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This link between the social functions of musical instruments and their own definition is nowhere more obvious than in the case of the organ, for several important reasons. The organ has always been primarily a church instrument (with the notable exception of England), and it is therefore closely interdependent on the liturgical roles that it is supposed to play. The very size, shape, inside disposition and structure of a church also play a great part. An organ depends on the acoustic of the building where it is situated, and, obviously, the acoustic itself is affected by elements of furnishing that are also linked to liturgical fashions as well as to architectural considerations. That the German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, English or French organs of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries should be so radically different comes therefore as no surprise. These instruments were built in the same period but their development was variously affected by the types of churches for which they were built, the liturgical demands made upon them, the relative importance of singing and purely instrumental music in the services, or of the word in opposition to music, and the degree of involvement of the congregation in the service.
Such general considerations could easily be exemplified by studying any national school of organ building, and it is particularly obvious in the case of the French “classical” or baroque organ that developed in France from the end of the sixteenth century until the French Revolution at the end of the eighteenth century. The very fact, incidentally, that the radical change that affected French society after 1789 corresponded to the gradual demise of the type of organs that had heretofore been in use for over two centuries indicates that there is undoubtedly a link between the way instruments are defined and the use to which they are put.
The first factor that influenced the development of the French baroque organ and its repertoire was therefore the way it was used in the Catholic liturgy. The congregation were not invited to join in, and the organ was therefore not used for accompaniment purposes. Generally set on a loft at the west end of the church, it would answer the verses chanted by the chantres from the chancel. This alternate plainchant was based upon Gregorian melodies. The organ would play every odd alternate verse (starting from verse 1, then 3, 5, etc), while the even verses were sung. This means that there could be five different pieces for the organ in the Kyrie, for instance (1st Kyrie, 3rd Kyrie, 2nd Christe, 4th Kyrie, 6th and last Kyrie). The character of these various movements was soon more or less regulated. It was usual to use the plein jeu for the first verse, while the second verse devoted to the organ was generally a fugue, the third one usually a trio or a récit, etc. This more or less systematic order of the movements was set down, for instance, by the instructions given for the ceremonies in Paris in 1662 (Ceremoniae parisiense ad usum omnium collegiatarum, parochialum et aliarum urbis et dioceses parisiensis). Thereafter, most organists were to follow the same pattern, the same basic principle being used for both Masses and Magnificats. Each type of movement was considered to be well adapted to the mood or character of the corresponding verse. The very logic of the alternate use of the organ implied that each of these pieces had to remain short. Conversely, contrast and changes of sonorities were essential: each new organ verse had to sound strikingly different from the previous one, the time during which the chantres sang their verse being used by the organist to effect the stop changes required. The only moment in the Mass when the organist had more time was the offertory. As there used to be a long procession with incense, the organ offertoire had to be a long, jubilant piece usually performed on the grand jeu, that is the combinations of all the reed stops of the organ – the most powerful ones. All this, as we shall now see, is reflected in the composition practices of the French organists of the time, as well as in the structure of the French organ.
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