Paul Tegels Presents a Program on Noels

On Saturday, November 14, 2026, members of the Tacoma Chapter of the American Guild of Organists gathered in the resonant, brutalist sanctuary of Christ Episcopal Church for a morning of festive enlightenment. Chapter Dean Paul Tegels presented an engaging, deeply informative program titled “Noëls, Noëls!”—exploring the rich, spirited world of French Noël variations for the organ.

Utilizing Christ Church’s colorful tracker-action instrument (John Brombaugh & Associates, Opus 22), Dr. Tegels paired historical 18th-century French masterworks with later 19th-century Romantic settings, offering our audience a masterclass in style, registration, and historical context.

A Brief History of French Noëls

Paul opened the morning with an introduction to the lineage of the Noël. While the term has centuries-old roots as a joyous Christmas greeting, true French noels were scarce prior to the 16th century. However, the 17th and 18th centuries saw a massive proliferation. These tunes were sung enthusiastically in the streets and woven into Christmas Eve services—often the only time such vernacular melodies were permitted inside the church walls.

Because many organ transcriptions survived from this golden age, performers today look at two primary historical strata: early 18th-century masterpieces and late 19th-century treatments (alongside occasional 20th-century contributions, such as those by Dupré).

As Paul aptly noted regarding the textual backdrop: “Text of noels is not as important as in Bach pieces because they typically do not involve word painting.” Instead, the charm lies in character, variation form, and imaginative color. And for those Sunday morning service planners among us, Paul offered a pragmatic piece of pastoral advice: “If the Noël has fast variations, and you’re playing for church and not a concert, you can always leave out the hard ones.”

Composers and Quirks of Practice

• Jean-François Dandrieu (c. 1682–1738): Dandrieu published an essential treatise on accompaniment that remains a cornerstone for modern performance practice. Notably, he used a particular ornament (+) inconsistently—acting as either a trill or a mordent depending on the surrounding ornament matrix.
• Louis-Claude Daquin (1694–1772): Born d’Aquino (descended from the Italian town of Aquino), Daquin was renowned for his dazzling, unfaltering precision and mechanical evenness at both the harpsichord and organ.
• Claude-Nicolas Balbastre (1724–1799): Balbastre’s high-profile church positions nearly landed him in trouble during the French Revolution, but he deftly adapted to the changing political climate—even composing a set of variations on La Marseillaise!

Repertoire and Brombaugh Registrations

The heart of the morning featured side-by-side explorations of Christmas tunes, highlighting how Romantic composers reinterpreted themes first immortalized by Baroque masters.

1. Or nous dites Marie (Tell Us, Mary)

• Balbastre:
  • Great: Holpijp 8′
  • Positive: Gedackt 8′
  • Pedal: Subbas 16′
  • Manuals coupled. First part played with both hands on the Great, second part with left hand on Positiv.
• Guilmant:
  • Great: Quintadena 16′, Holpijp 8′
  • Positive: Erzähler 8, Voix Celeste 8
  • Pedal: Subbas 16′
  • Pos/Great, Pos/Pedal.

2. Noël Suisse (Il est un petit l’ange / Swiss Noël)

• Daquin:
  • Great: Trumpet, Holpijp 8′, Octave 4′, Quint 3′, Tierce 1 3/5′
  • Positive: Krummhorn, Gedackt 8′, Flute 4′, Nasard 3′
  • Pedal: Posaune 16′
  • All couplers.
• Franck:
  • Great: Trumpet, Holpijp 8′, Octave 4′, Quint 3′, Tierce 1 3/5′
  • Positive: Gedackt 8′, Flute 4′
  • Pedal: Subbas 16′
  • Great/Pedal.

3. Noël en Musette

• Daquin:
  • Great: Harfenregal
  • Positive: Gedackt 8′
  • Pos/Ped.
  • (This piece features an extensive 8-page continuous drone, a hallmark of the rustic musette style. Paul played only two pages, an dryly noted, “You can thank me later.”)

4. Noël X (Grand Jeu et Duo) — Daquin

• Opening: Positive: Gedackt 8′, Flute 4′, Nasard 3′, Krummhorn
• Variation 1: Right hand (Great: Holpijp 8′, Octave 4′, Quint 3′, Tierce 1 3/5′); Left hand (Positive, with registration above)
• Variation 2: Great: Grand Jeu (registration above + Trumpet 8′)
• Variation 3: Same as Variation 1
• Variation 4: Positive: Gedackt 8′, Flute 4′
• Variation 5: Great: Grand Jeu; Positive: Gedackt 8′, Flute 4′, Nasard 3′, Tierce 1 3/5′ (Positive/Great; Echo = minus Nasard/Tierce)
• A special organizational warning from Paul regarding this piece: Remember the “811 rule” (akin to “call before you dig”): “Look ahead before you start playing.” Turning the page might abruptly thrust you into flying 16th notes!

5. Tous les Bourgeois de Châtres

• Dandrieu: Utilized the Gedackt 8′ in the left hand to brilliantly simulate the rhythmic thud of a drum.

6. 14 Preludes or Pieces on Noëls (Text by Denisot) — A. P. F. Boëli

• Described by Camille Saint-Saëns as “simply a masterpiece,” this collection mirrors Bach’s Orgelbüchlein by maintaining a single unifying motivic figure throughout each piece. Paul demonstrated two movements:
  • Cantique 1 (Seigneur Dieu ouvre la porte): Great: Præstant 8′, Octave 4′; Pedal: Subbas 16′, Octave 8′, Octave 4′.
  • Cantique 11 (Voici la première entrée): Same as above + Positive Gedackt 8′, Præstant 4′, Krummhorn; Pos/Great, Pos/Pedal.

7. O jour ton divin flambeau

• Balbastre: Great: Holpijp 8′; Positive: Gedackt 8′; Positive/Great.
• Guilmant: Great: Quintadena 16′, Holpijp 8′; Positive: strings; Pedal: Subbas 16′; Positive/Pedal.
• Anonymous Spanish (17th Century):Canción para la Corneta con el Eco (based on a French noel, later featured by Lully in a 1661 ballet):
  • Corneta: Positive (Gedackt 8′, Flute 4′, Nasard 3′, Waldflöte 2′)
  • Eco (and left hand): Great (Holpijp 8′, Spitzflöte 4′).

8. Noël XI (Une jeune pucelle / Une jeune fillette) — Daquin

• Based on one of the most widespread folk tunes in Europe (which also crossed over into the Lutheran reformation as Von Gott will ich nicht lassen or La Monica).
• This piece presents classic registration puzzles: as originally written, the pedal part sits too high for a standard pedalboard, and the tierce en taille voice frequently sounds higher than the accompaniment. Paul noted that modern editions commonly transpose the pedal down an octave and lower the left-hand tierce part an octave to sit comfortably.

9. Joseph est bien marié (Joseph is well married to the daughter of Jesse)

• Balbastre:
  • Gracieusement: Positive: Gedackt 8′, Flute 4′
  • Variation 1: RH: Positive (Ged 8′, Fl 4′, Nasard 3′); LH: Great (Holpijp 8′, Octave 4′)
  • Variation 2: RH: Positive (+ 2′); LH: Great (+ Quint 3′, Trumpet)
  • Majeur: Positive: Gedackt 8′, Flute 4′, Waldflöte 2′
  • Variation 3: Positive: Gedackt 8′, Erzähler 8′
  • Variation 4: Great: Holpijp 8′, Octave 4′, Quint 3′, Octave 2′, Trumpet; Ending on Positive Gedackt 8′, Flute 4′
• Guilmant:
  • Great: Præstant 8′, Octave 4′, Quint 3′, Octave 2′, Mixture, Trumpet
  • Positive: Gedackt 8′, Præstant 4′, Nasard 3′, Krummhorn
  • Pedal: Posaune 16′, Trumpet 8′
  • All couplers (Middle section: Great minus Trumpet and Mixture).

Conclusion

Tegels’s presentation provided our chapter with a wonderful blend of musicological depth, performance tips, and holiday cheer. Playing through these centuries-old settings on the glorious Brombaugh organ reminded us all of the enduring vitality of French Christmas traditions. Sincere thanks to Paul for organizing and presenting such an inspiring morning for the Tacoma AGO!