Over the last two centuries the churches and cathedrals of Paris
have been powerhouses of creativity, with composers producing
countless masterpieces for choirs and the organ.
This concert – the third in the Wond’rous Machine season –
gives a taste of that typically French sound with two monumental
Mass settings written for the choir and organs of the Cathédrale
Notre-Dame de Paris – Vierne’s grand and romantic Messe
solennelle of 1899, and Yves Castagnet’s virtuosic and intense
Messe “Salve Regina” of 2002/7. The choir is quite used to
the sound of this great Cathedral, having sung a Mass there in 2013,
where Castagnet himself accompanied us in the congregational parts
of the service. Both works were originally composed with the two
organs of the Cathedral in mind – with two separate players at the
West and East organs, but the parts have been condensed into one,
and performed with typical flair by the organist of Southwell
Minster, Simon Hogan, on the grand four-manual Walker organ of St
Matthew’s Church.
The Organ of Notre-Dame de Paris
The smaller choral works in the concert includes Poulenc’s
Litanies à la Vierge Noire for ladies' voices and organ, in
which Poulenc expresses the peace and devotion of the ancient
pilgrimage site Rocamadour after visiting it following the death of
a dear friend. The music of Marcel Dupré is also represented in two
of his Quatre Motets – the restful, arching melodies of his O
salutaris hostia, and his fiery setting of Laudate Dominum,
which concludes our first half.
The concert also includes two organ solos – Jehan Alain’s
Litanies, and Maurice Duruflé’s Prélude et Fugue sur le nom
d’Alain. Alain wrote a number of brilliant and truly original
organ works. At the start of World War II, he served as a dispatch
rider in the French army. When on reconnaissance, hearing
approaching Germans, he abandoned his motorcycle and engaged the
enemy with his rifle, killing sixteen of them before being killed
himself. He was reportedly found beside his motorbike, with music
papers lying all around. The death of this hugely talented composer
at the age of only twenty-nine greatly moved his friend and
colleague Maurice Duruflé, who composed a Prelude and Fugue in his
memory. Founded upon a melody which translates the letters A-L-A-I-N
into music (the pitches A-D-A-A-F), and quoting Alain’s Litanies,
the work moves from an evocation of the young composer’s creativity
in the Prelude, through his death in the Litanies quote, and
into a Fugue which portrays a resurrection of sorts, ending in a
true blaze of glory.
Programme:
Northampton Bach Choir
Organ –
Simon Hogan
Conductor – Lee Dunleavy
Vierne – Messe Solennelle (25’)
Duruflé – Prélude et Fugue sur le nom d’Alain (12’)
Dupré – O salutaris hostia and Laudate Dominum (8’)
… Interval of 15 minutes …
Poulenc – Litanies à la Vierge Noire (10’)
Alain – Litanies (5’)
Castagnet – Messe “Salve Regina” (28’) |
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