François d'Agincourt (1684-1758)
- Missa in assumptione beata Mariae Virginis
Performers: Jean-Patrice Brosse (orgue); Choeur Gregorien Antiphona
Further info: D'agincourt - Missa
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French organist and composer. After his apprenticeship at Rouen he
continued his training in Paris, probably with Lebègue. From 1701 to
1706 he was organist of Ste Madeleine-en-la-Cité, Paris; he then
succeeded Jacques Boyvin at Rouen Cathedral, a post he was to occupy,
together with that of organist of St Herbland and of the abbey of St
Ouen, until his death. In 1714 he was also appointed one of the four
organists of the royal chapel and in 1726 organist of St Jean, Rouen.
His Premier livre de clavecin, which contains 43 pieces, is the most
remarkable of his works. It is similar to works by François Couperin,
whom Dagincourt admired, particularly regarding its organization into
ordres (d, F, D and E), its formal structures, the use of ornamentation
and the presence of character-pieces, including personal or even dual
portraits (e.g. Les deux cousines, La villerey ou les deux soeurs),
genre scenes (Le colin maillard) and nature tableaux (Le val joyeux, Le
moulin à vent, Les violettes fleuries). Notable pieces include La
Couperin, an allemande in homage to Couperin, La sincopée, an attractive
exploration of rhythm, and La moderne, which Dagincourt judged to be
‘of a very different taste from the others’; it includes indications for
changes of manual, and was written to meet the demand for novelty from
amateurs. His organ pieces, which consist of short versets for
ecclesiastical use, are classified according to the first six church
modes (excluding mode 3). Their style, more advanced than that of
similar works by Couperin, suggests a late date of composition; they
exhibit galant characteristics and make frequent use of the diminished
7th chord. The first three suites (on modes 1, 2 and 4) each consist of
three short versets with an introductory Plein jeu of no more than 20
bars and a short final dialogue. The remaining pieces, however, are
rather more developed and make satisfying use of techniques already
employed experimentally by Boyvin, as in the Concerts pour les flûtes
with their florid lines and graceful triplets. He makes sensitive use of
the basse de cromorne and the récit de nasard (usually in 6/8 or 3/8),
and in the suite on mode 5 Dagincourt is particularly ambitious, in his
setting of the second Plein jeu in the manner of a highly ornamental
recitative and in his treatment of the ensuing Fugue and Cornet.
