Soaring, majestic, powerful, stirring—these are the words so often used to describe the sound of music played on an organ, an instrument that dates back to the 3rd century BC. It was at first an instrument of royal patronage, disapproved by medieval church leaders for its worldly and “sensually exciting sound”. Nonetheless, it eventually made its way into monasteries and churches. From the 14th to the 17th centuries, the tonal palette of the organ began to expand, and national styles of organ building also began to develop.
Through the 18th and well into the 19th centuries, organ-building and performance flourished in France, advancing quicker than adjacent countries. Organ-building competitions encouraged builders to push the boundaries in design and sound – the addition of pipes that imitated orchestral instruments like bassoons, oboes, clarinets and flutes; and constructing the organ to produce a seamless swell of sound from soft to loud, which was previously impossible. The instruments of great organ builders like Aristide Cavaillé-Coll filled the knaves of the most famous churches in Paris, including Notre-Dame (whose organ was thankfully spared from the fire in 2019), L'église de la Madeleine and Église Saint-Sulpice.
Influenced by composers like Liszt and Wagner, organist-composers were drawn to the instrument’s symphonic possibilities, and composer Charles-Marie Widor (1844–1937) had mentioned that “[the] modern organ is essentially symphonic [and] the new instrument needs a new language”. Widor and his successors, such as Louis Vierne (1870–1937) and Maurice Duruflé (1902–1986), thus set about composing “symphonies” for the organ. Dramatic and witty, they made use of the varying colours and timbres that the organ could produce. They brought together the vast and disparate elements of the French pipe organ into an “orchestra”, while staying true to the nobility and spirituality of the instrument.
At the Esplanade Concert Hall, established French organist Maurice Clerc presents a programme covering the last 100 years of French sacred organ works. These pieces are written by some of the most influential organist-composers of the 19th and 20th centuries, and include improvisations by Widor, Vierne and Duruflé that were written for solo organ. One will experience the range, power and capabilities of the organ as a symphonic instrument through their works, while the masterpieces by Tournemire and Dupré showcase their unique blend of liturgical chants with modernist harmonies and techniques.
Programme
Charles Tournemire (1870–1939)
Paraphrase on Victimae Paschali Laudes
(reconstructed improvisation by Maurice Duruflé)
Marcel Dupré (1886–1971)
Crucifixion of the Passion-Symphony
Louis Vierne (1870–1937)
Offertoire
(reconstructed improvisation by Maurice Duruflé)
Charles-Marie Widor (1845–1937)
Mattheus-Final of Bach’s Memento
Jean Langlais (1909–1991)
Te Deum
Gaston Litaize (1909–1991)
Liturgical Préludes:
Andantino in A major
Allegretto in B major
Jehan Alain (1911–1940)
Postlude pour l’office des complies
Pierre Cochereau (1924–1984)
Scherzo symphonique (Notre-Dame Cathédral, 1974)
(reconstructed improvisation by Maurice Clerc)
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