Olivier Latry - Complete Recordings On Deutsche Gr

Olivier Latry (Cavaille-Coll-Orgel Notre Dame Paris), Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liege, Pascal

Notre-Dame is not the highest, not the largest, nor the most typical of France's cathedrals. It is nevertheless the cathedral of cathedrals, the epitome of Gothic architecture, the soul of the capital Paris and symbolically also the centre of France, as is made clear by a bronze plate in front of the main portals as the starting point of all state roads. If Victor Hugo wrote in 1831 "Every column, every stone, every sculpture of the cathedral is not only a manifestation of the history of France, but also of the history of our science and art", this is especially true of the organ art, in addition to the magnificent creations of architecture and stained glass. In 1985, Olivier Latry was appointed titular organist at the Cathedral, where he is wholeheartedly active as one of the three officiating 'Servants of the Liturgy', following in the footsteps of Louis Vierne, Léonce de Saint-Martin and Pierre Cochereau: "When I climb the steps to the organ loft, I always think of the multitude of invisible helpers by whom the Cathedral was built. My joy is to make the stones sing that they set. I see my musical vocation as a mission that I hope to fulfill to the best of my ability between two worlds, the real and the spiritual, because the organ represents in my eyes (and my ears) the breath of God." For this task, he has at his disposal a great organ at Notre-Dame, which Olivier Latry calls "a marvel of history, but also a visual and sonic phenomenon," and which fortunately remained undamaged despite the devastating fire of 2019. The organ was completed in 1868 by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll in the symphonic style, and has been enlarged several times up to the present day, while also being modernized in terms of playing techniques. Olivier Latry appreciates the instrument's unheard-of musicality and versatility: "Placed between heaven and earth on the west wall of the cathedral, the organ exudes its sonority beneath the vaults as if it were a musical part of the medieval rosette whose play of colors shines above it." "A performer whose imagination should be limitless orchestrates the music and explores its colors. In doing so, it is difficult to find the balance between one's own emotions, style, and the composer's message, which must not be altered." (Latry). This is especially true of the organ compositions of César Franck, the innovator of organ music after the 1789 Revolution, whose organ works were placed on a par with Bach's creations by Franz Liszt. Franck was organist of the Cavaillé-Coll organ in the parish church of Sainte-Clotilde in Paris, to which he composed most of his twelve great organ works with detailed registration rules so specific that each interpretation on a different instrument requires adaptation to the organ and the space. Organ transcriptions of vocal, piano or orchestral music are new creations for which the arranger must analyze the original in detail and adapt it to the technical and tonal conditions of the organ. The performer's task is to register the new organ score in the best possible way, thereby convincingly implementing not only the composer's ideas but also those of the arranger. The recorded Piano Toccata by Sergei Prokofiev may serve as an example. It was virtuously arranged for organ by Jean Guillou, but was printed without any indication of its tonality. Says Olivier Latry, "I had a lot of fun 'orchestrating' Guillou, and spent a dozen hours for this five minutes of music searching for registrations that would properly show off the work on this organ." In contrast to the outward virtuosity of many transcriptions is the organ work of Olivier Messiaen, which Olivier Latry holds in the highest esteem, has been performed in cycles several times, and has been recorded for Deutsche Grammophon at Notre-Dame. "It has always amazed me at Notre-Dame how perfectly this music, this instrument and its stone shrine fit together; one has the feeling of witnessing a timeless meeting of all the artists and craftsmen who, over the centuries, have together used their skills to edify mankind. The fascination, indeed the rapture, that emanates from it has given me unforgettable moments of inner movement and pure happiness." Since it is not even remotely possible within the given framework to appreciate the music of this profoundly religious composer, we will quote (slightly abbreviated) Messiaen himself, who mentioned some characteristics of his works in a conversation with the author in 1987: "I stand outside all currents, and for several reasons: I have studied rhythm by studying Greek metrics and the Hindu rhythms of the ancient Indians. I am also an ornithologist and as such have recorded many bird songs. I believe that I am the only composer who makes use of bird songs, but that, conversely, I am also the only ornithologist who can record bird songs in music. What characterizes me most, however, is certainly the fact that I see colors when I listen to sounds and represent these colors in my music. The audience does not see the colours I see, but this does not matter, because they perceive them unconsciously. Many modern compositions are always just gray or black or white, but my music is particularly colorful." Olivier Latry is one of the world's leading organists of our time. He sees himself as an ambassador of French organ literature, while also having a marked preference for the works of contemporary composers, two of whom have been included in this box: Thierry Escaich, a "hot-blooded and brilliant improviser whose musical talent is also reflected in his compositions", and Jean-Louis Florentz, a pupil of Messiaen and, like the latter, a devout composer who, inspired by the Syrian Orthodox liturgy of Ethiopia, wrote the composition Debout sur le Soleil (Standing in the Sun): a "chant of resurrection" based on a meditation by the Notre Dame priest Jacques Leclercq, whom he revered. Olivier Latry: "Florentz always wanted his works to sound like improvisations. At Notre-Dame, we spent many hours together registering his music, where he greatly appreciated not only the polyphonic richness as well as certain extraordinary aliquot mixtures, but also the organ's combination possibilities for rapid changes of timbre.

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