One day, in April 1979, I was listening to
an organist practising on the Cavaillé-Coll organ in Notre Dame, Paris: the
music sounded superb. I asked a fellow listener (an Englishman) what was
playing, and he told me that is was Jeanne Demessieux’s Te Deum, op.1. It was a masterpiece, which I have not heard as
often as I would have liked over the past 40 years. Despite the work being a near perfect ‘fit’
for this prodigious Parisian organ, it was composed with the Ernest M. Skinner instrument in St John the
Divine, New York in her mind.
The entire piece is based a Gregorian
chant used for the Te Deum. The work is presented in three segments. A
quieter almost impressionistic middle section is flanked by two extrovert,
rhythmically-complex and technically-demanding toccata-like movements. This is a
work to bring the house down. It would make an ideal recessional voluntary
after a service of Choral Matins, preferably with a very large cathedral organ!
Listeners
usually associate Nadia Boulanger with teaching music. Her famous pupils
include such diverse composers as Elliot Carter, Lennox Berkeley, Astor
Piazzolla and Burt Bacharach. Yet, she was also a composer, with several
attractive works to her name. Granted, most of her catalogue is devoted to
vocal music, there are a handful of instrumental works, and a few orchestral
pieces. The present dreamy ‘Improvisation’ is from her ‘Trois Pièces’ for organ or harmonium composed around 1911. This is a hushed
work that showcases several stops on this Mander organ, especially the
‘voix-celeste.’
I have not
consciously heard any organ music by Jacques Ibert. Alas, he is usually
recalled only for his delightfully witty Divertimento
for orchestra. Other important works include the sparkling Escales, the romantic, dancing Tropismes
pour des amours imaginaires and the Concertino da camera for Alto Saxophone
and Eleven Instruments. Ibert wrote precious little for the organ. The present
‘Fugue’ is the third of ‘Trio Pièces’ dating from 1920. Organ enthusiasts will appreciate that this
piece is inspired by César Franck. The ‘Fugue’ begins quietly before building
up to a huge climax supported by considerable chromatic harmonies and
melodies. It is dedicated ‘à
Mademoiselle Nadia Boulanger.’
Every organ
enthusiast knows Jehan Alain’s Litanies.
There are 27 recordings of this work currently in the Arkiv CD catalogue.
However, looking at Jehan Stefan’s list of Alain’s compositions reveals more
than 140 works. Few have entered the repertoire, and several appear
unrecorded.
Alain died
in battle at Saumur in the Loire Valley during the summer of 1940, aged only 29.
He is a French war hero. If Alain had survived, his contribution to French
music would have been gigantic, perhaps even rivalling Messiaen as the
‘greatest’ organ composer of the 20th century. The clue to his
success is the clever synthesis of styles that he created. In his music the
listener will experience allusions to ‘Gregorian chant’, jazz rhythms, the
‘exotic tonalities and complex rhythms of Moroccan and Indian music’, as well
as a solid grounding in the whole corpus of French organ music.
The present Variations sur un thème de Clément Jannequin is based on a folk
tune found in a book of old French songs. The theme is by an anonymous
sixteenth century composer and not by Clément Jannequin. The song, ‘L'Espoir que j'ai d'acquérir
votre grace’, is a love lyric enjoining the addressee to not wait too long
before responding to the author’s suit. Whatever the song’s origin, Alain has
developed the tune into an acknowledgement to Jannequin. It is
composed in three sections, mirroring early French practice. The opening
section presents the tune in a simple manner initially with the harmonies of
the original and then contrived in a more acerbic mood. The middle section is a
short fugato passage which is followed by a reprise of the tune subjected to
several chromatic changes. Altogether, a lovely piece that demands to be played
with ‘freshness and tenderness.’
Andre Isoir
wrote only one original organ work, the Six
Variations sur un Psaume Huguenot, op.1 (1974). It was written in response
to a composition contest run by the ‘Friends of the Organ’ and it won First
Prize. The jury included Olivier Messiaen and Henry Barraud. The piece was
published in 1979 and subsequently revised in 2009.
In his Six Variations, Isoir balances an
engaging modernism supported by organ registrations common in the French
Baroque era. This is a colourful work that explores a wide variety of timbres
and moods and concludes with a vibrant ‘toccata.’
Much of Isoir’s
career was spent as an organist with a deep interest in J.S. Bach. He was
involved with the restoration and new-builds of period organs. Isoir has made
more than 60 recordings of organ music.
The Pièces
de Fantasie, Deuxième Suite, op.53 is popular and needs little introduction to
organ enthusiasts. In all, there are four suites, which included 24 separate
pieces. They were composed between 1926-27. Several have become extremely
popular, including ‘Les Cloches de Hinkley’, ‘Carillon de Westminster’ and ‘Naïades.’
The Second Suite features six pieces: ‘Lamento’,
‘Sicilienne’, ‘Hymne au soleil’, ‘Feux Follets’, ‘Clair de Lune’ and ‘Toccata’.
The liner notes provide a good overview of these pieces. My two favourites are ‘Feux
Follet’ and the ‘Toccata.’ The former is a scherzo-like, ‘will o’ the wisp’
piece that is impressionistic in temper and not lacking in musical humour. It is chock-full of ‘bizarre rhythms’,
imaginative registrations and technically-demanding manual changes. The final
number in this Deuxième Suite and the last track on the CD is the stunning ‘Toccata.’
This is a perpetuum mobile that is unrelenting in its perusal of semiquaver
figuration. The work builds up to a shattering climax with all the stops pulled
out. An excellent conclusion to a fascinating CD. It is just a shame that this ‘Toccata’
does not seem to have gained the traction of a certain piece by a gentleman
called Widor.
The booklet
notes (French and English), written by Renée Anne
Louprette and are straightforward and helpful: they include the all-important
organ specification of this superb four-manual and pedals, Noel Mander
instrument.
The organ
was installed in 1993 and is currently the largest ‘tracker action’ (purely
mechanical) instrument in New York City. The acoustic is judged to be ideal and
this is reflected in the great recording of these pieces on this CD. Details of the Renée Anne Louprette can be found on her
webpage.
This is a
great introduction to some lesser-known French organ works. They are splendidly
played by the soloist who shows great understanding and empathy with the genre.
Track Listing:
Jeanne DEMESSIEUX (1921-68)
Te Deum, op.1 (1958)
Nadia BOULANGER (187-1979) Trois Pièces
pour orgue ou harmonium (1911) No.2 ‘Improvisation’
Jacques IBERT (1890-1962) Trois Pièces,
No.3 ‘Fugue’ (1920)
Jehan ALAIN (1911-40) Variations
sur un thème de Clément Jannequin (1937)
André ISOIR (1935-2016) Six
Variations sur un Psaume Huguenot, op.1 (1974)
Louis VIERNE (1870-1937) Pièces de
Fantasie, Deuxième Suite, op.53 (1926/27)
Renée Anne
Louprette (organ)
Rec. The Church of St Ignatius Loyola New York,
New York, USA 2-4 November 2016
ACIS APL 01609
With thanks to MusicWeb International where this review was first
published