Jump to content
Mander Organ Builders Forum

flûte harmonique

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    157

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by flûte harmonique

    Guillou's succession

    in General discussion

    Posted

    In fact, no real surprise: the 2 best ones have been appointed.

    I'm particularly happy for Baptiste-Florian Marle-Ouvrard (BFMO) whom I know very well.

    Everybody thinks he deserves this appointment: a part being a great improvisor (and composer) he is also a nice open-minded person!

    Thomas Ospital has a basque origin, he is with BFMO a former student of Pierre Pincemaille who trained them both at the improvisation school of Saint-Maur des Fossés (Paris' suburbs) some years ago.

     

    Do not hesitate to meet them and listen to them when in Paris!!!!!

    Guillou's succession

    in General discussion

    Posted

    It is obvious that the salary for such a position is miserable.

    Noticeable to see Guillou has been acting as titular organist for free which was not PC's case. The organists have thus to earn their life as teachers in conservatoires at least.

    Some remarkable musicians have been set aside by the jury because of their well known conflicts with their clergy!! (e.g. La Trinité....)

    Guillou's succession

    in General discussion

    Posted

    At nearly 85 y old, Jean Guillou will be replaced in Saint-Eustache by 3 co-titular organists by the end of March.

     

    A first selection took place in january-february with the assistance of a jury gathering both musicians and clergy members.

    12 organists have been chosen out of a list of 52 candidates after examination of their cv's!!

     

    An oral audition made it possible to select 7 persons:

     

    M. Pierre Cambourian
    M. Francesco Filidei
    M. Ghislain Leroy
    M. Hampus Lindwall
    M. Baptise-Florian Marle-Ouvrard
    M. Thomas Ospital
    M. Pierre Queval

     

    Final musical examination the 24th of March at the organ (open to public)

     

    Notre Dame - inaugural recital after restoration

    in General discussion

    Posted

    Yesterday night, I attended the concert by Latry

    . The nave was completely full due probably to the new expectations of the instrument and the interpretation of the Rise of Spring....

    Concerning the great organ that I have been lucky enough to listen since 1968, I would say that the restauration is well achieved.

    The organ sounds clearer because of the clearing of dust and the new harmonisation . The new fact is the addition of the Résonnance (18 stops of the pedalboard extended to 56 notes) which seems to give a certain enhanced clarity and improves the expression effects as they are split into the swell boxes.

    My global impression is that this organ has now become "ultrasymphonic" and has almost lost the deep ACC feature already put in question in 1965-67 .

    For the Rise of Spring everyone was enthusiastic about the quasi infinite musical resources of the instrument: A real great moment thanks to Latry and his spouse.

     

    The next step for me is to listen to the GO playing a Widor or a Vierne symphony to question his abilities to correctly interpret this authors (in particular the ACC reeds of the Récit and the Grand Choeur : how have they been harmonised by Quoirin and Cattiaux who are well known by their " neo-classic" incllnation?

    Louis Vierne

    in General discussion

    Posted

    Recently heard at "France-Musique" a contribution to "the organists without their organ" (les organistes sans leur orgue):

    Louis Vierne:

    -Quatuor à cordes en ré mineur op. 12 - I. Lento - Allegro agitato
    Quatuor Spiegel
    MDG [644 1505-2]

    -Sonate pour violon et piano op. 23 - 1er, 2e et 4e mouvement
    Olivier Charlier (violon) & Jean Hubeau (piano)
    Erato [2292 45524-2]

    - Suite bourguignonne pour piano op. 17
    Olivier Gardon (piano)
    Timpani [2C2023]

    -Mélodies
    Cinq Poèmes de Baudelaire

    Spleens et détresses op. 38 - "Un grand sommeil noir"
    Mireille Delunsch (soprano) & François Keerdoncuff (piano)

    Timpani 1C1145

    -La Ballade du désespéré op. 61
    Steve Davislim (ténor)
    The Queensland Orchestra, Guillaume Tourniaire (direction)
    Melba Recordings [MR301123]

    Notre Dame - inaugural recital after restoration

    in General discussion

    Posted

    Personally, I think PL's style is extraordinary - he has the ability to conjure that elusive extra-musical atmosphere within the context of the Mass, as did PC.

     

    The organ of Notre-Dame is one that has, and will continue to grow and change according to taste and technology of the day (as opposed to St Sulpice and Rouen, say, which are both fabulous monuments to their creator). Had Vierne had funds, the ND orgue would have, possibly, changed more radically than under PC's custodianship, and since - including the addition of an "English" Diapason, with much else, and a multitude of couplers with a new English/American console!

     

    I rather like the new console which pays homage to CC with its hints of terracing. I also think the Titulaires are better judges of what is appropriate than ringside commentators!

    But you are yourself a ringside commentator!

    "De gustibus non est disputendum"!

    Notre Dame - inaugural recital after restoration

    in General discussion

    Posted

    A few years ago I and some others were able to have a private demonstration of the ND organ by Philippe Lefebvre one evening once the crowds had departed. We did not alas visit the tribune but from down in the nave things were crystal clear and hugely atmospheric. He started with the classical choruses and then went on to the Franck 'sound world' followed by the noises Vierne would have been used to and finally on to Cochereau and post Cochereau, the latter via an improvisation. My lasting impression was of a versatile instrument well able to deal with anything thrown at it. The early pipework gave a convincing (if refined perhaps) account of the appropriate repertoire and it was similar for the earlier and later romantic/symphonic areas on first C-C pipework alone then with the additions from Vierne's era. The (lengthy) improvisation then showed what the rest of it could do, not in the style of Cochereau, very much more '21st Century' - not easy listening but very effective. The whole experience was extremely tiring on the brain (one needed to listen etc.) but one not to be forgotten. It showed what an amazing instrument the ND organ is and how at the hands of one who knows it well it can make some marvellous music.

     

    A

    In fact, the essential thing is the way the organists are able to play this incredible instrument.

    The deception may be immense sometimes, simply because the musician is not situated at the same level as the instrument. As it has been said earlier in this thread, the risk is to use only a little part of the quasi infinite resources and to be overwhelmed by them.

    Even the current titulars do not use one tenth of the possibilities offered by the stops mixture.

    One exception to this affirmation: I remember a concert by Latry interpreting for the first time a work of the composer Jean-Louis Florentz" Debout sur le soleil" (1990) in 2004. This opus has been specially composed for the organ of Notre-Dame because only this instrument had (and still has) the required specifications : sostenuto at each manual, separation (coupure clavier adaptable), and combinations.

    This concert was a great one, one of the best I have ever heard in NDP after Cochereau's period.

    As for Lefebvre's impros: his choice is to stand away from PC's style by adopting a "21th century music style" probably to exist besides a genius dead in 1984?

    Notre Dame - inaugural recital after restoration

    in General discussion

    Posted

    If Pierre Cochereau had lived a bit longer, the GO of NDP would have been different as today.

    His intention was to reinstate the "positif de dos" and to get down the case with the support of the "Commission supérieure des monuments historiques" which is in charge of all the historical monuments in France.

    Some people do complain about the huge amount of public money spent on this organ which was already restored, almost entirely, with little success as for the computerized installation, in 1992...But as you know we do like public expenditures in our country!!

    Hopefully, the current reconstruction will last longer than 20 years?

    Notre Dame - inaugural recital after restoration

    in General discussion

    Posted

     

    I would be interested to hear your opinion of the rebuilt instrument, after the recital. I still prefer the previous console - and cannot imagine why it was thought necessary to replace the previous one. However, it will be interesting to learn what you thought of the organ, with its 'new' Resonance division.

     

    This video

    is worth a look. Now I know to where the original Cavaillé-Coll console has been moved.

    I tell you my opinion after the concert dear PCND!

    Organistes Titulaires

    in General discussion

    Posted

    There is a collective agreement written in 1968 which sets up the rules between the clergy and the organists.

    This agreement applies only in 4 districts: Paris, Nanterre, Saint Denis and Créteil in which the organists receive a salary.

    Unfortunately, the wages are so modest that it is simply not possible for a huge majority of them to earn their live. Some rare exceptions exist in the biggest parishes where, due to the number of people, there are more than 3 services each week end and several weddings and obituaries which include a fee payment. In these cases, the organist may survive....

    Thus, to earn their live, the French organists are also teachers either in the "Conservatoires de musique" (at city or regional levels) or in the national public sector (schools, colleges).

    Of course for the more famous of them, the concerts fees represent a complementary budget quite or relatively important, even though the number of events in France is declining as well as the corresponding fees....

    Organistes Titulaires

    in General discussion

    Posted

    In effect, it's not rare that some French organists are in the same time titular somewhere and co-titular elsewhere.

    Examples:

    Vincent Warnier: co-titulaire at Saint Etienne-du-Mont (together with Thierry Escaich) and titular at cathedral Notre Dame de Verdun

    Gabriel Margheri: co-titular at Sacré coeur de Montmartre (together with Philippe Brandeis) and titular at sanctuaire saint Bonaventure in Lyon

    Sophie-Véronique Cochefer-Choplin: deputy-titular at saint Sulpice and titular at Saint Jean Baptiste de la Sale (Paris 15ème).

     

    The reason is that being titular is often not a sufficient charge and leaves enough time to run an other position.

    Michel Chapuis

    in The Organ

    Posted

    Is anyone aware of an compositions (other than choral offerings) by Michel Chapuis? One of our members put me on to Editions Delatour and I have encountered a smashing Partita on Theme of Chapuis by Houbart. In fact thanks to said member, I have parted with a lot of money (willingly) and appear to have bought up most of their catalogue. I know that MC is really known as an early music man and also an improviser, and suspect that anything that does exist could be well worth following up. Do visit Editions Delatour, there is a superb catalogue which includes a composition by Pierre Pincemaille, and lots of music by composers from Alsace. All beautifully presented and at quite reasonable cost.

     

    The catalogue in question:

    http://www.editions-delatour.com/fr/content/51-catalogues

×
×
  • Create New...