Christopher Houlihan: First and Last: Franck and Vierne
Azica Records

In organist Christopher Houlihan's estimation, César Franck's “Grande Pièce Symphonique,” op. 17 (1860–62) and Louis Vierne's Symphonie No. 6, op. 39 (1930) constitute “the first and the last French Romantic organ symphonies,” hence the album title. There are many selling-points to the seventy-minute release, but certainly a primary one has to be the mere fact that in being five-movement works, the so-called symphonies offer incredibly rich fields of exploration for both performer and listener. It's not the first time the organist has presented such material, by the way, his recording of Vierne's Organ Symphony No. 2 having appeared earlier on Towerhill Records. In addition, the organist performed all six of the composer's organ symphonies in marathon concerts across North America during a summer-long 2012 tour.

Enhancing the release's appeal, First and Last was recorded on the only French-built organ in New York, the Manton Memorial Organ, Pascal Quoirin (2011) at the Church of the Ascension. Being French-built makes it an especially good fit for French repertoire in general and the works by Franck and Vierne in particular when the sonorities the instrument offers dovetail splendidly with the character of the composers' material. Houlihan brings impressive credentials to the project: he's Artistic Director of the Albert Schweitzer Organ Festival Hartford and is the John Rose Distinguished College Organist and Director of Chapel Music, as well as Artist-in-Residence at Trinity College.

The composers aren't just joined on the release but crossed paths in real life too. Franck (1822–90) was idolized by Vierne (1870–1937) as a young musician, and the latter participated in his elder's organ class at the Paris Conservatoire. Whatever personal relationship that might have bloomed was cut short, however, when Franck died about a month after that first encounter. Regardless, he proved to be a key catalyst in the evolution of organ music in France by elevating it to a lofty realm that maximized its orchestral potential. His Grande Pièce Symphonique, Op. 17 bears this out in its ambitious scope and its expansive range. That it's something considerably more than an extended exercise in bombast is intimated by the subdued melancholy of the opening “Andantino serioso” movement. The action heats up for the epic adventure “Allegro non troppo e maestoso,” decompresses for the hushed explorations of the “Andante - Allegro - Andante,” builds up again for the second “Allegro non troppo c maestoso,” and rises even more grandly for the concluding “Beaucoup plus largement.” As Franck revisits the work's major themes, we're reminded of the sizeable ground the work encompasses in terms of dynamics, mood, and melody.

While Vierne enjoyed successes, being appointed head organist of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Paris in 1900 a major one, he also suffered crushing disappointments. In 1909, his wife abandoned him (for an organ builder, no less), he was passed over for a prestigious organ professorship at the Paris Conservatoire, his brother and eldest son were killed in WWI, and he endured typhoid fever, double pneumonia, and bronchitis. Near the end of his life, it became almost impossible for him to ascend the stairs to reach the Notre-Dame organ, and after performing the first piece on what was scheduled to be the final organ recital in the Cathedral, he suffered a heart attack. Given such trials, one might expect his music to be shrouded in gloom; in fact, while darkness shadows some material, it features lyrical and uplifting moments too. That's heard most vividly in the lovely “Berceuse, no. 19” from his 24 Pièces en style libre, Op. 31 (1913-14), which he dedicated to his daughter, Colette, and which brims with warmth and affection.

That endearing reverie's followed by the Symphonie No. 6, Op. 59 (1930), the B minor symphony the last one he completed. At the start of the “Introduction et Allegro,” Vierne audaciously presents two themes, the first ascending upward and the other progressing through a series of chromatic pitches. Said themes become the seeds from which the symphony grows, with each re-emerging throughout in altered yet nonetheless identifiable guises. After its fortissimo climax, the “Aria” establishes a gentler tone with lyrical ruminations, the “Scherzo” a sense of mischief and magical wonderment, and the “Adagio” an air of mystery and foreboding. The tone dramatically shifts one more time when the celebratory “Final” arrives with a fanfare-like opening and a rousing attack.

February 2023