This is one of those rare pieces, an organ work which has
almost literally everything. It’s one of my favourites, and
Jennifer Bate’s premiere recording, originally on Unicorn-Kanchana
and now part of the complete set on Regis,
is pretty much inscribed onto my aural DNA. There are numerous
noble recordings of this great work around, but it is to Bate’s
I always return, so that is my principal reference.
Paul Jacobs is clearly a highly skilled organist – not to be
confused with pianist Paul Jacobs whose superb 1978 recording
of Debussy’s Préludes on Warner/Nonesuch I only recently
discovered. The later French master Olivier Messiaen is very
well served by this Naxos recording, and if it’s only the Livre
du Saint-Sacrement you are looking for then this bargain
release can hold its own amongst the best.
Jacobs’ timing over the entirety of the piece is a good deal
shorter than Bate’s, but the vast canvas on which this work
is played out can easily cope with having 30 minutes or so shaved
from its entirety and still sound unhurried. In this respect,
Jacobs is closer to Olivier Latry on his DG set. Bate creates
an atmosphere of almost absolute timelessness at crucial moments
however: lingering over sustained movements, and giving us the
kind of glimpses into eternity which Messiaen must have had
in mind while coaching her on interpretation. Jacobs doesn’t
sound ‘wrong’ however, and his lyrical flow in monadic passages
such as Le Dieu caché are elegantly shaped and never
superficial. The organ sound of the Church of St Mary the Virgin
is convincingly colourful and pungent, if not quite as nasally
atmospheric as Messiaen’s own instrument at Sainte-Trinité.
In the end, it is atmosphere which the difference between these
recordings. Both have that sense of awe and grandeur, that affinity
with the sheer hugeness of creation. Jacobs’ has a good deal
less rumble to that of the Paris recording, but both churches
have the right kind of magnificent acoustic needed for such
music to inhabit and create its own worlds of sound. I thought
I was going to have to qualify my bias in favour of Bate, but
while there are certain effects which just seems to ‘fit’ better
in the colours of the Sainte-Trinité organ I can’t honestly
say the St Mary organ is in any way inferior. Take the movement
Les réssuscités et la lumière de vie. The impact of the
opening is more impressive with the New York instrument, and
the bass depths deeper. The pungency of the Paris organ rings
true, but I have to admit all of the terrifying effects sound
every bit as effective on the Naxos recording. A central movement,
La Réssurection du Christ has that marvellous growl from
the Sainte-Trinité organ which also makes the opening Adoro
te so special, but the harmonies are better defined in St
Mary the Virgin, so that the impact of those trademark Messiaen
resolutions are deeply effective. No, the differences
in atmosphere which count are those between the two players,
and even there one can be pushed to favour one above the other.
Where Bate wins for me is where we are brought back to those
abyss-like infinities. Even where the timings are similar with
a movement such as La Transsubstantiation it is the contrast
in voices in the abstract lines of the opening passage and its
reiteration where I prefer the Sainte-Trinité organ. The New
York sound is better fed and rounder by comparison, a bit too
comfortable and easy – perfectly fine in isolation, but listen
to Messiaen’s own instrument and you will experience more why
he was led to explore such effects. Another movement to which
one gravitates is the gorgeous Prière après la communion,
which has an almost cheesy new-age quality which only Messiaen
can make sound really contemplative and spiritual. It is Bate
who achieves these effects best, adding a good minute over Jacobs’
timing, allowing true quiet to be generated and true weight
to be given to those simple but breathtaking melodic gestures
and chord progressions. Even given some slightly dodgy intonation
at Sainte-Trinité, Bate and Jacobs are equally affirmative in
the final Offrandre et Alléluia, the Naxos recording
more spectacular in terms of bass oomph and clarity, the Paris
sounds having their own urgency and distinctive ringing treble
‘ping’ which lifts the entire texture.
Having been pre-programmed by years living with Jennifer Bate’s
premiere recording of this magnificent work I wasn’t expecting
to be that impressed by this Naxos release, but I have to admit
my preconceptions have been entirely swept away. Yes, I still
hold my high regard for the thrill-factor and sheer sense of
spiritual content in Bate’s recording, and I do ultimately favour
the authentic Sainte-Trinité organ and ‘presence of the composer’
sound over the richer sonorities of St Mary the Virgin, but
neither do I want this to take away from Paul Jacobs’ achievement
in this new recording. If trouser-flapping bass is what you
look for with organ recordings then the Naxos disc will satisfy
more, though not with quite the immediacy and startlingly spectacular
clarity of Olivier Latry at the organ of Notre-Dame in Paris
on DG. Latry is marvellously impressive, but ultimately like
a teenage bride for the middle-aged man – plenty of wow factor
in the first flush, but what is there left to talk about when
things have cooled off? If I have one criticism of this Naxos
release, then it’s only the playing time. A coupling with a
handful of Messiaen’s shorter organ works to go with it would
have been nice as is the case with the Regis double CD, but
for the money who’s complaining? This will do very well, and
thanks and praise to all concerned.
Dominy Clements
Paul Jacobs (organ)
