I hadn’t encountered
Talent Records before, though I see
from their website that this Belgian
company has a fairly substantial back-catalogue.
Based in Wilrijk in the Flemish-speaking
area, they proclaim themselves ‘a label
of classical opportunities’ and two
logos printed on the rear insert of
the CD proclaim the support of the Flemish
Community (Vlaamse Gemeenschap)
and Government (Vlaamse Overheid).
This recording at first
seems to raise more questions than answers
– why add a brass quintet to several
works of what is effectively a catalogue
of famous names of late-Romantic and
early 20th-century French and Belgian
composers, when the instrument itself
is perfectly capable of reproducing
the sound of several wind instruments?
And why travel to Cuxhaven in North
Germany to record the programme, when
North German organs are usually associated
with a very different repertoire – such
as the MDG recording of Buxtehude, Bach,
Böhm and Reincken on the organ
at nearby Norden, which came with the
same package of review discs – and when
the booklet rightly stresses the importance
of the Cavaillé-Coll organ in
the creation of this Franco-Belgian
organ literature?
One piece here, the
Dupré Poème Héroïque
which gives its name to the collection,
was actually composed for the organ-wind
ensemble combination, which at least
lends some credibility to these arrangements
of the other pieces, made by Steven
Verhaert, with added percussion. The
final work, too, adds to the credibility
of the enterprise: this Saint-Saëns
piece is an arrangement of the finale
of his Symphony No. 3, the Organ Symphony.
As for the use of the
Cuxhaven organ, the notes go some way
towards explaining the choice by noting
that the console of the instrument,
built in 1993 ‘in symphonic style’ is
sited at ground level, rather than in
an organ loft, thus facilitating ease
of contact between soloist and ensemble.
The pipe-work, located directly behind
the altar, is illustrated on the back
cover of the booklet and a full specification
of the instrument – three manuals plus
pedals – is given in the booklet, though
not the registrations employed for the
individual pieces.
At this stage, therefore,
before playing the CD, I was partly,
but only partly, convinced of the raison
d’être for this recording;
there was plenty still to play for.
I listened first to
the Franck Poème, the
only work originally composed for this
combination – though even this piece
has been modified in an unspecified
manner. I don’t recall having heard
it before – there seems to be only one
other recording currently available
(Daniel Jay McKinley/Columbus Indiana
Philharmonic/David Bowden on Naxos 8.553992)
but it is an impressive piece, composed
for the reconsecration of Verdun Cathedral
in 1935 and conceived as an elegy for
the fallen of the First World War and
as a testimony to their heroism. The
elegiac mood predominates but the work
never descends into lugubriousness –
far from it – and the performance made
a strong impression on me. The combination
of organ, brass and percussion cannot
have been easy to record but the balance
is well managed here. As far as this
track was concerned, I was sold.
Next I tried the finale
of the Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony,
a work so difficult to record that engineers
sometimes have to resort to having the
orchestra and organ in different locations.
The layout of the Sankt Petrikirche
solves that problem neatly, so once
again the recording balance sounded
fine. I had slight reservations here
about the ability of the organ to deliver
the clout required but this was not
a major problem. The arrangement does
not do serious harm to the music and,
with lively performances from all concerned,
this track makes a very impressive conclusion
to the recording.
The arrangements for
organ and brass don’t do any real damage
to the other pieces, nor do they do
much to enhance them. As Dr Johnson
remarked of a female preacher he had
heard, a rarity in his day; like a dog
standing on its hind legs, it may not
be an elegant sight but the miracle
is that it can be done at all. The Gigout
and Boëllmann Dialogues lend themselves
very well to the arrangement.
The programme is well
planned, beginning, for example, with
all guns blazing in the Gigout, followed
by the more thoughtful Franck Cantabile,
which would make a fine Evensong postlude,
succeeded in turn by the fanciful meanderings
and final burst of glory of the Boëllmann
Dialogue Fantasy – another impressive
work which I hadn’t heard before. The
blazing guns dominate in the general
mix, but that is the in the nature of
such programmes; the performers are
equally convincing in both the blazing
guns and the quieter moments – if anything,
I thought the organ more suited to those
quieter moments. Despite the good balance
in general, just occasionally it gets
lost in the louder music.
I’m not sure that I’ll
be playing this CD too often but it
will certainly get the occasional outing,
especially when the neighbours are away
and I can let rip: the recording quality
is good enough to do that without distortion.
With attractive performances from all
concerned and some interesting rarities,
I’d certainly recommend this to seasoned
fans of organ music in search of the
unusual; I don’t think they’ll be disappointed.
Beginners would be well advised to look
elsewhere.
The attractively illustrated
booklet contains helpful information
about the composers and the individual
works, in Flemish, French, German and
reasonably idiomatic English. I’m not
sure what the Order of the Driekoningen
(Three Kings, but not translated in
the booklet) is, into which we are told
that Jan Vermeire was inducted in 2001;
presumably, Flemish speakers would be
expected to know. It’s easy to misread
the booklet as stating that the arrangements
were made in 1969; if so, Steven Verhaert
must have been an even more precocious
musical genius than Mozart or Mendelssohn,
since that was the year of his birth!
Verhaert is in fact a solo- and ensemble
trumpet player and conductor; in addition
to his performance here as a member
of the Ottone Quintet, he has made a
number of CD recordings, including an
MDG recording on which he conducts HR
Brass in his own arrangements of Verdi
Overtures (MDG 603 11872).
Brian Wilson
Jan Vermeire (Woehl organ, 1993); Ottone
Brass Quintet 
