Credits:

Lysle Dra, Michael Maetzler

Description:

The sacred and the profane in the art of the French organ, with percussion instruments, the instruments of Versailles come alive! In the royal chapel of the Palace of Versailles, the organ was finally completed at the end of the reign of Louis XIV. After several expansions and modifications over the ages, the instrument was restored at the end of the 20th century to its 18th-century master craftsmen's work. Who would have thought that the Chateau de Versailles Spectacles label would release a recording of French organ music with percussion, using this historic instrument in its historical context? In France during the reign of Louis XIV and XV, organ music for worship gradually incorporated spectacular elements of secular music, and before the French Revolution, it was not uncommon to hear melodious works that resembled opera. On the other hand, it is also well known that percussion instruments were used in many musical settings in the 18th century (although the actual situation is still shrouded in mystery). In this disc, the German percussionist Michael Metzler, who also played percussion exquisitely in the recording of Rameau's "Itinerant Knight" by La Chapelle Armonique (CVS 054, to be released in January 2022), takes part in many of the tracks.The ensemble sought to combine organ and percussion instruments in a historical context, and created a performance that offers a new angle on the diverse range of French organ music from the Baroque to the Rococo period. The performance was not at all like a pop crossover, but rather a subtle and delicate one that accompanies the sound of historical instruments, with subtle additions of sparkling sounds such as bells and chimes, or the sound of drums in the style of an operatic march, all in keeping with the original sound of each piece. From the elegant pieces by André Raison, who was born in the 17th century, to the character pieces in the style of a clavecin, to the familiar pre-classical pieces, there is no shortage of joy in discovering the secret pieces that delighted the people of Paris and Versailles in the 18th century. Naxos Japan