Sheet music

Musical Contribution – September 2021

Marche des Rogations                                                                             Eugène Gigout (1844-1925)

(LiVE sampleset: Paris, Cavaillé-Coll)

Eugène Gigout has always been rather overshadowed by his contemporaries. I won’t be going into whether or not that was justified, however. Born in Nancy, he ended up in Paris during his studies and remained there for the rest of his life, serving as organist at St. Augustin. He is best known for his Toccata and the Grand Chœur Dialogué.

This month’s piece of music is a composition for what are known as the rogation days, which are dedicated to prayer and fasting. The major rogation day is on 25 April and the minor rogation days are on the Monday to Wednesday preceding Ascension Thursday.

It is therefore not a robust Marche, but instead a devout one with a leading oboe in the Récit and foundation stops in the accompaniment. It struck me that so many timbres come to the fore in this piece, without many registration changes.

Warm regards,

André van Vliet