Alexandre Guilmant; Charles-Marie Widor - Symphonies (Ian Tracey; Yan Pascal Tortelier)

Information

Composer: Alexandre Guilmant; Charles-Marie Widor; César Franck

• Guilmant - Symphony No. 2 in A major, for organ & orchestra, Op. 91
• Widor - Symphony No. 3 in E minor, for organ & orchestra, Op. 69
• Franck - Choral No. 2 in B minor

Ian Tracey, organ

BBC Philharmonic Orchestra

Yan Pascal Tortelier, conductor

Date: 2000

Label: Chandos

https://www.chandos.net/products/catalogue/CHAN%209785

-----------------------------------------------------------

Review

ARTISTIC QUALITY: 9 / SOUND QUALITY: 9

Charles-Marie Widor’s Third Symphony for organ and orchestra makes a perfect companion to the famous Saint-Saëns Third for the same forces, and I’m amazed that the two have never been coupled together. Like the earlier work, Widor’s symphony has two movements, though it’s less traditionally structured than the Saint-Saëns and a bit more in the tradition of César Franck. It’s harmonically luscious, magnificently orchestrated, full of good tunes, and certainly a refreshing change of pace. Félix Guilmant’s Second Symphony represents a recasting of one of his solo organ sonatas, and while less adventurous harmonically than the Widor, it’s also a fresh, lively work in a neo-classical vein featuring a couple of especially vivacious fugues. Yan Pascal Tortelier directs performances of both works that are just about perfect, though an earlier version of the Widor available from Motette had the advantage of a more flattering acoustic environment with a deeper bass extension. Chandos copes with the hugely reverberant Liverpool Cathedral very well, with good balances and excellent clarity. While the “filler”, a decent performance of Franck’s Choral No. 2, seems somewhat out of place, it certainly doesn’t detract from enjoyment of this usually interesting and appealing program.

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday

More reviews:
https://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2000/apr00/guilmant.htm

https://www.amazon.com/Guilmant-Symphony-Widor-Franck-Choral/dp/B00003XB23

-----------------------------------------------------------

Alexandre Guilmant (12 March 1837 – 29 March 1911) was a French organist and composer. In 1871 he was appointed to play the organ regularly at la Trinité church in Paris, and held this organiste titulaire position for 30 years. In 1894 Guilmant founded the Schola Cantorum with Charles Bordes and Vincent d'Indy. He taught there up until his death. In addition, he taught at the Conservatoire de Paris where he succeeded Charles-Marie Widor as organ teacher in 1896. Guilmant was an accomplished and extremely prolific composer who devoted himself almost entirely to works for his own instrument, the organ.

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

***

Charles-Marie Widor (21 February 1844 – 12 March 1937) was a French organist, composer and teacher of the late Romantic era. Widor was a prolific composer, writing music for organ, piano, voice and ensembles. Apart from his ten organ symphonies, he also wrote three symphonies for orchestra and organ, several songs for piano and voice, four operas and a ballet. As of 2022, he is the longest-serving organist of Saint-Sulpice in Paris, a role he held for 63 years. He also was organ professor at the Paris Conservatory from 1890 to 1896, and then he became professor of composition at the same institution.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles-Marie_Widor

***

Ian Tracey (born 27 May 1955 in Liverpool) is an English organist and choirmaster. He studied first with Noel Rawsthorne, then at Trinity College, before gaining further experience in Paris under André Isoir and Jean Langlais. Since 1980, he has been Cathedral Organist and Master of the Choristers of Liverpool Cathedral. In addition to his Cathedral duties, Tracey is also Organist to the City of Liverpool at St. George’s Hall, and Chorus Master to the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society. He is in demand as an organ recitalist in the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States, and has made a number of recordings.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Tracey_(organist)

http://www.iantracey.com/

***

Yan Pascal Tortelier (born 19 April 1947 in Paris) is a French conductor and violinist. He is the son of the cellist Paul Tortelier. Yan Pascal Tortelier has worked and recorded extensively in the United Kingdom. He was principal conductor of the Ulster Orchestra from 1989 to 1992, the BBC Philharmonic in Manchester from 1992 to 2003, the Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo from 2009 to 2011, and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra from 2016 to 2019. Tortelier's recordings include his own orchestration of Ravel's Trio. He is a regular recording artist for Chandos Records with multiple orchestras.

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

-----------------------------------------------------------

FLAC, tracks

Links in comment

Enjoy!