At first glance these two works would seem a natural
pairing as both are organ symphonies based on plainchant. Looking at
them more closely we find two composers with very different definitions
of the term “organ symphony”.
Olsson’s
Credo Symphoniacum, subtitled Symphony No. 2,
dates from 1925, although its date is sometimes listed as 1918. Each
of its three movements is based on plainchant and is descriptive of
one of the persons of the Holy Trinity. The first movement is in sonata
form and based on the Gregorian “Credo in unum Deum” and
“Patrem Omnipotem, but fails to generate much interest. More stimulating
is the second movement which uses “Jesus Christus nostra salus”
as the basis for a programmatic description of the Passion. The finale
on “Veni Creator Spiritus” is the most impressive movement
with its vigorous contrapuntal development of the work’s main
themes succeeded by a serene conclusion. While the Credo Symphoniacum
contains much fine music it is not at all symphonic in its impact and
reminds one of a more serious version of Respighi’s
Church
Windows.
Widor is considered to be the father of the organ symphony and his group
of ten symphonies range from mere collections of pieces (1-4) to works
of greater thematic integration (5-8) to true symphonies (9-10). The
last of these is titled
Symphonie Romane in homage to the Romanesque
Basilica of St. Sernin in Toulouse and to its magnificent Cavaillé-Coll
organ. The entire symphony is based on the Gradual for
Easter Haec
dies which Widor develops in a very Romantic manner in the moderato
first movement and with great feeling in the succeeding Choral. The
third movement introduces new material which the composer ably combines
with fragments of the
Haec dies. The Final starts out with the
grandiosity usual in such movements (cf. Symphony No. 6 ) but ends gently.
Georges Athanasiadès has been titulaire (as well as a canon)
at the Abbey of Saint- Maurice for decades. He is also a teacher and
author and the founder of the International Saint-Maurice d’Agaune
Organ Competition and can be heard on a number of Tudor discs. He has
an amazing talent for instrumental colour and brings a great deal of
subtlety to his performances. On the negative side, his pacing is frequently
too deliberate and he occasionally gets lost in details. The organ at
St. Maurice might not seem ideal for the music on this disc but Athanasiadès’
long tenure there enables him to produce every needed tone colour. Both
of these works are available in other recordings (see link
1)
so this disc cannot be a primary recording, but it is notable for the
sincerity and skill of Athanasiadès’ performance.
William Kreindler
