Cortège from Trois Improvisations by Louis Vierne, transcribed by Maurice Duruflé, performed by Ben Bloor on the 45 stop 1954 Downes/Walker organ of the London Oratory Church. Recorded on Thursday 19th March 2020.
Vierne used his position as organiste titulaire at Notre Dame to continue the strong tradition of improvisation rooted in the heritage of the French Organ School. Contemporary eyewitnesses attest that aside from some stage-fright which meant the start of pieces were often unstable, his clarity and assuredness of both playing repertoire and improvising at the keyboard were legendary. Maurice Duruflé said that Vierne’s improvisations recalled his symphonies and that both his composing and improvisatory styles were one. Vierne recorded three improvisations in December 1928 that were to be released over the following years by Odeon discs. The technology at the time forced him to keep them all under four minutes in length, but nevertheless they provide a fascinating insight into his spontaneous musical process. At the request of Vierne’s close friend and impresario Madeleine Mallet-Richepin, Duruflé transcribed them by ear in 1954, noting that ‘Vierne unites two extremes, the rigour of logic and the fantasy of the imagination.’ The mainly diatonic Cortège sees Vierne at his most boisterous, delighting in the full organ sound of the iconic Cavaillé-Coll instrument at his disposal.
Ben Bloor is Organist at the London Oratory Church and School Organist at Westminster School. For more information, please visit [ Ссылка ]
