Charles Racquet
Encyclopedia
Charles Racquet was a French
organist
and composer, best known for his monumental organ Fantaisie.
He came from a large family of Parisian organists and himself was appointed organist of Notre Dame de Paris
at an early age, in 1618. He held the post until shortly before his death and was succeeded by another member of the Racquet family. He also served as musician to Marie de' Medici
(a post that his father Balthazar occupied earlier) and to Anne d'Autriche, the Queen Mother
. Racquet was very highly regarded by his contemporaries: his pupils included the famous lutenist Denis Gaultier
(who wrote a tombeau
on his teacher's death), Jesuit scholar Marin Mersenne
was a close friend of his, and in the 18th century writer Jean-Benjamin La Borde named Racquet "the best organist of his time."
Of Racquet's music only a single organ fantaisie and 12 duos on psalm verses survive, in Mersenne's Traité de l'harmonie universelle (1636). The fantasia, written upon Mersenne's request to "show what could be done at the organ", is one of the most famous pieces of the French organ school. It is inspired by Dutch music, particularly that of Sweelinck
: a single theme is developed through several sections, most of them imitative. The layout is as follows:
Racquet's Fantaisie is a unique piece in the entire French keyboard repertory; nothing like it was ever written again in France.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
organist
Organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists...
and composer, best known for his monumental organ Fantaisie.
He came from a large family of Parisian organists and himself was appointed organist of Notre Dame de Paris
Notre Dame de Paris
Notre Dame de Paris , also known as Notre Dame Cathedral, is a Gothic, Roman Catholic cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, France. It is the cathedral of the Catholic Archdiocese of Paris: that is, it is the church that contains the cathedra of...
at an early age, in 1618. He held the post until shortly before his death and was succeeded by another member of the Racquet family. He also served as musician to Marie de' Medici
Marie de' Medici
Marie de Médicis , Italian Maria de' Medici, was queen consort of France, as the second wife of King Henry IV of France, of the House of Bourbon. She herself was a member of the wealthy and powerful House of Medici...
(a post that his father Balthazar occupied earlier) and to Anne d'Autriche, the Queen Mother
Anne of Austria
Anne of Austria was Queen consort of France and Navarre, regent for her son, Louis XIV of France, and a Spanish Infanta by birth...
. Racquet was very highly regarded by his contemporaries: his pupils included the famous lutenist Denis Gaultier
Denis Gaultier
Denis Gaultier was a French lutenist and composer. He was a cousin of Ennemond Gaultier.-Life:...
(who wrote a tombeau
Tombeau
A tombeau is a musical composition commemorating the death of a notable individual. The term derives from the French word for "tomb" or "tombstone". The vast majority of tombeaux date from the 17th century and were composed for lute or other plucked string instruments...
on his teacher's death), Jesuit scholar Marin Mersenne
Marin Mersenne
Marin Mersenne, Marin Mersennus or le Père Mersenne was a French theologian, philosopher, mathematician and music theorist, often referred to as the "father of acoustics"...
was a close friend of his, and in the 18th century writer Jean-Benjamin La Borde named Racquet "the best organist of his time."
Of Racquet's music only a single organ fantaisie and 12 duos on psalm verses survive, in Mersenne's Traité de l'harmonie universelle (1636). The fantasia, written upon Mersenne's request to "show what could be done at the organ", is one of the most famous pieces of the French organ school. It is inspired by Dutch music, particularly that of Sweelinck
Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck
Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck was a Dutch composer, organist, and pedagogue whose work straddled the end of the Renaissance and beginning of the Baroque eras. He was among the first major keyboard composers of Europe, and his work as a teacher helped establish the north German organ...
: a single theme is developed through several sections, most of them imitative. The layout is as follows:
- Section 1: traditional imitative counterpoint with several countersubjects
- Section 2: imitative counterpoint on an ornamented version of the subject, with faster counterpoints
- Section 3: subject in augmentation, stated once in each voice
- Section 4: a bicinium duplici contrapuncto, a two-voice section in which the subject in its original form is combined with sixteenth-note figures in the other voice
- Section 5: a toccataToccataToccata is a virtuoso piece of music typically for a keyboard or plucked string instrument featuring fast-moving, lightly fingered or otherwise virtuosic passages or sections, with or without imitative or fugal interludes, generally emphasizing the dexterity of the performer's fingers...
above a pedal pointPedal pointIn tonal music, a pedal point is a sustained tone, typically in the bass, during which at least one foreign, i.e., dissonant harmony is sounded in the other parts. A pedal point sometimes functions as a "non-chord tone", placing it in the categories alongside suspensions, retardations, and passing...
Racquet's Fantaisie is a unique piece in the entire French keyboard repertory; nothing like it was ever written again in France.