Olivier Latry Improvisation at National Shrine Pipe Organ (1)

[Mackaronni]

Latry can take almost any instrument and make it his to own....and we listeners get a musical blessing every time....!!!

[tanyatang1]

best

[MegaDani141]

The Impro is WONDERFUL, but the Choir is not so good ;)

[chamade216]

This sounds much better in Notre Dame in the new Hortus CD called Salve Regina. This organ is nothing compared to Notre-Dame:-)

[a55b47]

Well, Chamade, I don't think anyone would ever MAKE the claim that a Moller would sound better playing French music than a (sort of) Cavaille-Coll. Unfortunately, M. Cavaille-Coll didn't build many instruments on our side of the Atlantic -- so we go with what we've got ;-) For what it's worth, I've seen a lot of comments on other YT videos that maintain that the current ND instrument is a pale shadow of what it was before M. Cochereau got his hands on it. I take no position on that.

[chamade216]

I see, you're right. I became too sensitive to organ sound which is not from Notre-Dame or St.Ouen. I heard this on ND organ first. By the way do you know if the sheetmusic is availale yet?

[accousticdecay]

Overly harsh statement, Chamade. I have a recording of Maurice and Madelline Durufle playing Bach music at the National Shrine. These two organs are incomparible in power and beauty, Cavaille-Coll notwithstanding. I want to worship here before I die.

[trompettechamade1]

@a55b47 I would agree that it is not a Cavaille-Coll (neither is a Cassavant, by the way!), but I am not saying it is inferior, either. In fact, I have heard several organists at a Shrine Recital sating that it is a fine French organ and I agree (I have been to many recitals there). I love this organ second only to the Cathedral (need I say which Cathedral? :-)) organ, if they ever restore it instead of dismantling it!

[bombarde1701a]

@chamade216 I have that CD.

[soyeso999]

@chamade216 It's curious that so many people focus upon what IS NOT, rather than what IS. Someone posts a video of a particular organist playing a particular instrument, and people feel compelled to comment about other performances and other instruments, which have nothing to do with what is here in this moment. It's a disease of the modern mind. Almost always in the past and the future, almost never in what is here now. Beautiful instrument and performance in a wonderful setting.

[chamade216]

Is this sheet music available.

[passacaglia28]

This really puts the organ's voicing to the test. By the way, waht do you mean by 157/172? Why is there a difference of 15 ranks? Sorry. I am new to the King of Instruments.

[a55b47]

157 stop tabs controlling 172 ranks of pipes. Some tabs (the Mixtures & the Voix Celeste, for instance) control more than one rank.

[passacaglia28]

Thanks. What an awesome instument this is.

[keraulophone]

Well, then there are not many of them!

[projetchloros]

Thanks for this video ! Extraordinary improvisations....

[Rui02Senor]

All Christians have gone through moments of deep faith, joy, doubt, incom¬prehension, despair, rebellion, hope, bliss and beatitude... This is what I wanted to express through the melody which has been haunting me for so many years, its influence constantly revived through my duties at Notre Dame cathedral where, every evening before the closing of the gates, the faithfuls' last prayer is an invocation to the Virgin Mary.»

[Rui02Senor]

The same principle goes for associating melodic elements, as in superposing 'Ad te', 'clamamus' and 'exsules filii Hevae' (verse 3) to evoke utter distress and passionate imploration; in parallel, the long simultaneous crescendo on 'Jesum' and 'fructum ventris tui' is a preparation for 'nobis post hoc exsilium' which itself climaxes on the heart-rending cry 'ostende'. Then, in most reverent veneration, the final vocal utterance: 'O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria...'

[Rui02Senor]

The language is deliberately tonal to let the various elements of the Gregorian melody fully express the symbolism of the words. The 'affect' thus has a global impact on the verses, making for extremely contrasted atmospheres, but it also affects the generative ideas, all born out of the particular music of a word - or group of words: 'Salve Regina' (verse 1), 'et sepes nostra' (verse 2), 'Ad te suspiramus' but also the 'valley of tears' (verse 4), 'misericordes' and 'ad nos converte' (verse 5).

[Rui02Senor]

The overall responsorial structure alternates each anthem phrase and its organ paraphrase. But whereas the vocal sections are of more or less equal duration, the organ 'comments' vary all the time, following the progressive interiorization of prayer as it becomes a place of refuge for the soul - an effect reinforced by the litany-type structure of most verses.

[Rui02Senor]

Among other things, we sang a particular anthem which he explained to us, drawing parallels between the melisma and the spiritual meaning of the piece. This great man of faith was a fantastic teacher who knew how to pass on his passion for this repertoire to us - an unforgettable experience for an 8-yr old child.

[Rui02Senor]

In the booklet of his wonderful CD from Hortus, Olivier Latry wrote: «'Salve Regina' for organ and voice is based on an improvisation I played at Lawrence University, Kansas, in April 1999. The actual project, however, originated much earlier, for it was inspired to me by what is commonly called 'the great Salve', which I learned and sang as a child. Father Jacques Wiel, then in charge of Saint Michel church in Boulogne sur Mer (...), had set up a children's choir and taught us Gregorian chant.