To a certain extent,
Ropartz is the ‘Odd Man Out’ in this
superb and generously filled selection
of French organ music. Of course, he
and Vierne were disciples of Franck,
whereas the other composers are related
to each other in one way or another.
Vierne was Dupré’s mentor and
Dupré was the teacher of Messiaen,
Langlais and Litaize. Moreover the three
younger composers were exact contemporaries
and died within the space of a few months
in 1991-1992.
Ropartz’s Prélude
Funèbre, composed at
the turn of the century, is much indebted
to Franck’s chromatic writing, but is
nevertheless an impressive and moving
piece in its own right. Its current
neglect is hard to understand.
Vierne, for all his
indebtedness to tradition, was one of
the first organists to commit his interpretations
to disc. This happened in 1928 when
he recorded some pieces by Bach as well
as the Improvisations
heard here and later transcribed into
written notation by Duruflé.
This was fortunate for these fine works
would have been irretrievably lost,
were if not for Duruflé’s dedicated
and painstaking efforts. "Oh, well,
some pompous republican marches will
do!". These beautiful improvisations
are actually much more than that, of
course; for if the outer pieces fit
that ‘cap’ (although pomposity is totally
absent), the central Meditation
is a real little gem.
Messiaen’s early Offrande
au Saint Sacrement was found
among his papers after his death. It
is obviously an early work, composed
in the early 1930s, at the outset of
Messiaen’s career. It already sounds
clearly ‘Messiaen-ish’ enough to justify
its inclusion in any complete recording
of his organ music (as in Olivier Latry’s
recent recording).
The three pieces by
Langlais are beautifully done. I enjoyed
the marvellous Suite Brève,
short in terms of playing time but packed
with invention. His impressive Evocation,
actually the fourth movement of his
Hommage à Rameau
of 1964 and the longest single item
here, makes me eager to hear that major
work complete. I do hope that Colin
Walsh will consider it for an all-Langlais
disc some day. This is a piece of substance,
highly virtuosic and of great expressive
strength as is the somewhat more straightforward
Incantation pour un jour Saint.
I had never heard a
note of Litaize, although I knew him
quite well as a distinguished organist.
Of the three short pieces heard here,
I particularly enjoyed the nimble-footed
Scherzo of 1932 and the
appealing Lied of 1934
with its echoes of Ravel’s Mother
Goose - a particularly touching
piece.
Dupré is represented
here by the third movement Allegro
deciso from his triptych Evocation
Op.37 composed in 1941 in memory
of his father. This is actually the
second recording of it that I have been
able to review here - the other one
is on Lammas LAMM 164D Sounds French.
It made me really willing to hear the
complete triptych which is available
on Naxos 8.554211. This rousing piece,
a ‘Song of Resistance’ if ever there
was one, provides for an uplifting conclusion
to this magnificent release superbly
played by Colin Walsh on the glorious
organ of Lincoln Cathedral and magnificently
recorded. A most desirable disc. One
of the finest organ recitals that I
have heard recently.
Hubert Culot
see also review
by John
France and Michael
Cookson
Colin Walsh at the organ of Lincoln Cathedral