Aristide
Cavaillé-Coll (1811-1899) www.cavaille-coll.fr
was born in Montpellier, France, to a family of organ builders. He built a
reputation as being the most distinguished organ builder of the 19th century,
developing the idea of the symphonic organ and pioneering innovations that
influenced the course of organ building through the early twentieth century.
Shortly before Cavaillé-Coll’s death in Paris the business was
inherited by Charles Mutin. He continued the business, but by World War II the
firm had almost disappeared.
Cavaillé-Coll’s largest and perhaps greatest organ is in
Saint-Sulpice, Paris www.stsulpice.com
having 6,600 pipes and 100 stops. The Cavaillé-Coll organ in the Auditorium de
Lyon, France www.auditorium-lyon.com
compares pretty well with that organ
with its 6,500 pipes and 82 stops. Built at the Palais du Trocadéro, Paris in
1878, the organ was acquired by the city of Lyon in 1977. From April to
November 2013, a team of specialists led by Michel Gaillard from the
Manufacture Aubertin worked on its restoration. Their meticulous work turned
the hundred year-old organ into a powerful instrument with a perfect tone.
It is this organ that
is the star of a new release from Naxos www.naxos.com
featuring the organist in residence at
the Auditorium de Lyon, Vincent Warnier www.leparisdesorgues.fr/organistes/warnier-vincent
with
the Orchestre National de Lyon www.auditorium-lyon.com/L-Orchestre/Orchestre-national-de-Lyon
conducted
by Leonard Slatkin www.leonardslatkin.com
. They show this magnificent organ off
to great effect with works by Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921), his Danse Macabre, Cyprès et Lauriers and Symphony
No. 3.
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| 8.573331 |
Danse macabre, Op.40
(1872/1919/2004) was arranged for organ by the English organist Edwin
Lemare. Here that transcription has been revised by Vincent Warnier. It is
certainly something of a showstopper, demonstrating the Cavaillé-Coll organ to
great effect. Vincent Warnier realises Edwin Lemare’s arrangement to perfection,
revealing many subtleties as well as some spectacularly fine playing toward the
coda.
Saint-Saëns had this very Cavaillé-Coll organ in mind when
he wrote Cyprès et Lauriers, Op.156
(1919), indeed the first
performance was at the Palais du Trocadéro to celebrate the Armistice for which
it was written. Saint-Saëns suggested that the first part for solo organ could
be played separately for funerals. The second triumphant part brings in the
orchestra complete with extended passages for trumpet and horn.
Vincent Warnier doesn’t over emphasise the dramatic in Cyprès, keeping its more funereal air
and taking time to revel in the more subtle aspects of the music. Nevertheless
he brings some very fine virtuosic moments, full of mastery and dexterity,
building to a central climax of impressive power fully revealed by this excellent
recording.
Lauriers opens
with a spectacular fanfare and a grand forward moving theme for the organ. As
the piece develops, the organ and orchestra weave a seamless melody with Leonard
Slatkin achieving a lovely balance helped enormously by Saint-Saëns’ light
textured orchestration. The music builds
again to a triumphant celebratory coda, again spectacularly well recorded, with
the organ blazing through the orchestral trumpets and percussion.
Saint-Saëns certainly didn’t have an organ as large and
spectacular as the Palais du Trocadéro organ when his Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op.78 ‘Organ’ (1886) was first performed
in London. It was at a concert in St. James’ Hall on 19th May 1886
attended by the Prince and Princess of Wales. The composer played Beethoven’s
Fourth Concerto before conducting his own Third Symphony. Unfortunately Saint-Saëns
found that the organ in the hall was a modest 18 stop instrument by Bryceson
Brothers and Ellis that had recently replaced a more suitable instrument by
Gray and Davison that he had expected.
A finely paced Adagio
leads to a beautifully textured Allegro
moderato, beautifully controlled and paced with fine playing from Leonard
Slatkin and the Orchestre National de Lyon. There is beautifully taut playing
with finely judged dynamics and beautifully smooth orchestral textures so that,
when the dynamics rise, the contrast is terrific. There is a fine woodwind
contribution in the lovely quieter moments before we flow into the Poco adagio where the Cavaillé-Coll
organ gently emerges in the orchestral texture, for all its popular appeal,
surely one of Saint-Saëns’ most sublime moments. Again Slatkin and Warnier
balance the textures superbly. Slatkin brings out so much of the gorgeous
romanticism of this movement with lovely details such as when pizzicato strings
support the organ and orchestra.
The strings of the Orchestre National de Lyon excel
themselves as the dynamic Allegro
moderato – Presto arrives with some beautifully fleet footed orchestral
playing as the piano provides its distinctive contribution, something that
seemed to strike The Times newspaper critic at the premiere more than the
inclusion of an organ. After the piano
enters, Slatkin shapes the music beautifully and, as the movement progresses,
there is more fine, taut playing and dynamics.
The organ sounds out firmly as the Maestoso – Allegro opens, the piano joins with its lovely rippling motif
adding to the orchestral theme before the Cavaillé-Coll organ rises magnificently
with the orchestra. Slatkin knows how to slowly pace the rise to the central
section with some fine playing from the Orchestre National de Lyon. As the
music builds again for the final climax it is superbly done with Slatkin soon
letting his forces have their head as we lead into a truly exciting coda.
There is no shortage of recordings of this symphony but this
is a very fine issue indeed with Vincent Warnier a superb organist and Slatkin
and the Orchestre National de Lyon making a great team.
As a demonstration of the mighty Cavaillé-Coll organ this
new disc is terrific. The recording fully plays its part. It has a very wide
dynamic range but if the volume is turned up this is a spectacularly fine
recording. There are informative booklet notes.
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