CD Imaginary Day, track 17: Grand jeu de tierce, clairon, flageolet et bouteilles, organ Stevenskerk Nijmegen

The title refers to a registration used in organ music from the French Baroque, the Grand jeu de tierce. Here, we have the principles 16', 8', and 2', with flutes 8' and 4', the 6' and tertian 31/2' of the great manual. This registration is used for a left hand variable ostinato producing a sound reminiscent of bell-ringing. Except for a carefully made African drum, the percussion used here is quite primitive: two empty wine bottles, a smaller soft drink bottle, two copper jugs and a larger tin jug. Placed on a chair and to the right side of the organ bench, these can all be played by a wooden stick held in the right hand. The bottles were specifically chosen for their pitch and quality of sound in a large church. The main melody is for the Clairon 4' of the pedal, like a cantus firmus which distinguishes itself from the accompaniment by sustained notes and a different timbre. The piece is concluded with the modest, bright sound of the copper jugs, played with a small copper stick,  rather than the wooden stick used at the beginning. The video shows the sketches which serves the improvisation; melodic outlines for the left hand and feet and indications for the use of the percussion instruments.