COMPOSERS: Daquin
LABELS: Helios
ALBUM TITLE: Nouveau livre de No‘ls
PERFORMER: Christopher Herrick (organ)
CATALOGUE NO: CDH 55319
‘Noël’, of course, is French for Christmas, but also for a particular type of organ composition espoused by French composers, working decorative, often highly virtuosic variations on simple seasonal melodies. Twelve such pieces comprise Louis-Claude Daquin’s Nouveau livre de noëls, another warmly recommendable Helios reissue. Christopher Herrick is the soloist, playing a restored French organ from Daquin’s period (early 18th century), a beautifully voiced instrument with a distinctly spicy range of stop combinations, the peppery reeds standing out particularly. Recorded sound is excellent.
Terry Blain
Daquin
‘Noël’, of course, is French for Christmas, but also for a particular type of organ composition espoused by French composers, working decorative, often highly virtuosic variations on simple seasonal melodies. Twelve such pieces comprise Louis-Claude Daquin’s Nouveau livre de noëls, another warmly recommendable Helios reissue. Christopher Herrick is the soloist, playing a restored French organ from Daquin’s period (early 18th century), a beautifully voiced instrument with a distinctly spicy range of stop combinations, the peppery reeds standing out particularly.
