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The Dialogue

A piece that alternates two or more keyboards, like choirs answering one another.

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What it is

The dialogue alternates sound planes, for example the petit jeu and the grand jeu. Its name becomes more specific in the titles: dialogue sur les grands jeux, dialogue sur la voix humaine, dialogue de récits. Boyvin, in 1690, distinguishes two kinds, the small dialogues and the grand dialogue, played on as many as “four choruses”.

In practice

In the music of the Couperins and their contemporaries

“For the small Dialogues, on the Positive, the Cromorne with its foundation as above; on the great organ the Trompette, the Clairon and the Cornet with the foundation; the keyboards are coupled, and no tremulant is used,” writes Boyvin. For the grand dialogue he adds to the great organ the nazard, quarte and tierce, and the tremblant à vent perdu; “the third chorus is the separate Cornet and the fourth is the Echo Cornet”.

Dom Bedos, in 1770, describes a dialogue of cornet, cromorne and echo: the cornet de récit, the cromorne and prestant on the positive, the echo cornet, with an accompaniment on the two 8-foot stops of the great organ. He also treats the voix humaine as a dialogue of treble and bass, before joining the parts.

The works

In the repertoire

15 works in the project’s repertoire bear this name in their title.

Nicolas Lebègue (c. 1631–1702)

Livre I - DialogueListen

Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers (c. 1632–1714)

DialogueListen

Jacques Boyvin (c. 1649–1706)

Livre I - DialogueListen

François Couperin (1668–1733)

Messe des Couvents - Dialogue sur la Voix HumaineListen
Messe des Couvents - Dialogue sur les Tierces et la Basse sur la TrompetteListen
Messe des Paroisses - Dialogue sur la Voix HumaineListen
Messe des Paroisses - Dialogue sur les Grands JeuxListen