Auguste FAUCHARD (1881-1957)
Complete Organ Works
Friedhelm Flamme (organ)
rec. 2014/2021, Heilig-Kreutz-Kirche, Detmold, Germany
CPO 555 506-2 SACD [3 discs: 197:13]
It’s a pleasant coincidence that only a month ago Ciar Classics issued a disc of Fauchard’s Symphonie Mariale (3rd Marian Symphony) and Le Mystère de Noël in engaging performances by Emmanuel Hocdé on the organ of Saint-Denys-du-Saint-Sacrement, Paris (review). The Third Symphony boasted a first recording. Now, Friedhelm Flamme performs Fauchard’s complete organ oeuvre on the organ of Heilig-Kreutz-Kirche, Detmold in this newly released 3-SACD set on the enterprising CPO label.
Auguste Fauchard’s organ works fell into obscurity following his death. He was born 5 March 1881 in Laval, northwest of Paris. After some early grounding in piano, organ and harmony, he went on to study theology and was ordained a priest in 1903. He was later able to study composition and organ with Louis Vierne in Paris and attended lectures in Alexandre Guilmant's organ class at the Paris Conservatory. His early career took him to Notre-Dame de Mayenne, where he served as curate and organist. He remained there until 1925, with a brief hiatus during World War I when he served as a nurse. Vincent d'Indy and André Marchal put the finishing touches to his studies from 1925 to 1927 at the Schola Cantorum in Paris. The bulk of his career was spent at the Holy Trinity Cathedral, Laval, where he was both organist and music director of the diocese. He gave over 200 concerts and inaugurated new organs in addition to teaching. He died 26 September 1957.
Fauchard’s first two symphonies date from the 1920s, No. 1 from 1926 and No. 2 from early to mid-1928. They were composed between Louis Vierne’s 5th (1924) and 6th symphonies (1930). In contrast to the works of his teacher, they’re cast in the four movement classical form. No. 1 is a typical example, being a fast, slow, scherzo and finale. The Adagio is particularly beautiful for its soothing and calming effect. The Scherzo is a fickle will-o-the-wisp, darting around in a capricious manner. Flamme really captures the mood with his mercurial delicacy. The finale would make an impressive voluntary at the end of a service, perhaps as a pleasing alternative to the hackneyed Widor Toccata.
Fauchard titles the movements of his Second Symphony: Prélude, Cantilène, Divertissement and Final. It’s generally a much more subdued affair than its predecessor. The sang-froid of the Prélude carries through to the Cantilène which, in the hands of Flamme, has some luminous and diaphanous textures. The rhetoric remains muted in the Divertissement, and it’s only in the Final that the composer injects any drama into the music.
Le Mystère de Noël (The Mystery of Christmas) of 1940 is heavily indebted to Marcel Dupré’s Variations sur un Noël, Op. 20 (1922) and Olivier Messiaen’s cycle La Nativité du Seigneur (1935). The construct is a theme and seven variations. In effect it’s a symphonic poem in the form of various choruses on the Christmas hymn Jesu Redemptor omnium. Fauchard responds imaginatively to the texts in this well-crafted score. We have the shepherds hastening to the manger in Variation 2, and the flickering of the stars in Variation 4. An impressive toccata ends the work.
The 3rd Symphony “Mariale” was written between September and December 1941 and was premiered by the composer himself on 8 December the same year, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. It’s structured as a cyclical liturgical work, with each of its four movements based on Marian texts:
I – Andante con moto: Salve Regina (5th tone).
II – Chorale and Fugue: Ave Maris Stella (Tune of Pontmain).
III – Interlude: O Sanctissima.
IV – Symphonic Piece: Salve Regina, Ave Maris Stella, O Sanctissima.
Fauchard’s familiarity with the liturgy, as a priest, is strongly evident. Melancholy, joy, confidence, pain and anguish are cloaked in music melodically rich and enhanced by masterful counterpoint.
The Symphonie Eucharistique (Organ Symphony no.4) is a late work, being composed in 1944. Vierne, Dupre and Widor seem to be abiding influences throughout the Symphonie’s four movements, titled: Invitatoire, Sacrifice, Communion and Procession. Once again, the composer’s priestly functions and knowledge can be readily ascertained. The Invitatoire is ruminative in flavour, in contrast to the Sacrifice, which is realized with dark and coarse-grained sonorities. The Communion confers some balm on proceedings, whilst the exalted Procession excites with its triumphant mien. Flamme fully exploits the dramatic contrasts in this work with some imaginative registration choices.
This handsomely produced set comes with booklet notes in English and German, giving helpful analysis and background to each of the works. The recordings are superbly engineered in performances that wholly capture the opulent acoustic of the Detmold venue. Clarity and instrumental balance are ideal. Hopefully, this new release will fully reinvigorate and restore Fauchard’s reputation.
Stephen Greenbank
Contents
Organ Symphony no.1 (1926) [27:59]
In Memoriam (1951) [10:05]
Organ Symphony no.2 (1928) [29:54]
Le Mystère de Noël (1940) [15:22]
Choral [10:00]
Symphonie Mariale (3rd Marian Symphony) (1941) 41:54]
5 Chorals on Vexilla Regis [12:14]
Symphonie Eucharistique (Organ Symphony no.4) (1944) [56:27]
