Top of page

Book/Printed Material Montreal Organ Book. Livre d'orgue de Montréal

About this Item

Title

  • Montreal Organ Book.

Other Title

  • Livre d'orgue de Montréal

Summary

  • The Livre d'orgue de Montréal (Montreal organ book) is the largest extant manuscript of French organ music of the period of Louis XIV (reigned 1643-1715). Labeled "Pièces d'orgue" (Organ pieces) on the spine, the 540-page book is comprised of 40 separate quires, or collections of leaves. The book has no table of contents or indication of composer, but 16 of its 398 pieces have been attributed to Nicolas Lebègue (1631--1702), organist to the king in France. Among Lebègue's pieces in the manuscript are the "Tierces ou cromhornes en taille" (Tierces or krummhorns in tenor) of 1676, the "Magnificat du 2me" (Magnificat of the second) of 1678, "Offertoire" (Offertory) and "Élévation" (Elevation) of 1685, and "Offertoire en F ut fa" (Offertory in F-flat major), a piece never published in Lebègue's lifetime. In addition to Lebègue's work, the manuscript contains six masses, eleven Magnificats sung at Vespers, nine other suites of pieces that could be used as Magnificats, three Te Deums, and a Pange lingua. The manuscript bears the mark of two previous owners: on the outside front cover, "J.J. Girouard 1847," and on the inside front cover, "Girard 1724." Jean Girard (1696--1765) trained as a church musician at the Sainte-Chapelle in Bourges. He entered the Sulpician Seminary in Bourges or Paris in 1720 but was never ordained as a priest. He instead requested permission to travel to Montreal in 1724, where he became the organist at the parish of Notre-Dame. He took with him, along with Guillaume-Gabriel Nivers's Premier Livre d'orgue (First organ book) and Traité de la Composition de musique (Treatise on the composition of music), this manuscript of French organ pieces. In the 19th century, Jean-Joseph Girouard (1794--1855), a notary, music lover, and intellectual leader of the 1837 Rebellion, acquired the manuscript from the Sulpicians (the Catholic society to which Girard belonged).

Names

  • Lebègue, Nicolas, 1631-1702 Attributed Name.

Created / Published

  • [place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified], [1661 to 1715]

Headings

  • -  France
  • -  Canada--Quebec--Montréal
  • -  1661 to 1715
  • -  Liturgies
  • -  Magnificat (Music)
  • -  Masses
  • -  Musical scores
  • -  Organ music
  • -  Te Deum laudamus (Music)

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  Reference extracted from World Digital Library: Gallat-Morin, Élisabeth, "Jean Girard," in The Canadian Encyclopedia (Edmonton: Historica Canada, 1985- ), article published July 5, 2007.|Gallat-Morin, Élisabeth, "Livre D'Orgue De Montréal," in The Canadian Encyclopedia (Edmonton: Historica Canada, 1985- ), article published February 8, 2006.
  • -  Original resource at: National Library and Archives of Quebec.
  • -  Content in French.
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021668141

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress is unaware of any copyright or other restrictions in the World Digital Library Collection. Absent any such restrictions, these materials are free to use and reuse. Researchers are encouraged to review the source information attached to each item. For information on contacting WDL partner organizations, see this archived list of partners

The Library asks that researchers approach the materials in this collection with respect for the culture and sensibilities of the people whose lives, ideas, and creativity are documented here.

Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

More about Copyright and other Restrictions

For additional information and contact information for many of the partner organizations, see this archived capture of the World Digital Library site from 2021.

For guidance about compiling full citations consult Citing Primary Sources.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Lebègue, Nicolas, Attributed Name. Montreal Organ Book. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, to 1715, 1661] Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021668141/.

APA citation style:

Lebègue, N. (1661) Montreal Organ Book. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, to 1715] [Pdf] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021668141/.

MLA citation style:

Lebègue, Nicolas, Attributed Name. Montreal Organ Book. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, to 1715, 1661] Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021668141/>.