Reviews for
GMCD 7136 - Masterworks II / for
Organ and Orchestra
GMCD 7137 - German Romanticism I / Julius
Reubke
GMCD 7136 - Choir and Organ July/August 2000
MASTERWORKS II FOR ORGAN AND ORCHESTRA
DUPRÉ: SYMPHONIE NO.1 IN G MINOR, CORTÉGE AND LITANIE;GILLES:SYMPHONIE IN E MAJOR;
DEMESSIEUX:POÈME OP.9
Jeremy Filsell / BBC concert Orchestra / Barry Wordsworth
Guild GMCD 7136 (3 out of 5 stars)
Secondly, Filsell is undoubtedly one of the finest players of his generation and
the exemplary playing from the orchestra make this a disc worth listening to. That fact
underlines an opportunity missed. Dupré adored the US Skinner/Harrison sound as well as
his beloved Cavaillé-Coll. The St. Jobhn's Smith Square Klais does soound faintly comical
at times and the dynamic balance relies on its upper work. Also a reed sounds decidedly
vile during the slow movements of the DupréSymphonie, I would have gone
elsewhere and avoided a sound similar to a badly loaded dishwasher.
Peter Beaven
GMCD 7136 & 7137 - Classic CD February 1998
Marcel Dupré's Symphonie pour orgue et orchestre turns out to be a not
especially attractive work: it has a fine slow movement, to be sure, but both the opening
movements are melodically undistinctive and rhythmically rather monotonous and unvaried.
The Symphonie for solo organ by Dupré's contemporary Joseph Gilles (the only
published composition of a composer who died in mysterious circumstances during World War
Two) is a much more interesting and atmospheric piece; but again a certain aesthetic
immaturity shows through in the juxtaposition of two not terribly dissimilar slow
movements at the beginning of the work.
The performances are very good, but this is ultimately a disc for organ specialists.
Terry Blain
GMCD 7136 - Gramophone January 1998
While the nineteenth-century fashion for putting large organs in civic buildings
inspired composers to write for organ with orchestra, the invention of digital recording
has certainly been responsible for the recent upsurge of interest in these works. Record
producers seem to be falling over themselves to find spectacular examples of the genre to
put on disc. And they don't come much more spectacular than Dupré's G minor Symphony,
with organ and orchestra vying to outdo each other in arrays of colours and numbers of
decibels. It is also a well-crafted piece which can survive the closest scrutiny even when
shorn of the outward manifestations of sonic spectacle. That is very much the treatment it
receives here. Barry Wordsworth's reading is intense and tightly argued and he receives
outstanding support from a BBC Concert Orchestra on world-class form and from Jeremy
Filsell, who handles the hugely demanding organ part with dazzling virtuosity.
When all is said and done, however, the work needs a certain element of extra-musical
spectacle. Guild's choice of St John's, Smith Square, cannot begin to match Telarc's Royal
Albert Hall in terms of sheer aural opulence, and the mighty RAH organ sends shivers down
the spine while its Smith Square counterpart seems more adept at setting the teeth on
edge.
In 1986 when Telarc released their CD there was still a certain novelty factor about
this new medium which they chose to show off in an unsubtle if vivid manner, by recording
the sound of the RAH organ blowers being switched on. No such frivolities for Guild. They
include the first-ever recording of Dupre's orchestrated version of Cortège et litanie
and the Symphony for solo organ by Joseph Gilles. Clearly Filsell's performance of
this highly performance of this highly impressionistic work has been immaculately
prepared, but on this hard-toned and somewhat unlovely organ it seems merely cold and
impersonal. Joanne Demessieux's Poème, after a captivating start becomes not
merely cold and impersonal but, as the decibels mount up, aurally quite offensive too. The
sound is far too unyielding for comfort.
If ever a recording was spoiled by the choice of recording venue this is it, but if you
can withstand this unfriendly environment you will be rewarded by some truly outstanding
performances.
MR
GMCD 7137 - Source: The Organ Vol 76 No. 301
Summer 1997
Few musicians feel confident enough on two instruments to entrust themselves to
recordings and when the works in question are by Reubke it takes a bold artist indeed to
place the piano and organ sonatas alongside each other in GMCD 7137. That they are both
highly successful is a tribute to the communicative powers and technical skill of Jeremy
Filsell.
As I seem to be hearing more Reubke in performance these days I assume that, he is
becoming more popular which may make this new recording all the more timely. The only
minor flaw is a purely technical one as each sonata is recorded as a single slab with no
way of returning easily to particular sections should one wish to do so.
Any reservations I might have had about using the Kleis in St John's, Smith Square, are
proved groundless by the quality of sound produced on both recordings, which is remarkably
clear and lively.
The works on GMCD 7136 are even more welcome as one so rarely gets a chance to hear
them live. Dupré's G minor Symphony is a splendid work which uses the organ as a balanced
integral part of his overall composition and shows a remarkably fine ear for orchestral
colour and detail.
Joseph Gilles has left us only the E major Symphony which is a deeply serious work,
often quietly intense, and very moving.
Jeanne Demessieux's poème sounds the more modern of the works included but was
actually written in I949. This is a very valuable addition to the catalogue.
BH
Page revised 03.09.2000
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