Charlotte Schneider and Guy-Baptiste Jaccottet have been exploring since 2017 the multiple sounds offered by their combined instruments. These curious and playful musicians explore a repertoire stretching from the 16th to the 18th century, transcribing and arranging pieces for their duo. As a result, their music lies at the crossroads of historically informed performance practice and the concrete reality of instruments and places.

Love at first sight for the building, the history, the acoustics and the outstanding organ of the Payerne Abbey: following a first concert programme in 2021, the desire to record in this magnificent setting immediately became obvious.

The abbey’s Ahrend organ – a true musical jewel in the centre of this Romanesque masterpiece – is the programme’s cornerstone. The different pieces have been chosen to highlight the instrument’s multiple facets, from the depth and serenity of the Principal to the elegant clarity of the Ripieno. The immense richness of its meantone temperament with split sharps and its keyboard descending to F (12’) allow the performer to make the most of a huge palette of sound and harmonic colours.

Apart from the solo works, each piece is arranged to suit the specificities of the different flutes and the organ. In the sonatas, for example, specific passages had to be octavated or rewritten for the recorder, and the continuo was arranged so that the whole instrument could be heard. The gaillardes written for solo keyboard have been set for organ and flute, and Palestrina’s madrigals are broadly performed on the keyboard to avoid certain voice crossings that the organ cannot render correctly. This constant arrangement and transcription process is part of our work as a duo. We endeavour to remain as faithful as possible to the text while considering the needs of our instruments at an individual and joint level. In this duo programme, the works are played in pairs.