‘Take the cat off the hook and throw out the phone’, I wrote in
my review
of Hans-Eberhard Ross’s Franck survey. That remarkable recording
– since supplemented by two further instalments – really is Desert
Island fare, and it’s unlikely to be bettered any time soon. Or
so I thought, until a chance encounter on YouTube introduced me
to two of Finland’s best-kept secrets, the organist Kalevi Kiviniemi
and the record label Fuga. As a team they have produced a number
of demonstration-quality discs – see my review
of Kiviniemi’s Saint-Ouen recital – several of them recorded as
CD/SACD hybrids.
Ever since the
LP days organ buffs have longed for recordings that faithfully
capture the instrument’s entire range, from the highest reed
to the lowest pedal, a goal that came a little closer with
the advent of SACD technology. But it’s not just about the
extended frequency range it’s also about the sense of air
and space that the best SACDs convey, the latter of particular
importance in organ recordings. Mika Koivusalo, the technical
wizard behind these Fuga releases, has shown that it is indeed
possible to reproduce both the range and presence of a great
pipe organ with no audible compromises along the way. I daresay
in a carefully calibrated surround set-up the sense of ‘being
there’ is even greater, but even in stereo these discs set
new standards in musical fidelity.
Franck’s Grande
pièce symphonique – dedicated to keyboard virtuoso Charles
Valentin Alkan – is a real test of this technology. Close
to half an hour in length – Kiviniemi clocks in at 29:11,
Ross at 23:31 – it’s a mammoth work whose dense textures can
so easily overwhelm the unwary listener. That’s less of a
problem for Ross, as the Goll organ of St. Martin, Memmingen
has a wonderful poise and transparency that suits this music
rather well. The Paschen instrument in Finland’s Central Puri
Church has a richer, more resonant sound, especially in the
pedals, which adds immeasurably to the breadth and grandeur
of Franck’s conception.
Make no mistake,
though, there is plenty of lovely detail in the higher registers
as well; sample the passages at 10:55 and 18:25, with their
delicately etched notes sounded above a deep, pulsing pedal,
just two examples of the many heart-stopping moments in this
score. Ross is equally adept at highlighting these details,
but the extra weight and presence of the Fuga recording could
swing it for some listeners. That said, Kiviniemi’s more leisurely
reading may be an issue, but when the music unfolds with such
nobility one hardly notices the extra six minutes it takes
to complete. And if you think it’s all about breadth and not
brio just listen to the panoply of sound Kiviniemi produces
in the work’s closing pages. C’est magnifique.
The first of the
Trois Pièces, originally titled Fantaisie-Idylle,
seems less than idyllic at the outset, such is the music’s
ponderous character. That said, Franck introduces oases of
quiet contemplation, surrounded by grave, bass-dominated passages
and swirling flourishes in the organ’s upper reaches. There
are some grand perorations along the way, but the piece ends
as quietly as it began. Not vintage Franck, perhaps, but Kiviniemi
might just persuade me otherwise. No such qualms about the
Cantabile, which ‘sings’ with a voice of great purity.
You will hear some of the loveliest, most luminous, organ
sounds imaginable, all faithfully captured by this exceptional
recording.
The third item
in this triptych, Pièce héroïque, is also a little
muted at first but it soon modulates into something much grander.
One can only marvel at Franck’s sheer inventiveness, with
glittering figures arrayed above a recurring three-note pedal,
not to mention an inner tension that builds inexorably to
a finale of genuine splendour and weight. Thanks to good engineering
the organ never degenerates into an impenetrable ‘wall of
sound’ – as it so often does in lesser recordings – even when
Franck piles Ossa on Pelion. For me, though, Cantabile
is the pick of the bunch, and I doubt you’ll hear it more
winningly played than it is here.
Choral III,
based on Bach’s Prelude in A minor BWV 543, may
seem a tad dry after the deluge of late-Romantic sound we’ve
heard thus far. Kiviniemi certainly captures the toccata-like
aspects of the piece, with an emphasis on clarity of inner
detail and articulation throughout. Not my favourite Franck
piece by any means; indeed, even I came close to sensory overload
in the work’s long, somewhat splashy summation.
Another fine disc
from Fuga and proof, if it were needed, that Kalevi Kiviniemi
is one of the most exciting organists around. One might quibble
about his choice of programme here, but few could argue that
this isn’t playing of the highest order. Happily, there’s
more where this came from, and I shall be reviewing some of
them in the near future, Pressed to choose between this and
the Saint-Ouen recital I would have to opt for the latter,
simply because there’s nothing quite like a Cavaillé-Coll
in full spate. Also, the range of music there is more varied
and interesting. That said, organ buffs and hi-fi nuts should
invest in both.
Dan Morgan
Kalevi Kiviniemi (organ)
[77:00] 
