This is French independent Solstice's eleventh release of improvisations
by the great French organist Pierre Cochereau. He was famed
for his recitals and improvisations across Europe, but particularly
on the grand, grand organ of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris,
where he was organist from 1955 until his premature death. Previous
discs have met with considerable critical acclaim; the last,
aptly entitled "Pierre Cochereau - La Légende", was
reviewed here.
Solstice have also previously issued a CD of Cochereau's few
composed works for organ (SOCD 163), as well as a recent and
fascinating 'Cochereau: Hommage' (review).
This disc presents a re-mastering of two recordings from 1978
- breathtaking live performances of Cochereau in action at the
height of his powers, improvising in front of an audience two
five-movement symphonies for organ. The results are musically
spectacular, and even though the sound quality is a bit on the
raw side - there is even a tiny bit of inherited tape wobble
in track 4 and again in track 6 - and the CD fairly pricey,
these historic performances belong in every music-lover's collection.
The two works are very alike in some ways - the same instrument,
temporal proximity, almost complete identity of shape and arrangement
of movements, the September Symphony a slightly compressed and
more tranquil version of the August. In both cases Cochereau
gives his incredible imagination full rein, filling the Cathedral
with dreamy pictures, spurts and floods of chordal drama, wending
flights of fancy and the almost tangible sense of audience anticipation
met with organist prospicience. The August Symphony differs
most strikingly in energy and decibel levels, the themes being
based in part on the Dies Irae following the death of
Pope John Paul I a few days before the recital. The work builds
to a fittingly exalting ending.
Though he may be suspected of just a little bias, Cochereau's
teacher Marcel Dupré called his pupil a "phenomenon without
equal in the history of the contemporary organ" - high
praise indeed from Dupré, as likely to be described in such
terms himself. Doubtless, as Anthony Hammond points out in his
well-written notes, Cochereau would have tidied these works
a little if he had subsequently written them up from a recording,
but to listen to these extended, coherent, powerful Symphonies
and reflect on the fact that these were thought up more or less
on the fly, is awe-inspiring and humbling.
The CD comes in a 'digipack'-style case, the booklet housed
less than ideally in a slot. The French-English booklet itself
is high quality, with Hammond's informative notes and a couple
of colour photographs, one of which shows the organ as it was
in 1978. Hammond writes that Cochereau improvised thousands
of symphonies over his lifetime - with luck, Solstice will have,
or find, recordings of at least a few more for public delectation.
Byzantion
Collected reviews and contact at reviews.gramma.co.uk
Pierre Cochereau (organ)
