Le Livre d’Orgue de Limoges (c. 1780)

The renowned organist Michel Chapuis once described Le Livre d’Orgue de Limoges as ‘one of the most superb discoveries of the last 50 years’. The manuscript was probably copied during the 1770s or later, and although no composers’ names are provided, we know the music of three from other sources: André Raison, Gilles Jullien and Gaspard Corrette. However, these make up just thirteen of its 53 pieces. The manuscript’s anonymous scribe carefully chose an erudite series of versets, including a suite on the hymn Ave Maris Stella and the only known paired pieces in the French Classical repertoire. In an extended preface, this new critical edition examines the music, how and why manuscripts came into being, registration and aspects of performance sourced from Marie-Dominique-Joseph Engramelle and Dom Bédos de Celles, whose own publications are ideally suited to the manuscript’s date.