The most erudite of Grand siècle organ composers, Nicolas de Grigny produced this single publication three years before his death in 1702. It contains an organ mass and five hymn settings for use at the more important feasts of the church year. The original engraving was problematic, with countless wrong notes, ornaments and pieces placed in the wrong order. Yet despite these shortcomings, it was thought important enough to be reprinted by Christoph Ballard in 1711 and to have been copied by J S Bach and J G Walther.

This critical edition is the first to have solely relied on the original engraving without deferring to the ‘corrections’ Bach and Walther made. In a substantial commentary, though, editor Jon Baxendale provides a list of the several hundred variants that appear in the German sources. The preface discusses their copes in detail. It also looks at the music-printing milieu in Paris in an attempt to discover why the engraving was so inaccurate and discusses performance practice, which includes fingering, ornamentation, notes inégales, rhetoric and registration.

Appendices include the correct setting of the plainsong mass, as well as the propers for the Fête pour la Sainte-Vierge. Additionally, the edition contains the five relevant plainsong hymns. These have long been the subject of discussion among organists since they do not correspond with the Parisian versions that have come down to us. However, editor Jon Baxendale compared Grigny’s melodies with surviving antiphonaries in Reims, where Grigny was cathedral organist, which have proved to be an exact match.

Edited by Jon Baxendale

Organ Mass

Five hymn settings

Appropriate plainsong for mass and hymns taken from relevant sources

Background notes

Detailed notes on performance style and use in liturgical contexts

Colour hardback cover with a matt finish