Bach @ Notre Dame de Paris Pipe Organ: Vierne Plays

[bfs1888]

this is truely an amazing recording. (i've heard worse these days of organ)

[peteacher52]

I see most of the comments were made a long time ago. For what it's worth, the first LP I ever bought in 1962, at age 15, was of Pierre Cochereau playing Bach at Notre Dame. It would have been recorded in the 50s, and the interpretation and tempi are remarkably similar. I'd post a portion on Youtube if I knew how, but it's so thoroughly worn now that folk wouldn't like it.

[a55b47]

@peteacher52 I've got quite a few old LP's like that ;-)

[newgeorge]

hideously out of tune! its grotesque!

[Biff947]

BWV 533 <3

[pipeup1]

Hmm its a bit plod plod alright!

[maxjamesorgans]

Prelude & Fugue in E minor

[Finistereny]

Vierne was nearly 60 years old when he made this recording. His concentration and clarity of phrasing and attention to detail are all amazing to me. I've sat thru many a modern recital where these attributes are missing entirely.

Thanks for all your posts. You have placed a huge collection of unique treasures on YouTube for all to enjoy and be educated by.

[polsterj]

Wow, what a Cavaillé-Coll sound!

Just amazing, especially when you compare it to the present instrument!

[ufoka01]

Many thanks for posting this unique recording.

[malaisi1]

I love it!

[blackblood]

the musical mass at this place is aaaamaaaaaazzzinggg!

[psychowolf271]

this isnt so bad for 1929 of all years im guesing this must be a reel tape recording then

[megaswenson]

Glad I'm no cognoscente. The first part sounds heavenly to me. Good thing I don't know from ponderous and lethargic...

Thanks for posting this. What a rare privilege to hear some of the earliest electronically-recorded music; and from such a marvelous instrument.

[a55b47]

Some people earlier in this thread called it "stately," rather than ponderous. I kind of like that description. ;-)

[megaswenson]

I agree.

Thanks so much for making this available for us to hear.

[blackblood]

being the organ player at notre dame de paris is considered to be the highest ranking post of organ playing in france... strange thing to be the head of... but you better do a good job...

[theshow2k]

"This recording was made in 1929, the very first year that sound was recorded electronically."

Can anyone explain this to me? The phonograph technique was invented long before so which equipment or format was invented in 1929?

[a55b47]

Recordings made before 1929 were acoustic recordings made by using a diaphragm to transmit sound to a wax cylinder. In 1929, they started using electrically-transmitted signals rather than acoustic -- hence the last word in the phrase you cited.

[lionelmercier]

lionel_mercier@bluemail.

Für das Jahr 1929 eine phänomenale Aufnahme. Kennt jemand das

Stück?

Lionel Mercier, CH-4123 Allschwil

[polsterj]

It fascinates me how Bach was played that time. I don't really love it, bit it's awesome on it's own way.

Especially the Contre-Bombarde had a stunning sound when it was still a Cavaillé-Coll.

[advisorC101]

Oh my lord!! I'm learning this piece now!

Now I can use this recording as a reference to my own phrasing!

[Angultimmarik]

Very interesting to listen to a French Romantic Organist playing Bach!

They did it their way, I don't like it much. Bach needs more rubato, especially as the prelude is in the tradition of Buxtehude and other composers from Northern Germany (!)

[BillDFC]

Gruesome! Boris Karloff stuff!

[petrof4056]

Awesome!

[ds1868]

Cripes a55b47, where on earth are digging this all up from? This is really historic, and intriguing. I love the deliberate tempo here, and again the Cliquot/Cavaille- Coll reeds come through rich and clear, so sad they are not like this today. Again, thanks for posting, keep 'em coming! DS (an intrigued Limey Brit).

[bradleighstockwell]

I'm just now discovering Vierne and I'm speechless. I don't play - I listen - and the deliberate tempo of this performance is stunning. Thank you, a55b47, whoever you are. Obviously, I need to get his organ symphonies and track down his own recordings. Small point regarding the 1929 date you give: by 1925 electric recording had become standard.

[a55b47]

I'm a listener, not a player, also. There are very few recordings of Vierne performing his own work: most -- if not all -- of them have been uploaded to YouTube. Whether it was 1925 or 1929, Vierne's recordings were definitely in the infancy (childhood?) of electronic recording, & the logistics of capturing Vierne's performances were pretty daunting. There are several recordings of his symphonies I'd recommend: Cochereau from the mid/late 70's & Filsell @ St. Ouen from just s few years ago.

[bradleighstockwell]

Filsell it is! I've been listening to him via Napster and the SOUND of the Rouen organ makes it work. Legal downloads are swell but a CD and good speakers . . . yow! I have an acoustic-era friend/freak who "adjusted" my notion of early recording processes - I hope I didn't come across as snotty re: 1925/1929. Some of the Vierne performances are available on an EMI "Composers in Person" CD, although the "star" of the disc is Widor. But, you knew that, I'm sure. Thank you for your advice!

[a55b47]

I didn't take the 1925/29 as snotty, & I'm glad to hear you like the Filsell. I think the EMI "Composers in Person" thing may just be a re-packaging of the old LP I got the Vierne from, entitled "French Organs & Organists of the 1930's". It was EMI/RCA who did the original recordings, & they can keep re-issuing it every generation or so ;-)

[bradleighstockwell]

O Wise One (aka a55b47) - I'm about to purchase a box set of the Vierne symphonies. I was learning towards the Filsell/St. Ouen; they sound great as MP3 files. BUT!, Cochereau plays the organ of Notre Dame. The Filsell costs much less, Cochereau is much pricier but he's playing the Notre Dame organ, the instrument Vierne wrote these works for. I'm happy with Filsell; how does Cochereau compare? No; thank YOU!

[a55b47]

If you want historical accuracy, the ND organ in Cochereau's mid-70's recording is drastically different from the one Vierne played, thanks to the Boisseau renovation/expansion/reconfigu­ration of the late 60's. St. Ouen, on the other hand, (my favorite instrument bar none), is pure C-C, & produces more 'Vierne-ian' sound. Plus Filsell is a superb, incisive, & inventive performer of the French repertoire. No contest, in my book -- & I say that as a lifelong devoté of M. Cochereau.

[bradleighstockwell]

Well, the CDs are amazing. Thank you again. Vierne's music is amazing and his music CHANGED so much, never settled into a comfortable sameness. I'm overdue for a trip to Europe. I'm putting St. Ouen on my itinerary. Again, WOW and thanks for putting my feet on the path to Vierne!

[a55b47]

I'm always pleased when folks are open to the revelations of the gospel ;-)

[wheidelberg]

Don't know why it took me so long to find this post, but wow, this is awesome! I have often wondered about the effect of early recording technology on musical styles. If one listens to early recordings, particularly the old mechanically recorded things, there is a strange interpretation of the music, almost a "jerky" style. Was that interpretation the style of the day, or dictated by the primitive recording methodologies of the day? Perhaps someone has that answer. Thanks for this post!!

[Organiste06]

What does he play ?

[a55b47]

Look at the video.

[jsbach82]

Prelude and fugue in E minor by Bach

[eameece]

Prelude and Fugue in E Minor, S.533

[advisorC101]

I'm so glad that someone was able to capture that moment in time, even if some argue that it's a primitive recording. Louis Vierne and his fantastic Cavaille-Coll organ before it was modified. I think its shameful how so many CC organs lost their original voicing's.

[menschmaschine5]

@advisorC101 The organ was in abominable shape when this was recorded. It has a powerful sound, sure, but you can hear that much of the organ is out of tune, and indeed, much of it was unplayable at this point in time. The unpleasant parts of the sound aren't just the primitive recording technology.

[Organistcomposer21]

WOW!!!

A organist worthy of his instrument!

[Drmofothegreat]

Doom Baroque??

this is nice, i've always liked Bach, but have not heard it so slow. sounds almost possible for me to play.

[eameece]

"ponderous" yes, maybe because the sound had to echo in those huge French cathedral halls. Maybe the slower style was necessary so all the lines of counterpoint could be clearly heard there.

[roethinger]

Le Grand Louis Vierne joue Bach à son orgue de Notre-Dame de Paris en... 1929!!! sans doute un des tout 1ers enregistrement d'orgue!! C'est le style de l'époque...mais ça a de la gueule!!! Quel grand bonhomme!! :-)

[DesireeDeFete]

Oh now see...imma have to bust this out alla Vierne!

[kensingtonpalace]

this is a true treasure of history..that's really good sound for a 1929 recording! thx for sharing it w/ us.

[golgiapp]

Sorry, that CD number should be Raum Klang 9907.

a55b47-Do you have any of Vierne's other Bach recordings with which to enrich our lives?

Finally, is there ANY organ music that doesn't sound anything other than gorgeous on a Cavaillé-Coll organ, however 'inauthentic' the instrument may be? No, I didn't think so either!

:o)

[a55b47]

Sorry, no more Vierne playing Bach. If I locate some, I'll upload it.

And you're right about C-C instruments. They're the masterworks of a genius.

[golgiapp]

Vierne plays this at the same stately, measured pace Albert Schweitzer employed in his almost contemporary Queen's Hall recording but imbues the prelude with much greater grandeur and the fugue with a haunting wistfulness that is Vierne's alone.

An utterly contrasting performance of 533 can be found on Ruam Klang 9907; Sebastian Knebel plays a 1728 Thuringian village organ with almost eccentric gusto, articulation and rubato.

The wonder of the organ; 2 sound worlds, 2 approaches, both valid!

[ContreBombarde]

WOW! That's just about all I can say. I've just finished learning this Prelude and Fugue and now I'm REALLY inclined to experiment with my registrations even more than I already have! I will never believe in "traditional" Bach registrations. This recording is yet ANOTHER reason why I absolutely love Louis Vierne.

[a55b47]

Go get 'em, Contrebombarde !! (an appropriate name for this rendition, n'est-ce pas?) Does your instrument have the 32-footer that Vierne uses? ;-)

[ContreBombarde]

Oh yes. I'll be playing the piece in concert on a 61-rank Austin. It does have a full length Contre Bombarde 32.

[GJ1986]

I envy you, sir...

I have to 'make' an acoustic 32' playing fifths in the pedal using a 16' bombarde. Which sounds monstrous, nonetheless.

Thanks for uploading this awesome recording, a55b47 ;) Lovit!

[skyler6290]

Absolutely wonderful sound for a recording made nearly 80 years ago! I love the great Cavaille-Coll organs- - such power and majesty of tone! Vierne plays Bach like I can imagine Bach himself playing these great masterpieces of the art of building pipe organs. Tire of hearing Bach performed in exactly the same way, with the same stops, etc, as seems to be the norm today. Bring on the fabulous reeds and lets raise the roof - Bach would be dancing down the pedalboard of these great instruments.

[organimagister]

Glory be to Louis Vierne in the highest...

[GrandCorps]

Actually... Op. 1 *was* in Spain. That organ was burned during a war...

[GrandCorps]

St. Denis is op. 10! Op. 1 is organ in Spain, in Lerida Cathedral. Then St-Louis in Lorient and Notre Dame de Lorette in Paris. Also few other instrument were build with op. numbers 5-9(i can put names of them, if needed). But no doubt that St. Denis organ is realy impressing, especialy because it is first ever build with Barker lever!

Best regards!

P.S.

Video is awesome, thanks a lot!

[radostsguy]

What does war accomplish other than destruction? And so often it is that which is irreplacable! :(

[tubamaxima]

Cavaille-Coll,THE organ builder of all time, has left his genius for all to hear. In 1841 he shocked the world with his first organ (Opus 1) in St.Denis. Even today, it is beyond all description. No wonder there has been so much beautiful French organ music composed, because of the wonderful Cavaill-Coll. It is easy to see how one could be so inspired.

[theblackhand2]

Cavaille-Coll organs are my favorite organs simply because of their incredible tonal spread given their size. I've heard American Organs much larger than the biggest Covaille-Organ. But these incredible French Organs simply have more power and far superior tonal quality. They are the best IMO.

[a55b47]

I'm a big fan of St. Ouen in Rouen. That comes closer to perfection than any other instrument in the world, particularly when you take into account the organ & the room it plays in. St. Ouen has a tutti that just makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck.

[theblackhand2]

I listened to a recording of the St. Quen organ just now. Wow! What a wonderful sound. If you like this organ, take the St. Sernin organ for a test drive. The Telarc label did a fabulous recording of Micheal Murray's performance of Caesar Frank on that instrument.

[tubamaxima]

This music is incredible for an 80 year old recording !!!! I know that EMI released a six LP set "Organs and Organists of the 1930's back in 1982 (I have this recording meticulously cleaned up from old 78 RPM discs). The slow speed does not bother me at all. In fact you can hear the notes clearly instead of the usual blur as in many of today's virtuoso players that think that fast is better. By the way, there is also a recording of Widor himself, playing his Toccata from his 5th symphony.

[a55b47]

There's quite a bit from the old EMI set that's worth uploading here. But I've studiously avoided uploading the Widor Toccata, because, as great a piece of music as it is, I think it's almost gotten to be a musical cliché -- if any pipe organ music is played enough to merit that designation ;-)

[Fozzymaple]

This is so interesting to hear. I think this sound very good for an almost 80 year old recording. I'll have to listen to a more recent recording to get a fair basis of comparison.

[a55b47]

Solstice Records issued a lot of recordings of Pierre Cochereau's work over the years -- particularly his improvisations, which proved the man was a genius. The earlier recordings were too closely mic'ed, & didn't give you a sense of the room's vastness. I think, though, that, over the years, the Solstice folks realized the organ sounded a lot better when you could hear some of the reverberation. The recordings from the late 70's-early 80's have a lot more ambience.

[faceness8893]

yes i do thank you very much :D

hi dad

how are you

i love how your videos have more views then mine :)

[grlygrl950]

wow i bet your daughter is good at making videos.

[jmeister321684]

Louis Vierne is FANTASTIC here, in E minor like his 2e Symphonie (his most telling for me) he really expresses, and this must be mystic (and tonal) but I HEAR his 2nd Symphony when he plays here!

[jmeister321684]

Some "Baroquists" (of a now passed time, thank God) would of maybe had a tragic heart attack hearing a (such a) Contrebombarde 32' and 16',8',4' reeds in the Prelude; yet the reaching balance may come by hearing those wonderful 8'and 4' foot Romantic foundations in the fugue.

[Arky83mi]

Many people forget that just because Bach's home organ didn't have a 32' reed DOESN'T MEAN HE WOULDN'T HAVE USED IT HAD HE HAD ONE!!! In those days they were very rare so more than likely he never would have included it in his registration. Weingarten has one, St. Bavo in Harlem has one, so they DO exist back in the day so to anyone who criticizes someone for using it in Bach should do their research. Not all Bach must be played like a typewriter in perfect time and with only Organ Plenum

[ds1868]

I totally agree with this. Bach would have loved to play this organ. He would have loved to use all the reeds with dramatic effect. I think Vierne's interpretation is very grand and compelling....but then it is Louis Vierne!

[schneckenturm]

I often played the organ of Lahm/Itzgrund near Coburg Germany. An instrument from 1732: 29 stops/2 manuals. The pedal has a Posaunbaß 32' + 16' + 8' + Quinte 10 2/3. A member of the Bach family, Joh. Lorenz B., was there Kantor 50 years. And his relative Joh. Seb. could be involved in planning. It has a sort of "Gravitaet". Built by Herbst/Halberstadt. Never modernized. Organ friends can visit and play announcing their visit before. An important witness of the organ building at Bach's time.

[bachprofessore]

I imagine Bach had played it like Vierne: With full power an gravity!

[polsterj]

You're absolutely right, just a small correction: Weingarten has 2 32'!

[ronanmurray]

No 32 reed though!

[citzie]

@Arky83mi Bach would have used the shit out the big bombardes AND chamades if he had them. You best believe that :)

[orgel12]

Thanks for posting. I love the sound of that organ!

[posaune16]

The great Baroque master performed by the great Romantic master... what fun. This is one of the neatest things I've ever heard!

[a55b47]

It's amazing how our ideas about music have changed over the years, isn't it? I've got a few more interesting things left in the Christmas stocking. Stay tuned ;-)

[posaune16]

Honestly, I like this approach to Bach - I like the more "historically proper" approaches, too... but this has a magnificence that is hard to beat... think "stately," not "lethargic!"

[a55b47]

L like "stately." ;-) In fact, I'm kind of partial to Vierne's reading.

[andrerendeiro]

Thank you very much, it's a honour to hear Vierne himself (althought it sounds very odd), but How did you get this recording?