Jeanne Demessieux (organ)
The Decca Legacy
rec. 1947-1967
ELOQUENCE 4841424 [8 CDs: 562:26]
This 8 CD collection gathers together for the first time the complete Decca recordings of Jeanne Demessieux (1921-1968). It’s been released this year to coincide with and celebrate the centenary of her birth. Her relationship with the record company began in 1947, the year of her Paris debut, and the recordings span her entire public career. In the UK, the BBC Third Programme championed her and broadcast a number of her recitals. Sadly, only one survives, taped at the Colston Hall, Bristol on 7 September 1967. It makes a welcome supplement
to this very fine collection.
Born in Montpellier, Demessieux began studying the piano at the Paris Conservatoire in 1933 with Simon Riera and Magda Tagliaferro, harmony with Jean Gallon, counterpoint and fugue with Noël Gallon and composition with Henri Büsser. Later she studied organ with Marcel Dupré, receiving the Conservatoire’s first prize in organ performance and improvisation in 1941. Thus began a career as an international concert organist and improviser in which she performed more than 700 concerts in France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, and the United States. In addition to this, she was a prolific recording artist. In 1962, Demessieux was appointed as titular organist at La Madeleine in Paris. She combined this with demanding academic duties, serving as professor of organ and improvisation at the Nancy Conservatoire (1950–1952) and the Conservatoire Royal in Liège (1952–1968). In 1967 she signed a contract with Decca to record the complete organ works of Olivier Messiaen at Notre-Dame de Paris, which was never realized due to health problems. Sadly, she was struck down with cancer and died on November 11, 1968 in Paris aged only 47. Her own compositions consist of around thirty works, mostly for organ but also include some piano works, songs, choral and orchestral music. Her organ works have been championed by Pierre Labric, one of her students, and his recording of her complete oeuvre can be found on Solstice Records, which I had the pleasure of
reviewing earlier in the year.
The venue chosen by Decca for Demessieu’s debut recording was the London church of St Mark's, Mayfair, home to an organ designed by Maurice Vinden, and one of Rushworth and Dreaper's finest. The year was 1947, and Jeremiah Clarke’s Trumpet Tune, issued on a 78rpm, took the prestigious Grand Prix du Disque de l'Académie Charles Cros in 1949. Later in 1947 she set down a scintillating Widor Toccata and a magisterial account of the Toccata and Fugue in D minor; the latter she rerecorded at the same venue in 1950.
On CDs 2, 3 and 4, we can savour the delights of the Zeigler organ (1949) housed in the Victoria Hall, Geneva. Demessieux was recorded there on several occasions between 1952 and 1955. The instrument, set in a sympathetic and responsive acoustic, is tailor made for Demessieux’s dramatic and declamatory style. Its kaleidoscopic range of colour further adds to the allure. The two Handel Organ Concertos from October 1952 are big-scaled performances, reminders of a bygone style. They won’t be to everyone’s taste. Apparently, the recording sessions didn’t go down smoothly, with Demessieux clashing with the elderly conductor Ernest Ansermet over her interpretations. As a female performer, in a world dominated by men, she certainly proved to be no walk-over. She held firm and stuck to her guns, declaring “...there cannot be two architects”. After all, she knew these works far better than the conductor did. She also included some impressive virtuosic cadenzas, which Ansermet wanted to cut. In the end they remained and she got her way, but the experience left a nasty taste. Around the same time, she accompanied the wonderful soprano Suzanne Danco in arias by Heinrich Schütz and J S Bach. The accompaniments are discreet and supportive. On the back of these exquisite renderings, and being a long time avid fan of Danco, I’ve just this month purchased Eloquence’s box set devoted to her, which I would highly recommend to lovers of vocal art.
César Franck was a mainstay of her repertoire and we’re fortunate to have her 1959 traversal of the complete organ oeuvre spanning CDs 6 and 7. It was awarded the Grand Prix du Disque in 1960. The organ is the magnificent Aristide Cavaillé-Coll of La Madeleine, Paris, probably the instrument she was the most familiar with from her work there. The three movement Grande Pièce Symphonique, Op 17, where Demessieux’s dramatic style comes fully into play, explores the organ’s potential, with its imaginative registration choices and dynamic variance, setting a pattern for the later organ symphonies of Widor and Vierne. In Trois Pièces, a devotional Cantabile sits centre stage, flanked by a noble Fantasie and a weighty Pièce Héroïque.
The Walker organ of Liverpool’s Metropolian Cathedral and the Harrison & Harrison instrument situated in the Colston Hall, Bristol are spotlighted on the final disc of the collection, recorded in 1967, the year before the artist died. Nevertheless, though ill at the time, her playing is vital and exuberant. Liverpool’s spacious and cavernous acoustic has been favourably tamed. Jean Berveilleur’s Mouvement is a scintillating tour-de-force, whilst the ubiquitous Widor Toccata is the best I’ve ever heard, lithe and supple, with sections artfully contrasted. We’re very fortunate to have the Bristol BBC radio broadcast, and I’m immensely thankful it’s been included. The sound quality has been very well preserved and the brief Messiaen excerpt gives us a glimpse of what could have been had she lived long enough to record the composer’s complete works.
This beautifully produced set is accompanied by a 55 page booklet. Special praise should be reserved for the organist D’Arcy Trinkwon, who has contributed a fascinating in-depth biography and expert commentary on the instruments used. Registrations of all the organs featured are listed at the end of the booklet. Each of the CDs comes in a sturdy card sleeve, depicting the original LP cover. Chris Bernauer’s splendid remasterings are vivid and fresh. As an organ aficionado, this is a set I’ll be returning to often, and it will be going on the shortlist as one of my Recordings of the Year.
Stephen Greenbank
Contents
CD 1 [72:59]
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH (1685–1750)
Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 (Rec. 1947)
FELIX MENDELSSOHN (1809–1847)
Sonata in A major, Op 65 No 3 – Maestoso
JEREMIAH CLARKE (1674–1707)
Trumpet Tune (formally attrib. Henry Purcell / transc. Marcel Dupré)
CHARLES-MARIE WIDOR (1844–1937)
Toccata (Symphonie V, Op 42 No 1)
CÉSAR FRANCK (1822–1890)
Cantabile (Trois Pièces)
Pastorale (Six Pièces)
Fantaisie (Trois Pièces)
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
Prelude and Fugue in D major, BWV 532
Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 (Rec. 1951)
Jeanne Demessieux at the organ of St. Mark’s, North Audley Street, London
CD 2 [75:11]
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C major, BWV 564
Prelude and Fugue in A minor, BWV 543
Chorale Prelude: Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein, BWV 641 (from Orgelbüchlein)
Chorale Prelude: Nun komm’ der Heiden Heiland, BWV 659 (from 18 Chorale Preludes)
Chorale Prelude: Jesus Christus, unser Heiland, BWV 688 (from Clavierübung III)
Fugue in G major (à la gigue), BWV 577
Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565
Fantasia and Fugue in G minor, BWV 542
Concerto in A minor, BWV 593 (Based on Vivaldi’s Concerto in A minor, Op 3 No 8, RV 522)
Jeanne Demessieux at the organ of Victoria Hall, Geneva
CD 3 [70:52]
CÉSAR FRANCK
Trois Chorals
FRANZ LISZT (1811–1886)
Fantasia and Fugue on ‘Ad nos, as salutarem undam’
CHARLES-MARIE WIDOR
Variations (Symphonie gothique, Op 70)
Jeanne Demessieux at the organ of Victoria Hall, Geneva
CD 4 [81:21]
GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL (1685–1759)
Organ Concerto in G minor, Op 4 No 1, HWV 289
Organ Concerto in B-flat major, Op 4 No 2, HWV 290
Jeanne Demessieux at the organ of Victoria Hall, Geneva
L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
Ernest Ansermet
HEINRICH SCHÜTZ (1585–1672)
Eile mich, Gott, zu erretten, SWV 282
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
Bist du bei mir, BWV 508
Komm, süßer Tod, komm, selge Ruh’, BWV 478
Warum betrübst du dich, BWV 516
Suzanne Danco, soprano
Jeanne Demessieux at the organ of Victoria Hall, Geneva
FRANZ LISZT
Prelude and Fugue on B.A.C.H
CHARLES-MARIE WIDOR
Allegro (Symphony No 6, Op 42 No 2)
ÉDOUARD MIGNAN (1884–1969)
Toccata médiévale
JEAN BERVEILLER (1904–1976)
Mouvement
JEANNE DEMESSIEUX (1921–1968)
Te Deum, Op 11
Jeanne Demessieux at the organ of La Madeleine, Paris
CD 5 [[64:40]
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
Choral Prelude: O Mensch, bewein’ dein’ Sünde groß, BWV 622 (from Orgelbüchlein)
Chorale Prelude: Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam, BWV 684 (from Clavierübung III)
Fantasia in G major, BWV 572
Sinfonia from Cantata No 29, BWV 29 (transc: Marcel Dupré)
Chorale-Prelude: Erbarm’ dich mein, o Herre Gott, BWV 721
Toccata and Fugue in F major, BWV 540
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756–1791)
Adagio and Fugue in C minor, KV 546 / 426 (Adagio: transc. Demessieux; Fugue: transc. Dupré)
Fantasia in F minor, KV 608
Jeanne Demessieux at the organ of La Madeleine, Paris
CD 6 [77:01]
CÉSAR FRANCK
Six Pièces
Jeanne Demessieux at the organ of La Madeleine, Paris
CD 7 [71:41]
CÉSAR FRANCK
Trois Pièces
Trois Chorals
Jeanne Demessieux at the organ of La Madeleine, Paris
CD 8 [48:41]
OLIVIER MESSIAEN (1908–1992)
Transports de joie d’une âme devant la gloire du Christ qui est la sienne (L’Ascension)
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
Choral Prelude: Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier, BWV 731
JEAN BERVEILLER
Mouvement
CHARLES-MARIE WIDOR
Toccata (Symphonie V, Op 42 No 1)
Jeanne Demessieux at the organ of Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral
Live Recording from the BBC – Previously Unpublished
DIETERICH BUXTEHUDE (1637–1707)
Fugue in C major, BuxWV 174
