This piece was written in 2007 for the inauguration of the Dominique Thomas organ at the the Temple du Bouclier in Stasbourg. This instrument was inspired from the organ baroque craftsmanship in Thuringia and Saxony and is particularly rich in 8' and 4' pipes: Rohrflöte 8', Gemshorn 8', Viola di gamba 8', Principal 8', Spitzflöte 4' and Octav 4' at the great organ, Bourdon 8', Traversflöte 8', Salicional 8', Quintaton 8', Flöte 4' and Principal 4' at the positive...
The composition is aimed at showcasing those tones with subtle shadings, without ever using the full organ with mixtures. The seventeenth only appears in the last section.
Kolorierte Flöten unfurls from a mostly melodic material, and I develop an ornamentation that constantly grows more exuberant. Even though I composed this piece without any specific reference, it is easy to see it paired up with late baroque pieces of central Germany, especially from Johann Ludwig Krebs and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach's generation.
Each performer will be free to adapt to the registration of the instrument he is playing. He will have to make sure to avoid sharp sounds. Playing this piece on a Romantic instrument is not to be excluded. In the second part, the sustained notes have to float consistently in the background. If the pedalboard does not have couplers for the positive, or 4' soft stops, an assistant can help by blocking long sustained notes on the positive or on an Echo keyboards with weights.
The performer will have to possess a great rhythmic flexibility and focus on the discourse continuity.
The alterations only apply to the bar and only at the specified pitch. The accaciature (notes or groups of crossed notes) should be played as fast as possible, just before the main note. The metronome indications are simply informative and should be adapted depending on the acoustics of the place and characteristics of the instrument.
In 2011, I worked again on the composition to adapt it to an organ which top limit of manual keyboard would not go beyond ré-5.
