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Dupre, Franck, Widor: Organ Works - Murray

Dupre, Franck, Widor: Organ Works - Murray

Telarc  SACD-60516

Stereo/Multichannel Hybrid

Classical - Instrumental


Dupre, Franck, Widor: Organ Works

Michael Murray, The Organ at St. Sulpice

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Review by John Miller - July 1, 2012

It is immediately evident that this disc, recorded by Telarc in 1999, was intended as a demonstration of their DSD surround sound techniques. Featuring their resident best-selling organist, Michael Murray, it also boasts the organ of St Sulpice, Paris, one of the best-preserved Cavaillé-Coll organs. However, no specification or details of this magnificent organ are included, and apart from a useful three and a half pages of notes on the music by Murray himself, the rest of the booklet is filled with a 10 page promotion of SACD, diagrams of how it works, recommended system set-ups for stereo and surround, loudspeaker set-up, THX and so on. How this takes us back!

Murray has impeccable qualifications for performing this programme on this organ. He was trained in Paris by Marcel Dupré, six of whose pieces are on this disc, and would have become familiar with the 5-manual console of the four-story high Grand Gallery Organ and its vast array of colourful registers (stops). Murray's biography of Dupré is a classic of organ literature, as is his 'French Masters of the Organ'.

One might well dub Dupré, Franck and Widor as the 'Three Musketeers of Late Romantic Organ Music'. César Franck (1822-1890), although born in what is now modern-day Belgium, lived and worked in France for most of his life. Revered for his improvisation skills on the organ, he became attracted by the new, powerful organs being built by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, often giving demonstrations of them around France. As a composer he was very attracted by these new instruments, as they offered sounds which were the equivalent of a full orchestra. A professor at the Paris Conservertoire, his work had considerable influence. His Grande Pièce symphonique, the longest and most significant piece on the programme, is regarded as seminal in initiating a unique French Romantic Organ School.

Franck's deeply expressive, solemn and spiritual style was also a feature passed on to his pupil, Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937), whose development of Franck's style resulted in a series of Organ Symphonies: the Final of Widor's Symphony no. 6 ends the disc in a brilliantly jubilant fashion. Widor was himself organist at St Sulpice from 1870-1934. In turn, Marcel Dupré (1886-1971) was a composition student of Widor's, and succeeded his professor as organist at St Sulpice from 1934-1971. Dupré's music also reflects his improvisatory skills, but rather than being melody-based his texturally-biased pieces tend to capture the spiritual aspects of a church's atmosphere such as the play of coloured light from its windows cast onto the floor and changing with time. As his life extended well into the modernist revolutions in art around the turn of the C19th, this pieces are naturally more harmonically exploratory than those of his predecessors.

Murray's performances are deeply considered and colourfully registered. He uses much of the available resources of the organ, from its thunderous 32' pedal stops to the sweetest treble flute solo ranks. As this is primarily a demonstration record, most pieces are spectacular in their awe-inspiring symphonic way, and there is rather less of a sense of repose which a more considered programme might have brought. No doubt these pieces are favourites of his. Murray despatches the Franck Grande Pièce symphonique in 26'28", while a more relaxed Kiviniemi (Franck: Organ Works - Kiviniemi) exploits Franck's well-known penchant for playing with plenty of rubato, taking about two and a half minutes longer, but loosing none of the work's passion and power.

As one might expect, the Telarc engineers have produced a superbly realistic sound from the massive organ as it plays out into the very large nave. Best heard in 5.1 multichannel, where the sense of space is thrilling, as building and organ join together in harmony. This is by no means a close recording, but the instrument still has fine presence and good depth of perspective. There are only a few extraneous noises to be heard if you play the disc loudly. Most of it is traffic rumble, impossible to avoid in Paris, even with recording sessions held in the very early morning hours.

As a demo disc for SA-CD's ability to reproduce organs, this disc is self-recommending. Apart from the Franck, however, it is not really representative of the best works from Dupré and Widor. Nevertheless, organ buffs and Murray's fans will want it in their collections.

Copyright © 2012 John Miller and HRAudio.net

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