Passacaille d'Armide (2 versions)

at 00:00 St Maximin, on the Grand jeu
at 04:55 Ottobeuren, on foundation stops alone


Armide is an opera composed by Lully in 1686. It's a very complicated and sadly-ending love story beetween a knight and a wizard oriental princess during the Middle-Age crusades.
The majestic passacaille takes place near the end of the opera.

To play a majestic 17th French orchestral piece on the organ, the first reflex is to use a French classical organ and to use the grand jeu with all its blazing reeds. It's the St-Maximin version, although with a "light Grand jeu" which doesn't include the very complete big band.

The problem is that this passacaille has also - IMHO - a melancholic touch which evokes South-German passacailles or chaconnes (Pachelbel, Kerll, Muffat....) ; some variations are strikingly similar to Pachelbel's Ciacona in f minor. So there is a second version with Ottobeuren used in a restrained mood, with some flues only.

A third solution could perphaps have been to change registration at each variation, but I prefered to keep a relatively homogeneous sound all along the piece, without knowing exactly why.

The transcription is mainly by Jean-Paul Lécot, with some borrowings to d'Anglebert harpsicord version.