In an interview in
the booklet of one of his other Hortus
CDs, the brilliant Loic Mallie tells
us that one of the typical assignments
he gives improvisation students is to
"demonstrate what an organ sounds like".
This is the thinking, I suspect, behind
this CD: primarily to demonstrate the
new instrument in Mallie's church, Kern's
creation for St-Pothin in Lyon. Given
that the organ is very much the focus
of attention, it is a great pity that
no stop list is given. Conceptually
the organ seems interesting: three manuals,
two of which enclosed, a symphonic aesthetic,
with the re-use of much Merklin pipework,
61/32 compasses, varied wind-pressures,
mechanical action with Barker machines
but electric stop action. The organ
speaks the language of late 19th
century France well, but with a slightly
more neutral accent than one might expect;
the ghost of Kern's reconstructions
of the 1960s and 1970s, (Toulouse Cathedral
springs to mind) not entirely exorcised.
Not that that is necessarily a negative
comment, though I do find the Pleins-Jeux
of the third improvisation a bit hard.
The overall quality of the instrument
seems, on the basis of this recording
to be undeniably high.
Mallie himself seems
inspired by it at any rate. This is
now the third of his improvisation recordings
I have reviewed, and while this is certainly
the darkest, the most atonal, and the
least listener-friendly, it is deeply
admirable. His imaginative use of the
organ and his very special feeling for
atmosphere are the keys to the success
here. Moreover, this is probably the
recording which shows most clearly the
influence of Messiaen on Mallie, both
harmonically, and through other typical
techniques of the former's musical language;
even the birds are never far away.
This is a marvellously
different demonstration of a new organ
of great interest. Despite not grabbing
me in the way that 'Retour de Bayreuth'
did, and despite the short playing time
and lack of a proper booklet (and that
only in French), I have to recommend
this.
Chris Bragg
see also
Loic
MALLIE (b.
1947) Retour de
Bayreuth - Improvisations on Themes
of Wagner:
Andante [5'57]; Scherzando con fuoco
[2'24]; Mysterioso [6'11]; Molto vivo,
Tutti [9'13]; Caccia [1'56]; Prelude
de choral [4'50]; Fugato [4'18]; Marche
Funèbre [8'52]; Humoresque [1'46]; "Tristan..."
[6'06]; Final [12'14] 
Loic Mallie, organ Rec: 7-8 November
1998, La Madeleine, Paris DDD
EDITIONS HORTUS HORTUS 017 [63'47][CB]
It
is a privilege to spend an hour in the
company of such music-making. If this
has not yet found its way to your CD
shelves, buy it without hesitation.
... see Full
Review
Loïc
MALLIÉ (b.
1947) Jeux
- Improvisations on themes of Debussy,
Autour de Debussy [16'50] Prelude,
Fugue et final [4'53], [4'36],
[4'35] Anthologie, la Grotte,
Contraste [5'33] [4'22] Clins
d'Oeil [1'44], [2'55], [3'26],
[5'13] Jeux [6'25] Final
[6'27]
Loïc Maille, organ Rec. Saint
Vaast de Bailleul, September 2003. DDD
EDITIONS HORTUS 032 [71'50] [CB]
I'm left with mixed
feelings overall ... see Full
Review
for details
