Comparison recordings:
S259
Zsuzsa Elekes, Rieger organ Matthias Church,
Budapest Hungaroton HCD 12749
Jean-Pierre Leguay, organ of Notre Dame, Euromuses
CD 2014
Simon Preston, organ at Westminster Abbey DG 415 139-2
Lionel Rogg, organ at St. Pierre de Genève, Electrola
SQ quadrophonic LP C 063-12 800
S260
Jean-Pierre Leguay, organ of Notre Dame, Euromuses
CD 2014
Jean Gillou, organ of St. Eustache, Paris. Dorian
DOR 90134
Gábor Lehotka, Jehmlich organ at Kecskmét Hungaroton
HCD 12562
Lionel Rogg, organ at St. Pierre de Genève, Electrola
SQ quad. LP C 063-12 800
Markus
Groh, piano version. Avie AV 2097
- see review
S179
Jean-Pierre Leguay, organ of Notre Dame, Euromuses
CD 2014
Gábor Lehotka, Jehmlich organ at Kecskmét Hungaroton
HCD 12562
Daniel Chorzempa, organ Pentatone PTC 5186 127
Hybrid SACD
- see review
Michael Ponti, piano version S673 Naxos 8.550408
Jennifer Bate is famous as the world’s greatest
interpreter of Olivier Messiaen, whose innermost thoughts
she shares, whose music has no mysteries she does not divine,
no subtleties to her impenetrable. Completely on the other
hand, these Liszt performances are ultimately theatrical
and extroverted. The instrument is huge and reverberant;
no contrast is too great, no flight of virtuosity too ecstatic
or too vertiginous, no registration too raucous, no tempo
too startling. Liszt himself would have leapt to his feet
cheering upon hearing her play his music.
The only reasonable comparisons, as shown above,
are to the great French cathedral organs and their tenders,
and to them she and her instrument yield nothing. If the
French organs melt one like butter in the heat of the glory
of God, this English organ is so ennobling and majestic an
experience as to recreate the Empire in an instant. This
music has never sounded so good, and will never sound any
better — period.
The jewelcase notes give the incorrect Searle
number of the Fantasie and Fugue on B.A.C.H.; the
correct numbers are given above.
The Schumann pieces were in fact originally written
for the pianoforte with pedals, an instrument known to both
Mozart and Busoni. The purpose of such instruments, which
actually existed even in Bach’s time, was to enable the practising
of organ pieces without the expense of paying an organ blower.
The pieces are interesting and varied and in stark contrast
in style to the Liszt. I had never heard them before. Ms.
Bate’s performance makes much use of staccato touch — it
sounds easy but is oh so difficult — to remain authentic
to the piano sound of the originals. In the louder passages
she makes use of trumpets and bombardes which, again, makes
an uncanny simulation of loud piano chords. All in all she
captures perfectly the fleeting changes of Schumann’s moody
composition style as she did the style of Liszt, two of whose
pieces on this disk also exist in piano versions. These Liszt
pieces have separate performance traditions and the versions
for the two instruments, originally the same, have diverged
considerably with time, each allowing insights into the understanding
of the other. Ponti is not the best piano version of the Weinen,
Klagen variations I’ve heard, but it is in print. Pianist
Marcus Groh does a superb job with the Fantasie and Fugue
on B.A.C.H., better than I ever thought it could be played
on the piano.
Preston and Elekes play the AD NOS fantasy
on large church organs, smaller than Bates’ organ, but closer
to the type Liszt most likely actually played. Both of their
performances highlight the intricate structure of this fascinating
work. In the cavernous spaces of Notre Dame, the music turns
to mush — at times very impressive mush it must be said.
The “chorale” is not traditional but was composed by Meyerbeer
for his opera Le Prophète, hence its authentic sounding
churchiness. Considering Liszt’s reputation, when he wrote
to Meyerbeer for permission to publish his arrangement, it
was rather like asking for permission to send a gift. Meyerbeer,
unacquainted with Liszt’s generosity, naturally said yes,
and tactfully inquired if payment was required and if so
how much. The generous artist Liszt was simply bewildered
by this; he was only interested in the music.
Notre Dame is more hospitable to the Weinen,
Klagen variations which are slower and rely more on
the contrast of huge tragic chords and simple effects and
less on dense small-scale counterpoint. Liszt wrote this
deeply tragic work with its triumphant chorale finale as
his reaction to the death of his son. Lehotka’s church
organ performance displays less color, but the Hungarians
like to claim they are the true musical heirs of Liszt.
The truth is that Liszt was born in a German-speaking part
of Hungary, but grew up intellectually in Paris and thought
in French for the rest of his life. He needed someone to
translate both Hungarian and German for him. He professed
Hungarian nationality in later life out of sympathy and
personal gratitude but musically owed more to Rossini,
Mozart, Schumann and Beethoven than to the Hungarian night-club
tunes he pirated for his “Hungarian Rhapsodies”. He never
found out they weren’t real folksongs. In contrast to Berlioz,
Beethoven, Brahms and Mendelssohn, Liszt was the only major
nineteenth century composer of church music who was a convinced,
devout Christian. The piano version of S179, at least played
by persons other than Liszt himself, is much less effective
than the organ version, which depends on the power of swelling
sustained chords. Simulating this with piano tremolos just
doesn’t make it, however skillfully done.
If you are equipped to play SACDs, the Chorzempa
surround sound recording sounds truly wonderful, although
Bate gives a slightly better performance, so you make your
choice. In using the piano version Searle number, Bate is
implying that she has edited her score herself from the piano
version and not used the published organ version, but the
notes do not clarify this. I think adjustment of noise-shaping
routines during mastering would have given the Bate recording
cleaner high frequencies.
The 1974 beautiful sounding Lionel Rogg recordings
would make a fine 4 channel SACD. Is someone at Pentatone
or EMI listening?
Paul Shoemaker
Jennifer Bate
(organ, Royal Albert Hall, London, UK) 
