Inaugural Concert Olivier Latry
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A Year of Celebratory Concerts INAUGURAL CONCERT OLIVIER LATRY Organiste Titulaire Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris 24 October ANNO DOMINI MMXIII 7:30 o’clock in the Evening CATHEDRAL OF SAINT PAUL NATIONAL SHRINE OF THE APOSTLE PAUL 239 SELBY AVENUE SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA WWW.CATHEDRALSAINTPAUL.ORG PHOTO: LIAM FLAHIVE The Inaugural Year of Concerts Olivier LATRY 24 October 2013 Titular Organist, Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Paris, France Professor of Music, Paris Conservatory Simon JOHNSON 25 February 2014 Organist & Assistant Director of Music, St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, England Sean VOGT 26 June 2014 Director, Cathedral Choir, Cathedral Schola Cantorum, Apollo Male Chorus Samuel HOLMBERG 21 August 2014 Sacred Music Intern, Cathedral of Saint Paul Janette FISHELL 25 September 2014 Professor of Music, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Bloomington, IN Chair, Organ Department Jean-Baptiste ROBIN 30 October 2014 Titular Organist, Cathedral of Saint-Pierre, Poitiers, France Organist, Royal Chapel, Palace of Versailles, France Professor of Organ, Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional, Versaillie, France C ATHEDRAL OF S A I N T P A U L + + + N A T I O N A L S HRINE OF THE A P O S T L E P AUL CATHEDRAL OF SAINT PAULS A+ I N+ T + P NAULATIONAL, M INNESOTA SHRINE OF THE APOSTLE PAUL USA Inaugural Organ Concert E. M. Skinner, Op. 518 (1927) Æolian-Skinner, Op. 1398 (1963) Quimby Pipe Organs, Inc., Op. 69 (2013) OLIVIER LATRY, ORGAN 24 OCTOBER ANNO DOMINI MMXIII 7:30 O’CLOCK IN THE EVENING 7 PROGRAM Final (from Sonata No. 1) Alexandre GUILMANT (1837-1911) Cantabile César FRANCK (1822–1890) Allegro vivace (from Symphony No. 5) Charles-Marie WIDOR (1844–1937) Berceuse (from 24 Pièces en style libre) Louis VIERNE Carillon de Westminster (from Pièces de fantaisie) (1870–1937) Sicilienne (from Suite Op. 5) Maurice DURUFLÉ (1902–1986) Evocation II Thierry ESCAICH (b. 1965) Improvisation on submitted themes Olivier LATRY (b. 1962) EXCLUSIVE NORTH AMERICAN MANAGEMENT: Karen McFarlane Artists, Inc. www.concertorganists.com 3 CATHEDRAL OF SAINT PAUL + + + NATIONAL SHRINE OF THE APOSTLE PAUL OLIVIER LATRY French organist Olivier Latry is one of the most distinguished concert organists in the world today. One of three titular organists at the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris, he is also Professor of Organ at the Paris Conservatory of Music, Organist Emeritus with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra in Canada, and maintains a full schedule of concert performances appearing regularly as a soloist at prestigious venues and festivals, and with leading orchestras around the world. Mr. Latry was born in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France, in 1962 where he began his musical studies. He later attended the Academy of Music at St. Maur- des-Fossés, studying organ with Gaston Litaize. From 1981 to 1985 he was titular organist of Meaux Cathedral, and at the age of 23 won the competition to become one of the three titular organists of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris along with Philippe Lefebvre and Jean-Pierre Leguay; the three of them succeeding Pierre Cochereau. In 1990 he succeeded his teacher, Gaston Litaize, as organ professor at the Academy of Music at St. Maur-des-Fossés, and then subsequently in 1995 was appointed Professor of Organ at the Paris Conservatory where he continues to teach today along with his distinguished colleague, Michel Bouvard. Having performed in more than fifty countries on five continents, Mr. Latry does not want to specialize in any specific repertoire, but rather wishes to explore all styles of organ music, as well as the art of improvisation. In 2000, to celebrate Olivier Messiaen as one of the greatest composers of the 20th century, he performed three complete cycles (six recitals each) of Messiaen’s organ music, at the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris, the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola in New York City and St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Mr. Latry has also inaugurated many significant concert hall organs around the world, including Verizon Hall (Philadelphia USA), The Palace of the Arts (Budapest, Hungary), and The Musikverein (Vienna, Austria). In 2014 he performs the inaugural concerts at La Maison Symphonique (Montréal, Canada) and a concert as part of the inaugural concert series at the Royal Festival Hall in London (UK). In addition to concerts and teaching, Mr. Latry has made his mark through many recordings on the BNL label featuring music of Bach, Widor’s Symphonies 5 and 6, Vierne’s Symphonies 2 and 3 and the complete works of Duruflé. With Deutsche Grammophon he has recorded a transcription disc entitled “Midnight at Notre-Dame”, a disc featuring the organ works of César Franck, and the complete organ works of Olivier Messiaen. He has also recorded the Poulenc Concerto and the Barber Toccata Festiva with the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Jongen Symphonie Concertante with the Liège Orchestra. His most recent recording on the Naïve label is entitled “Trois Siècles d’Orgue Notre-Dame de Paris” which features music composed by past and current organists of Notre-Dame Cathedral. In recognition of his distinguished work in the field of organ performance and teaching, Mr. Latry has received many prestigious awards and honorary degrees including the Prix de la Fondation Cino et Simone Del Duca (Institut de France–Académie des Beaux-Arts) in 2000, and “Honoris Causa” Fellowships from the North and Midlands School of Music (UK) in 2006, and from the Royal College of Organists (UK) in 2007. He was also presented the International Performer of the Year award by the New York City chapter of the American Guild of Organists in April 2009, and received an honorary Doctor of Music degree from McGill University in Montreal Canada in 2010. 4 CATHEDRAL OF SAINT PAUL + + + NATIONAL SHRINE OF THE APOSTLE PAUL The Cathedral Organs n September 22 of 1963, the inaugural concert was played on the newly-installed Æolian- Skinner pipe organ located in the Cathedral choir gallery. The program from that concert recalls: O In 1927 a three manual, thirty rank Ernest Skinner organ was installed in the sanctuary of the Cathedral. In designing a new instrument for the gallery, the decision was made to make the new instrument playable from the existing sanctuary console, and to make the sanctuary organ playable from the new console to be built in the gallery. In order to produce a tonal blend which would be cohesive with a modern type instrument, it was necessary to rebuild and revoice some of the ranks of the sanctuary organ. Since the primary function of an organ in Catholic liturgy is one of accompaniment, the new organ was designed with this in mind. Because of the acoustics of the Cathedral and the length of the reverberation period, careful study was necessary in both the selection and the voicing of the ranks which make up the new instrument. The organ is a happy blending of the Classic and the Baroque, capable of great tonal variety and of wide dynamic range. Negotiations for the gallery organ were begun by the late Monsignor George E. Ryan with the Æolian-Skinner Organ Company of Boston in the fall of 1957. Actual installation in the Cathedral was begun in January of 1963 and the work was completed on June 29. The formal blessing of the organ by Archbishop Binz took place on June 30 when the organ was used for the first time at the Pontifical High Mass marking both the patronal feast of the Cathedral and the coronation of Pope Paul VI which took place in Rome on the same day. Ordained for sacred use exactly 50 years later by His Excellency, Archbishop John C. Nienstedt, the present project honors that history, embraces the original tonal design of the E. M. Skinner sanctuary organ, and fulfills the artistic vision first drawn by the hand of Cathedral architect Emmanuel-Louis Masqueray over a century ago. The current project is the fruition of the talents of many highly- skilled artisans, led by Quimby Pipe Organs of Warrensburg, Missouri. Mr. Michael Quimby, president of the firm, summarizes the project in these words: The vision for the renewal of the two Cathedral pipe organs reflects the idea that the instruments would retain the tonal and mechanical integrity of their original builders. Located in the sanctuary apse above the entrance to the Cathedral sacristy, the work on the 30-rank, 2,053 pipes, 1927 Skinner Opus 518 three manual and pedal pipe organ involved restoring the tonal character of the instrument when built. If Mr. Skinner were to hear this organ today he would immediately recognize that this was one of his creations. The 65-rank, 3,917 pipes, Opus 1398 Æolian-Skinner instrument installed in the gallery in 1963 reflected the desire of the Cathedral to rebuild the instrument mechanically, and expand the instrument tonally in alignment with the significant work of this builder, such as at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in New York City, the largest Gothic cathedral in the world. The Cathedral of Saint Paul gallery instrument now has four manuals, a new Bombarde Division of thirteen ranks, one new rank in the Great Division, four additional new ranks in the Choir Division, five additional new ranks in the Pedal Division, and a full-length metal 32' Contre Bombarde—12 pipes extending the original 16' Pedal Bombarde. The original Æolian- Skinner ranks were refurbished and voiced to blend with the new ranks. The most dramatic tonal addition is the Pontifical Trompette, playable from the Bombarde manual, which can be played in single notes and be heard above the full organ. A very significant change in the control of the instruments was the replacement of the original consoles with two that are identical, allowing the tonal resources of both the sanctuary and gallery consoles to be played independently or together.