Recueil De Noels Formant quatre Suittes. avec des Variations. Pour Le Clavecin. et le Forte Piano.
Paris, F. Montulay for the Author c. 1770.
Oblong small folio (247 x 324 mm.). [iii], [36]p. THIRTY-EIGHT ENGRAVED PLATES ON TWENTY LEAVES: THIRTY-SIX PAGES OF ENGRAVED MUSIC, one engraved dedication, engraved title — all by Madame Vendôme (platemarks 203/6 x 264/8 mm.).
Fine contemporary gilt red morocco (extremities rubbed), outer sharktooth and single-rule border around an ornate frame made up of individual flowers, volutes, sprays, shells, stars and dots, corner impressions of a crowned quiver and torch tool, gilt spine and title, gilt boards edges and turn-ins, all edges gilt, green silk marker.
Only Edition: the only antiquarian printed record of Balbastre’s immensely popular noëls variations. Crowds flocked to his Midnight Mass performances of these pieces, which mixed popular French chansons , traditional Burgundian carols and sacred hymns. His Christmas concerts were in such high demand (and attracted such a celebratory throng) that in 1762 THE ARCHBISHOP OF PARIS BANNED BALBASTRE FROM PERFORMING ON CHRISTMAS EVE. Thereafter, wealthy patrons sought him for private concerts that evening.
These four suites contain twenty-five noëls, with from four to six variations, for harpsichord or fortepiano, intended for amateurs but with ample space for virtuosic improvisation. Some pieces preserve a rustic pastoral spirit with imitations of musettes and horns, echoing the familiar Christmas story of the shepherds in the field.
The organist at Nôtre-Dame and the royal chapel, Balbastre dedicated this collection to the wealthy and refined Louise-Honorine Crozat (1734-1801), duchesse de Choiseul, who could have comfortably played selections for the court. The suite was accomplished by Madame Vendôme, a dominant music engraver in France in the third quarter of the 18th century. Two copies in U.S. libraries. In nice condition (a few marginal spots).
¶Balbastre, Recueil de noëls ed. Fuzeau; Dubois, Claude Balbastre: un virtuose au siècle des Lumières passim, esp. 208-25; Beaurepaire-Fro
Price: $22,000.00