The French organ tradition is one of the strongest and proudest in all of 20th-century music, to the point of forming a genre of its own. Standing on the shoulders of predecessors such as Franck and Widor and composing for instruments built in the glorious tradition of Cavaillé-Coll, a group of organist-composers created a number of works central to the organ literature; works which in spite of their great variety combine to form a highly characteristic repertoire. The young organist Pétur Sakari has gathered five such composers on his first disc for BIS, performing their music on the famous organ of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont in Paris. The five composers are all interconnected - Charles Tournemire and Louis Vierne studied together (under Franck), Maurice Duruflé studied under Tournemire and was Vierne's assistant at Notre Dame, and Marcel Dupré counted Vierne (and Widor) among his teachers and himself taught Olivier Messiaen. And although Pétur Sakari hails from Finland, he is also to an extent part of this great tradition, as the student of Thierry Escaich and Vincent Warnier, successors of Duruflé and his wife Marie-Madeleine as organists of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont. Sakari's selection brings together key works such as the hugely taxing Prelude and Fugue in B major by Dupré, Vierne's fantasy on the Bells of Westminster and Messiaen's meditative and atmospheric Celestial Banquet. The opening work on the disc is Tournemire's powerful improvisation on the Easter plain-chant Victimae paschali laudes, recorded in 1930 and later transcribed by Duruflé, whose own monumental Suite closes the recital. Throughout, Pétur Sakari - at the age of only 21 - gives proof of a mastery of the organ and a musicianship which promise great things to come. *playing the great organ of the Saint-Étienne-du-Mont Church, Paris

The path that all interested listeners are about to follow leads to the deep and as yet not fully explored woodlands of the instrumental music of the latter half of the fifteenth century in or around southern Germany. It will zig-zag from one repertoire to another, from one manuscript to another, and of course from one ‘soundscape’ to another by presenting different combinations of instruments, in dialogue or simply allowing some of them stand alone to speak for themselves so that at the end of their sonic journey, listeners can fully enjoy a panoramic view of this rich and fascinating tradition.

This recording features a very special newly built organ, showcasing it in the roles in which its predecessors were used in their heyday at the turn of the 16th century. This particular type of organ, small in scale and with open pipes all made of Italian cypress wood, was one of which perhaps the most important composer of his time, Claudio Monteverdi, was particularly fond, and yet it’s practically nonexistent today. It was during Le Nuove Musiche’s great undertaking to record the complete cycle of Monteverdi’s Books of Madrigals that director Krijn Koetsveld began to feel the need for an organ capable of recreating the sound typical of that era. He explored possibilities for realizing such a project, and gradually the idea to reconstruct an organ befitting the Italian musical practice from around 1600 took shape. He approached the Netherlands’ Nationaal Muziekinstrumenten Fonds, and they embraced the idea, consulted organist Pieter van Dijk and awarded the organ building contract to Klop Orgelbouwers. No original organs from Monteverdi’s time have survived, and very few illustrations exist. But it was possible to reconstruct his beloved organo di legno (wood organ) on the basis of contemporary accounts, which describe, in addition to the open, wooden pipes, hand-operated bellows, creating a much lower wind pressure than that of modern organs. From Monteverdi’s instructions in the organo di legno part of his Vespers, such instruments are also known to have had several stops.

The version submitted by Howard Arman for the Bavarian Radio Chorus is based on surviving Mozart sources as well as on his colleague Süßmayr's additions; in several places, however, it reaches new conclusions that are implemented with due caution and humble respect for Mozart's magnificent original. Mozart's Requiem is followed by Neukomm's Respond Libera me, Domine – and for musical, liturgical and chronological reasons, the programme begins with Mozart's Vesperae solennes de Confessore KV 339 (1780), composed of psalms from the Old Testament as well as the Magnificat from the Gospel of St Luke and composed for the liturgical festival of a holy confessor. Howard Arman has prepended Mozart’s movements for the festival vespers with antiphons taken from the vespers De Confessore Pontifici (for a confessor who was a bishop) of the Gregorian Liber usualis, and has also composed his own organ intonations to enhance the antiphons.

Although it remained incomplete as Mozart’s last work, the Requiem in D minor (1791) ranks as one of the most important settings of the Latin Mass for the Dead ever written. Immediately after Mozart's all too premature death, his pupil Franz Xaver Süßmayr elaborated a completed version that is still appreciated and regularly performed to this day because of its close proximity to the original – and this despite a number of new adaptations created over the years that sometimes add cautious improvements to the Süßmayr version or instead follow their own lights entirely. – Mozart’s Requiem KV 626 from 1791 is followed by Sigismund von Neukomm's Libera me, Domine, the Respond from the Liturgy of Exequies composed by Neukomm in 1821 as a liturgical completion of Mozart's Requiem for a performance in Rio de Janeiro (the Salzburg composer Neukomm had emigrated to Brazil in 1816).

REVIEW

Howard Arman conducts all pieces with assurance, in a period-informed style. Choral singing complements the accomplished period-informed playing of the thirty-four-strong Akamus on authentic instruments. The world-class Bavarian chorus shows a unanimity of cause, and supplies an inspired sacred sound, ardent, ample and immediate. Arman’s vocal soloists integrate splendidly and convincingly. Amid the emotional drama generated in the performances, the reverential nature of these sacred scores remains fundamental, and is honoured here faithfully.

–MusicWeb International

Earlier, long before pure technical skill, creativity in improvisation was the most important measure for judging the abilities of an organist. Kay Johannsen, Kantor of the Stiftskirche Stuttgart, has a masterful command of this art, which he demonstrates here by means of international Christmas songs from many lands, including German, Great Britain, the USA, Norway, Poland and Bolivia.

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750), one of the most famous composers of the Baroque era, is already an icon in the history of music. Rediscovered in the 19th century, he still attracts the attention of musicologists researching and studying his work. This extraordinary person evokes curiosity and admiration, while his contribution to the development of music cannot be overestimated. A genius about whom, as it seems, we already know so much, constantly inspires and provokes to in-depth research into his life and musical legacy. Although today our knowledge about this composer and the interpretation of his music is highly advanced, there are still questions and new views on the approach to the genius dormant in the power of the Bach surname, since it does not only concern the master from Leipzig, as is common to say about Johann Sebastian. The musical activity of the Bach family was impressive, and the analysis of the family tree reveals the composer’s solid musical roots. The spirit of genius does not end there as well, as the musical legacy of his sons has also become a permanent part of history.

Bach's devotion to the organ, and his desire to excel on it, is without question but whereas much of his output was written with a specific purpose or occasion in mind, the toccatas and fugues are less easily categorized. Almost all of them date from Bach's Weimar years (1708-1717), when he had the most opportunities to play the organ, although he may have revised them in Leipzig (after 1723). Their elaborate nature belies the fact that Bach had to be careful about showing off: in 1705, while temporarily in Leipzig, he had been censured for an over-long organ prelude before Communion and in 1706 he had attracted the ire of the Arnstadt authorities by confusing the congregation with complicated chorale accompaniments. Organist Elena Privalova presents a program of these works, beautifully recorded at the Riga Cathedral.

Review

Elena Privalova concentrates on the Toccata and Fugue works that date from Bach’s Weimar years of 1708-1717. It is a matter of record that such elaborate music was by no means always welcome during church services, so one can imagine these pieces being delivered perhaps at the end of formalities, sending the congregation out into the world in a wash of inspired but complex organ sound. These are all glorious works, and perhaps the only criticism one could have of such a programme is that it is rather relentlessly glorious. There are of course some contrasts of registration, but “the richest possible texture” forms the majority from beginning to end, which is of course in the nature of this particular programme. You may find yourself wanting to pick out a track or two rather than blasting through the whole CD in one go, but the temptation to whack up the volume and stir up the dust in your listening room is powerful indeed.

Elena Privalova’s technical prowess and stylish musicality is very much in evidence throughout. She is rhythmically accurate and doesn’t rush, but nor does she avoid brisk and exciting tempi, for instance in BWV 564, the rasping bottom end of the pedal solo in the opening Toccata of which is also a highlight. The D minor “Dorian” Toccata and Fugue BWV 538 is one of the more famous pieces here, and Privalova delivers that ‘demonstration’ quality that the virtuoso Bach might have employed while testing and giving organs their thorough workout.

The programme ends with that most famous of all organ works, the Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 but, while that dramatic opening has become something of a classical music cliché this is a work that never fails to fascinate when you listen properly. It is nice to find it at the end of the recital rather than the beginning, forming a suitable climax rather than an impressive opening. Privalova is less reverential than many, swiftly joining each section in a fantasia-like fashion that doesn’t wait around for us to get bored, and reminding us of this composer’s amazing inventiveness (there are of course arguments that this may not be a Bach original) with the sheer quantity of ideas that pass by on this most special of musical conveyor-belts.

This is a very fine Bach organ CD that has been superbly recorded and with playing that is both musically insightful and technically magnificent, and you can also add this to your collection in the knowledge that it is free of gimmicks or annoying mannerisms. I had a look around for a single disc release that covers the same music and came up with Kåre Nordstoga’s recording on Simax Classics PSC1152. This is another fine release, though made on a slightly smaller-scale instrument. Your own taste will dictate which you prefer, though for me that gorgeous adagio of BWV 564 has more expressive weight with Privalova. This kind of detail, along with the sheer impact of the recording as a whole, makes this something of a winner.

--MusicWeb International (Dominy Clements)