More than forty years ago Pierre Labric was the first to record the
complete organ works of Vierne. These particular discs, Volume 3 of the
Solstice “reissue”, were originally recorded in 1972. As my
colleague Byzantion has indicated in a review of Volume 1 [see link], the
original masters for all the volumes were lost and the CDs have been
compiled from copies of the master recordings and the original LPs. As one
would expect the sound quality is very variable, although the Third and
Fourth Suites sound better overall. The main purpose of this new version of
the recordings is therefore to showcase Pierre Labric - still with us at the
age of 91 as of this writing. He is a master organist and proponent of
Vierne. Unfortunately he has made too few recordings.
Like Vierne’s earlier
Pièces en Style Libre Op.
31 the
Pièces de Fantaisie consists of twenty-four individual
pieces, this time grouped into four suites. While the twenty-four pieces
bear no overt relationship to each other, each suite’s components are
carefully arranged emotionally and tonally to produce a complete entity. As
would be expected, the suites demonstrate all of Vierne’s skills in
both counterpoint and organ coloration. They also showcase his sometimes
dissonant use of harmony and his individual melodic sense, not to mention
his periodic flashes of wit.
Vierne is at the height of his powers in the
Pièces de
Fantaisie and while one would like to describe all of them, one can only
pick a few that stand above the rest (see complete list below). The First
Suite’s
Prélude combines a sense of geniality with a
toccata-like structure and the composer’s unique harmony immediately
transporting us to Vierne’s world. The fifth piece,
Requiem
aeternam, was written in memory of the composer’s recently
deceased brother Edouard. It features a heavily chromatic main theme, above
a tolling two-note figure, that becomes increasingly dense in texture,
before the piece succumbs in resignation. The Suite’s last piece is a
Marche nuptial, but very far from Mendelssohn and Wagner. It is a
passacaglia whose harmony becomes increasingly dissonant and texture
increasingly dense (cf.
Requiem aeternam) until it ends with a sense
of claustrophobia. Perhaps Vierne was thinking of his own unsuccessful
married life.
The Second Suite begins with a
Lamento that encapsulates all
of Vierne’s major compositional features into one small piece, while
the fourth piece,
Feux Follets (
Will of the Wisps) is as
impressionistic as the title would suggest. It revolves around the key of
B-major and demonstrates the composer’s ability to use tonality
combined with organ coloration to create an inimitable atmosphere.
Clair
de lune is one of the composer’s most beautiful shorter works,
although it owes nothing to Debussy, and allows for a fair measure of
dissonance before ending in a lovely coda. The suite ends with the
well-known
Toccata. Here Vierne is not competing with his master
Widor; instead he produces a compact and reasoned structure which still
generates a lot of excitement.
Although the Third Suite begins with the well-known
Impromptu
and concludes with the even better-known
Carillon de Westminster, it
is the third through fifth pieces that truly stand out.
Étoile du
Soir (Evening Star) has none of the sentimentality one might expect from
its title. As in
Feux Follets the composer’s sensitivity to key
(here G-Sharp minor) is At the forefront as well as his ability to convey a
wide variety of emotions through development of a simple motif. Its
successor
Fantômes, is a seven-part symphonic poem in which
Vierne uses different organ “voices” to portray the seven
different human voices of his programme. The composer is at his most
grandiose in
Sur le Rhin (On the Rhine). This is a monumental ternary
structure with a first section built entirely from shifting chords
contrasted with a gentler but still forceful middle section. The first
section then returns, this time harmonically altered and expanded, before
ending with almost overwhelming force.
Vierne’s
Aubade, which begins the Fourth Suite, is one
of his most joyous compositions, smoothly flowing from beginning to end.
Cathédrales, like
Sur le Rhin, uses massive chords,
this time alternating with quiet sections for the reeds, to evoke the
variety of emotions one feels in such buildings. Gargoyles are frequently
found on cathedrals, but
Gargouilles et chimères bears little
emotional resemblance to
Cathédrales. It consists of a single
figure played only on clarinets, producing a sound that can only be
described as ghastly, alternating with a more scherzo-like thematic variant
on reeds and pedals for the chimera. As the Third Suite ended with the
Westminster chimes, the Fourth Suite ends with the bells of St.
Mary’s Church in Hinckley in Leicestershire (
Les Cloches de
Hinckley). Vierne stayed in that town during his second tour of the U.K.
in 1925 and was kept awake all night by the bells. Two years later he used
their chime as the basis for a sonorous - in the true sense of the word -
and brilliantly constructed finale to the
Pièces de Fantaisie.
As indicated above the sound quality of these discs precludes their
recommendation as the prime
Pièces de Fantaisie in
anyone’s library. At present there are several competing sets, all in
good sound, including a definitive set by Ben van Oosten (MDG) and a
fascinating one by the polymath George C. Baker (also Solstice). The main
strength of the Labric discs lies in his interpretative ability and his
immersion in the world of Vierne. Labric emphasizes the gentler aspects of
the composer’s personality, though he is perfectly capable of
producing the appropriate force and descending to the depths of the
composer’s frequent melancholy when required. His performance of each
of the twenty-four pieces is well thought-out and his tempi are well-nigh
perfect. Labric also preserves the needed balance between virtuosity,
programmatic depiction, and exploration of Vierne’s unique
personality. One must also mention the wonderful notes by Michel Roubinet.
Each piece is not only fully described, but information on each of the
twenty-four dedicatees is included. This is especially interesting as
Vierne’s dedicatees comprise a comprehensive portrait of the
“organ world” of the 1920s. In short these discs will prove
fascinating for admirers of Vierne and for those interested in the French
school of organ performance, but cannot be recommended as a standard set of
these works.
William Kreindler
List of individual pieces
First Suite Op.51
1. Prélude
2. Andantino
3. Intermezzo
4. Caprice
5. Requiem aeternam
6. Marche nuptiale
Second Suite Op.53
1. Lamento
2. Sicilienne
3. Hymne au soleil
4. Feux follets
5. Clair de lune
6. Toccata
Third Suite Op.54
1. Dédicace
2. Impromptu
3. Étoile du soir
4. Fantômes
5. Sur le Rhin
6. Carillon de Westminster
Fourth Suite Op.55
1. Aubade
2. Résignation
3. Cathédrales
4. Naïades
5. Gargouilles et Chimères
6. Les cloches de Hinckley
