Johann Jacob Froberger (1616-1667) Pièces pour le clavier Davitt Moroney Orgue Robert-Dallam (1653) Eglise de Lanvellec - Côtes d'Armor Enregistrement Radio France du 20 au 23 mai 1996 [1] Toccata, fatto à Bruxelles, 1650 4'45 (ré mineur ; Ms Bauyn et 1649/Toccata 2) [2] Fugue (ré mineur ; Roberday et 1656/Ricercar I) 4'34 [3] Aria Froberger (ré mineur ; Ms Minoriten 731 2'22 [4] Toccata (ut majeur ; Ms Bauyn) 4'09 [5] Fugue, faite à Paris (ut majeur ; Ms Bauyn et 1658/Ric. I) 6'18 [6] Toccata do sonarsi alla Levatione (sol mineur ; 1649/Tocc. 6) 5'43 Auf Die Maÿerin (sol majeur ; 1649/Suite 6) [7] Prima Partita 1'26 [8] Seconda Partita 1'28 [9] Terza Partita 1'05 [10] Quarta Partita 1'25 [11] Quinta Partita 1'26 [12] Sexta Partita Grammatica 2'59 [13] Courant sopra Maÿerin 1'13 [14] Double 1'17 [15] Saraband sopra Maÿerin 1'18 Suite (la mineur ; Ms Minoriten 743) [16] Plainte faite à Londres pour passer la Mélancholie 2'21 [17] Gigue 1'32 [18] Courante 1'20 [19] Sarabande 3'27 [20] Fant. sopra Ut.Re.Mi.Fa.Sol.La (ut maj. ; 1649 et Musurgia) 8'45 [21] Canzon (ut majeur ; 1649/Canzon 5) 2'35 [22] Toccata (la mineur ; Ms Bauyn et 1649/Toccata I) 11'19 [23] Capriccio (mi mineur ; Ms Muffat) 3'24 [24] Fantasia (la mineur ; 1649/Fantasia 6) 2'56 Durée totale : 1 h 12' The Robert-Dallam Organ (1653) of the Church of Lanvellec Originally built for the church of Plestin-Les-Greves, the instrument is conserved today in Lanvellec (France's North Coast near Lannion). The Plestin parish archives state that the organ was intended for the church of Plouegat Guerand, but ended being too high for this edifice and was finally offered to the parish of Plestin. Robert Dallam, son of the famous English organ-builder Thomas 'whom Elizabeth I had entrusted with several important commissions (the organ of King's College, Cambridge, the organs of Worcester and Wells, along with Eton College) came to settle m Brittany in 1653. In 1642, as the English realm was racked with civil war and the Puritans had forbidden the use of the organ in church, Robert Dallam and his family were forced to cross the Channel and take refuge in Brittany. Others, at the same time, were to emigrate to America. The Dallams were no doubt Catholic, and close links had been formed between the two «Britians» ever since the Anglican kings' accession to the throne. Robert settled first in Morlaix, traditionally a lively haven of commerce with the kingdom of England, especially in the linen trade. He built new organs for Samt-Jean-Du-Doigt, Plestin-Les-Greves, Lesneven, and restored the organ of Landerneau. The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in 1660, with Charles II 's pledge of tolerance, inspired Robert Dallam with new hope for a renaissance of his art and organ music in England. He returned with his youngest sons, building subsequently the organs of Windsor, Saint Georges Cathedral and the two Colleges of Oxford. Thomas, his eldest son, born around 1630 in England before the exile, decided to stay in Brittany where, going by the name of Thomas de la Tour, he continued to build organs until around 1700 (Saint-Pol-de-Léon, Ergue Gaberic, Guimiliau, Ploujean les Morlaix, Saint Melaine de Morlaix, Pleyben, Sizun). Robert and Thomas had formed a school. In their entourage, Harrison, Robert's son-in-law, built the organs of Roscoff, Lannion, Morlaix and Helloco built the organ of Josselin. Robert passed away on May 30, 1665 and was buried at New College where his tomb can still be seen today. In Plestin, the organ was in good working order until 1857 when the church stood in need of significant repair. The organ, not having been dismounted, was the first thing to suffer from the faulty roofing, and was sold in its damaged state to a neighbouring parish for 1,000 francs. A further 1,000 francs was spent on its reparation, with the addition of a bass trumpet of 8 feet and a modification of the air-supply. From this date on, the organ led a monotonous life until its final silence and partial dismembering at the turn of the century. Abandoned in boxes, it was classified as a Historical Monument by a decree dated March 23, 1971, in order to avoid its being totally dispersed. A project for its restoration remained in the lurch for several years. This idea, first put forward in 1975, finally took shape under the superintendance of Mr. J.P. Decavele, technical, advisory expert for organs with the Ministry of Culture. Plans laid out in 1984 set out to restore the organ to its original condition, a faithful reconstitution of Robert Dallam's work, a project made all the more justifiable by the fact that pieces lost at the turn of the century had finally been recovered. The last incredible adventure of the organ-pipes ended early one spring morning when someone left a box containing 150 pipes, enough to complete most of the stops. The recovered pipes were immediately replaced in their precise places inside the organ, confirmed by handwritten traces and marks left on them by the organ-builder himself, Robert Dallam. After tenders, the 'work was given to Mr. B. Formentelli from Pedemonte, Italy. Begun in April 1985, restoration was completed in September 1986, putting the instrument back into its authentic historical context with its original diapason, its original tone, the exact colour of its timbres and stops, in temperaments ideal for illustrating the music of its time. Due to the exceptional quality of most of the pipes and their slight need for alteration, their unique discovery led to restoration carried out with utmost respect for the instrument. The case dating from 1653 is now restored to a perfect state, in polychrome and gold with its 39 front pipes, all of them original. The facade is designed with the same depth as King's College, Cambridge. The statue adorning the upper niche, revered before restoration as the patron-saint St Brandan, was found, after cleaning, to go by the name of Saint Efflam, the patron-saint of the parish of Plestin-les-Greves. Geneviève Le Louarn and Jean-Pierre Decavele translated by Jeffrey Grice. Of all the great organist-harpsichordists of the seventeenth century, none was more admired than Johann Jacob Froberger. As Organist of the Holy Roman Emperor in Vienna, and thanks to his travels all over Europe, he achieved almost legendary status in his lifetime. This was the result not only of his amazing skills at the keyboard, of his inimitable touch and personal style, and of the profoundly learned nature of some of his pieces, but also because of the many misadventures which apparently befell him. This amazing artist, so brilliant in public, was in fact a rather introspective man in private, given to «musical meditations» on subjects that are not only melancholy but remarkably modern. Froberger had two sides: the aura of fame which during his international travels surrounded the great virtuoso, an acknowledged master of the keyboard, masked a darker, questioning, more private side. This double aspect of his personality is in perfect harmony with the chiaroscuro effects so important to painters of the period. In some ways, Froberger is a highly romantic figure, worthy of the nineteenth century; but it would be a mistake to imagine that the age of Paganini and Liszt is more romantic than the seventeenth century! Froberger's strong romanticism is of an essentially seventeenth-century nature. He was a «wild genius» of the kind that attracted crowds and legends. For example, he composed a harpsichord piece entitled Memento Mori Froberger, Meditation on my future death, to be played slowly and with discretion. Another is called Lamentation on what was stolen from me and a marginal note in the manuscript adds that the work should be «played with discretion, and better than the way the soldiers treated me», a reference to the fact that he had been physically assaulted by soldiers from Lorraine during a journey from Brussels to Louvain, despite having a passport signed by the Imperial authorities. Other lamentations or meditations are based on the deaths of Ferdinand III and Ferdinand IV, whereas the Tombeau composed in Paris on the death of Monsieur Blancheroche is in memory of the lute player Charles Fleury, Sieur de Blancrocher, who died in 1652 during Froberger's second stay in Paris. (One evening after supper, Fleury fell down the stairs, an event imitated by a falling scale at the end of the piece!) The Plainte composed in London to pass Melancholy, recorded here, is in the same style. Another marginal note explains how Froberger was once again unlucky, and refers to his melancholy nature. On the way from Paris for London, he «was robbed at sea of all he had... he arrived in a fishermen's inn without a penny, and went from there to London. Since he wished to find an entrance into society and to hear music, he had the idea of becoming pumper for the o...
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