar, MMus ARCCO

[mudws]

Many thanks for your kind comments on the performance, which mean a lot to me from a fellow organist. And, as you can see, the organ is the work of Canadian builder Karl Wilhelm.

[GerardRatigan]

Cathédrale Notre-Dame

Saint-Etienne du Mont

Saint Germain l'Auxerrois

Saint Eustache

Saint Pierre de Montmartre

Saint Merri

[mudws]

Sorry, that's 5. St.-Eustache, 6, St.-Martin des Champs (CNAM)

[GerardRatigan]

Indeed, St Denis is quite close from Paris.

St Merri's organ had several well-known (?) titulars notably Nicolas Lebègue and Norbert Dufourcq.

[mudws]

Quite true; thank you for making this clear. Though is it maybe part of the "unité urbaine"?

By the way, I wish I had included St-Merri, which had an important organ in C17.

[GerardRatigan]

But do you know that St.Denis abbey is *not* in Paris :-) ?

[mudws]

Congratulations for accepting the challenge! A true Parisian! You have four correct answers. The complete series is:

1. Notre-Dame Cathedral,

2. St.-Louis en l'Ile (organ only),

3. St.-Etienne du Mont,

4. St-Germain d'Auxerrois (tower only),

5. St.-Martin des Champs (CNAM),

6. St.-Eustache,

7. St.-Denis abbey

8. St.-Nicolas des Champs

At his death in 1707 Gigault was titulaire at nos. 5 and 8, and l'Hôpital du Saint Esprit.

[mudws]

Some are my own photos, others from web and other sources, including the cutaway view from Dom Bedos' treatise. Can anyone identify the 8 Parisian churches (or their organs) depicted in this video (other than the UM chapel organ)? Conspicuous by its absence is St. Gervais, which you can see in my Louis Couperin video.

[birackl1]

I've been wondering Dr. Steel, are these pictures from trips you have made or are they found elsewhere?