Festivo have championed
a number of old recordings of the enigmatic
Jeanne Demessieux by making them available
again, in remastered form. These have
included her complete Franck cycle recorded
at La Madeleine in late 1950s. In the
present release, the fourth in the series
entitled The Legendary Jeanne Demessieux,
her recordings for the Norddeutschen
Rundfunk are the focus. These were made
during three separate trips to Hamburg
on recently built or rebuilt organs.
Most interesting here
are the recordings of Demessieux playing
her own music, especially her spiky
rendition of the Te Deum. All
the material here is valuable in its
own right though. It is astonishing
that a Parisian organist of Demessieux's
generation could produce such a well
balanced Bach Prelude and Fugue for
instance. Her Franck playing, as on
her recording of the complete works,
is an interesting paradox of flowing
lines and sometimes extreme rubato which
occasionally halts the flow. In general
it is notable how much more freedom
Demessieux took when performing other
people's music than her own. Also puzzling
is her Messiaen; this is probably the
fastest recording of the piece ever
made, yet dates from just two years
later than the composer's own, admittedly
idiosyncratic, recording which lasts
nearly 2½ minutes longer.
The organs in general
didn't serve her well. The first is
a Kemper organ, then brand new; the
Franck is played on a huge Steinmeyer,
also brand new when recorded. The remainder
is played on a much altered 17th/18th
century organ, which had just been rebuilt
for the by von Beckerath, (the booklet
doesn't tell us this, why not?). This
instrument has recently been completely
replaced. In general the organs sound
typically thin, in stark contrast to
the voluptuous sounds of the early Cavaillé-Coll
in the Madeleine, where Demessieux was
titulaire. One should also note that
around the same time, a certain E. Power
Biggs was already making pioneer recordings
in nearby Neuenfelde .....
These recordings offer
a fascinating insight into a unique
character, tragically taken from the
organ world far too early. Festivo are
to be commended for galvanising public
awareness of the art of Jeanne Demessieux
with this aural tribute. I am not aware
whether my favourite Demessieux recording
has yet been re-issued. This is an LP
of two Handel organ concertos, in improbably
grand performances with the Orchestra
of the Suisse Romande under Ernest Ansermet,
recorded in Victoria Hall in Geneva.
Demessieux is in full-flight here, cadenzas
and all, at the old Ziegler organ. My
cherished mono copy, released by Decca,
at a guess in the late 1950s, has the
number LXT 2759. I hope Festivo can
do the honours!
Chris Bragg
Jeanne Demessieux, organ 
