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Alain 100


Richard Fairhurst

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  • 4 weeks later...
Today marked the centenary of the birth of Jehan Alain.

 

Not forgotten in all quarters.

I gave them the Durufle Prelude and Fugue yesterday at Ripon.

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I persuaded Philip Rushforth to play two pieces at yesterday's Chester recital, the Jannequin Variations and Le Jardin Suspendu.

 

A reminder for those that don't know, there's a recital every Thursday at Chester at 1.10, although there is now a charge for admission, unfortunately brought in as the retiring collection was very poor for the number of people attending.

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  • 7 months later...

I haven't found anyone tackling 'Hymne aux memoires heroiques' by Jean-Jacques Grunenwald as part of the Alain celebrations. Indeed I have heard it very infrequently and am not sure why it's been missed off the radar so completely.

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I haven't found anyone tackling 'Hymne aux memoires heroiques' by Jean-Jacques Grunenwald as part of the Alain celebrations. Indeed I have heard it very infrequently and am not sure why it's been missed off the radar so completely.

I was inspired to learn it after hearing it being played by the late Allan Wicks on one of the Monday evening organ recitals which BBC Radio 3 broadcast for years; I still have the cassette tape of the programme tucked away somewhere. It's a powerful piece, and one I've enjoyed including in recitals where the instrument and type of audience seemed right.

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The same recording inspired me to dig it out. Can't say I still have the old cassette tape it was recorded on though. I'd have to agree about the type of audience and the right programming. It's because of those things that I thought it such a shame not to have found it performed anywhere. Despite its episodic nature I think it hangs together very well and it does have some marvellous moments in it, loud, soft and in between.

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A Brilliant Classics three disc set of Alain's complete works is now available at budget price.

 

I don't know upon which instrument(s) they were recorded but at this price must be worth having.

 

from www.jbrobin.com:

 

Organs of:

-> Saint-Etienne-du-Mont church in Paris (Cavaillé-Coll and Beuchet Debierre)

-> Saint-Louis-en-l'Ile church in Paris (Bernard Aubertin)

-> Sainte-Radegonde church in Poitiers.

Bonus recordings: Organ of the Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal (OH, USA) and Synagogue Notre-Dame-de-Nazareth in Paris.

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