16 BACH TO NOTRE-DAME In what respect would you say that Bach’s output lends itself, like no other, to this sort of questioning? The particularity of Bach’s output is that its nature is transcendental, to such an extent that it is suited – within certain limits – to the most varied instruments. I mean that it is ‘timeless’ and I would even go so far as to say that it is not of this world . . . This idea of permanent rebirth is an imperative for performers, who must adjust their playing to the acoustics – at Notre-Dame, the reverberation time is seven seconds – and the instrument at their disposal. It’s obvious that some Bach pieces whose polyphony is particularly elaborate are less suited to this acoustic and this instrument. Contrary to popular belief, the organist is above all a chamber musician. Indeed, each organ, like a mute chamber music partner, obliges us to take part in a curious dialogue: ‘With me, such and such a thing is possible, such and such a thing is not . . . Come on, try, find something else.’ The first rule to know when playing the organ is that you must listen to the instrument, whether it’s this Cavaillé-Coll or any other instrument – in the case of Bach, it might be from north Germany, Saxony or Holland.
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