Liszt: Une Divine Tragédie
Thomas Ospital, organ
Editions Hortus: 149. 67’16

Orphée (transcription: Louis Robilliard)
Fantaisie et Fugue Ad nos, ad salutarem undam
Funérailles (transcription: Louis Robilliard)
Am Grabe Richard Wagners
Consolation IV

According to the programme notes, this recording takes the form of a ‘mini-opera’ (or Divine Tragedy), centred around Liszt’s monumental Ad nos, ad salutarem undam. The other four pieces on the CD, two of them modern transcriptions for organ, frame Ad nos, creating a wordless story that may (or may not) be based on the opening transcription (by Louis Robilliard) of Orphée. This arch-form piece introduces us to the concept of performing Liszt on a French, rather than German romantic organ, including an unusual cinema organ effect in the Molti più lento section. The organ is the 1989 van den Heuvel organ in the church of Saint-Eustache, Paris, an enormous instrument built in the grand tradition of the 19th-century French symphonic organ combined with many elements of the 20th-century neo-baroque that so influenced later French music from Messiaen to the then Titular Organist, Jean Guillou. A complex set of electronic wizardry was added in 2010, creating new interpretational and registration possibilities. Unfortunately, the CD includes practically no information about the organ, but it is readily available online. Continue reading →