Joseph Jongen - Symphonie Concertante; Sonata Eroïca (Christian Schmitt)

Information

Composer: Joseph Jongen

• Symphonie concertante, Op. 81
• Passacaglie et gigue, Op. 90
• Sonata eroica, Op. 94

Christian Schmitt, organ

Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern

Martin Haselböck, conductor

Date: 2016

Label: CPO

https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/cpo/detail/-/art/joseph-jongen-symphonie-concertante-mit-orgel-op-81/hnum/3872153

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Review

Jongen’s friend Eugène Ysaÿe pointed out that the Symphonie concertante might better be called a symphony for two orchestras, since the organ’s role ‘is not limited or restricted; it is clearly a second orchestra that enriches the first’. Woefully under-represented on disc, it was commissioned in 1926 by Rodman Wanamaker for his Philadelphia department store. Unfortunately, a series of delays resulted in his never hearing the work (he died in 1928) and the US premiere was not given for another seven years.

The first of its four movements (marked ‘in modo dorian’) opens – rather than closes – with a fugue; you might hear echoes of Vierne in the enchanting second-movement Divertimento, perhaps Debussy and Richard Strauss in the ‘sunrise’ third movement, while the exhilarating final Toccata (moto perpetuo) is in the great French toccata tradition – but with added testosterone.

Despite a slightly restricted acoustic, your reviewer’s benchmark and one for which he retains a deep affection is the recording made in 1967 by Virgil Fox conducted by Georges Prêtre (EMI – nla) and played on the magnificent organ of the Palais de Chaillet (removed in 1977 to make way for a car park and now residing in the Auditorium Maurice-Ravel in Lyon). Schmitt and Haselböck lack their sheer élan – everything is very correct and a little earnest, the organ very much the equal rather than dominant partner – but nevertheless provide a suitably exhilarating experience.

The two other items may well tip the balance in its favour, for the orchestra-only Passacaglia and Gigue (new to me) is well worth investigating. The Gigue movement turns out to be a minor-key treatment of the old Tyneside song ‘The Keel Row’. The Sonata eroica, Jongen’s masterpiece for solo organ, is in the great tradition of multi-movements-in-one works like Liszt’s Ad nos and Reubke’s Sonata on the 94th Psalm. All in all, a highly recommendable tribute to the Belgian composer, so it’s a pity that the booklet has a full-page photo identified as Joseph Jongen but which is in fact of Alexandre Guilmant.

-- Jeremy Nicholas, Gramophone

More reviews:
https://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2017/Jan/Jongen_sy_7775932.htm

https://www.amazon.com/Jongen-Symphonie-Concertante-Op-81/dp/B01IFNZUEE

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Joseph Jongen (14 December 1873 – 12 July 1953) was a Belgian organist, composer, and music educator. From his teens to his seventies Jongen composed a great deal, including symphonies, concertos, chamber music and songs. In 1897, he won the Belgian Prix de Rome, which allowed him to travel to Italy, Germany and France. His list of opus numbers eventually reached 241, but he destroyed a good many pieces. His monumental Symphonie Concertante of 1926 is considered by many to be among the greatest works ever written for organ and orchestra, being championed and recorded by numerous eminent organists.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Jongen

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Christian Schmitt (born 1976 in Erbringen/Saar) is a German organist. He studied church music and concert performance (with distinction) in Saarbrücken and organ with James David Christie (in Boston) and Daniel Roth (in Paris). Schmitt has concertized around the globe, and has been Principal Organist of the Bamberg SO since 2014. He is an instructor at the Bach International Academy in Stuttgart and teaches at the Saar College of Music. Schmitt’s discography comprises more than thirty-five CD recordings featuring solo performances and live recordings for all the member radio stations of the German ARD network.

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Schmitt_(Organist)

https://www.christianschmitt.info/

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