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Voices of Ascension
Dennis Keene, Artistic Director & Conductor
presents
Olivier Latry
Titular Organist, Cathedral of Notre Dame, Paris
Wednesday, October 24, 2012, 8:00pm
Church of the Ascension
Fifth Avenue at Tenth Street, NYC
Marchand: Grand Dialogue, Grigny: Tierce en taille,
Dupré: Le monde dans l’attente du sauveur (from Symphonie-Passion),
Cochereau: Berceuse à la mémoire de Louis Vierne,
Escaich: Evocation II
Intermission
Widor: Symphonie V (complete)
Olivier Latry,
titular organist of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris, is
one of the world’s most distinguished organists. He was
born in 1962 in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France, and began his
study of piano at age 7 and his study of the organ at age
12; he later attended the Academy of Music at St.
Maur-des-Fossés, studying organ with Gaston Litaize. From
1981 until 1985 Olivier Latry was titular organist of Meaux
Cathedral, and at age 23 he won a competition to become one
of the three titular organists of the Cathedral of
Notre-Dame in Paris. From 1990 until 1995 he taught organ
at the Academy of Music at St. Maur-des-Fossés, where he
succeeded his teacher, Gaston Litaize. Since 1995 he has
taught at the Paris Conservatory, where he has succeeded
Michel Chapuis.
In
addition to concerts and teaching, Mr. Latry has made his
mark through recordings on the BNL label in France, which
include music of Bach, the complete organ works of Maurice
Duruflé, Louis Vierne’s Symphonies 2 and 3, Widor’s
Symphonies 5 and 6, and a recording of works by Litaize.
With Deutsche Grammophon he has recorded “In Spiritum,” a
recording devoted to the organ works of César Franck,
“Midnight at Notre-Dame,” a recording of transcriptions for
the organ, and the complete organ works of Olivier Messiaen.
Recent releases include a recording of works by Alkan, Boëly,
Brahms, Liszt, and Schumann played on the pedal piano, and a
recording with the Philadelphia Orchestra and conductor
Christoph Eschenbach on the Ondine label featuring the
Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3 “Organ”, the Toccata Festiva by
Samuel Barber, and the Concerto for Organ and Orchestra by
Francis Poulenc. He is also featured on a recording of the
Jongen Symphonie Concertante and the Saint-Saëns Symphony
No. 3 “Organ” with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège
released on the Cypres label.
Tickets: $35, $25, $15, $10 and information available at
www.voicesofascension.org, at 212-358-7060 or at the
door. FREE for students with ID
The Manton Memorial Organ
The
Manton Memorial Organ at the Church of the Ascension was
made possible by a grant from The Manton Foundation to honor
the memory of Sir Edwin and Lady Manton, who were active
members of this church for over fifty years. The Mantons
were avid lovers of music, particularly the music of Olivier
Messiaen and other French composers.
To
meet the needs of the parish’s rich music program, an
eclectic organ of the highest artistic level was sought. A
world-wide search finally led to Pascal Quoirin of Saint
Didier, France. M. Quoirin has spent half his career
building new instruments, the other half restoring many of
the great historical instruments of France, including the
Dom Bedos masterpiece at Sainte-Croix in Bordeaux and the
Cavaillé-Coll in Saint-Cloud. He feels that it is through
the knowledge he acquired during the renovations of these
historical monuments that he has been successful at building
new eclectic organs, which comprise elements of many
different styles.
The
Ascension organ was designed to play as large a part of the
solo organ repertoire as possible, as well as to provide
accompaniments for the important choral program of the
church. At its core is a three-manual and pedal organ,
modeled after Dom Bedos, one of the greatest organ builders
of the French Baroque. Thus, on the left side of the altar
are the
Grand- Orgue,
Positif,
and
Récit-Echo
divisions, as well
as the bulk of the
Pédale,
all controlled by a three-manual mechanical-action
(“tracker-action”) console. The direct, mechanical
connection between the keys of this console and the pallets
that let the air into the pipes allows the player
exceptional control over the speech of the pipes – an
essential part of serious interpretation of Early organ
music. A second, movable four-manual electric-action console
controls that Baroque core as well as all the other stops on
the right side of the altar: some
Pédale
pipes, some
large-scale foundation stops (Montres)
in the North aisle façade, and the
Grand-Récit
Expressif
division. The
pipes of the
Grand-Récit
and the
Montres
were modeled after those of the great 19th
Century organ builder Cavaillé-Coll. Quoirin’s great gift is
his ability to mix all these various sounds from different
periods into an organic unity. In that way, the Manton
Memorial Organ can be seen not just as a synthesis of
historical styles, but in its own terms, as a 21st Century
instrument.
In
designing the four elaborate organ cases, the intent was to
create an important work of art from our time of history
that: 1) would be a visual representation of the musical
personality or soul of the instrument, and 2) would
harmonize with the church’s magnificent mural and reredos
from the 1880‘s. Design elements were inspired by objects
from more than a century ago: mosaic peacocks on the reredos
and mosaic friezes on the high altar led to the beautiful
carved peacocks and birds of paradise and to the swirled
bands of polychrome and gold leaf on the organ façades. The
sculptures and polychrome work were done by Babou
Vauquois-Quoirin, wife of the builder. The cases and all the
veneer work were done by master
menuisier
Alain Poupinet, using French walnut and ash woods. Laurent
Mesme was the head engineer of the entire project.
The
organ was built at the Quoirin Atelier in Saint Didier,
France, between May 2008 and June 2010. It was then shipped
to Ascension where it was re-assembled in October- November
2010, and tuned and voiced from December 2010 through
February 2011. The instrument was dedicated on May 1, 2011.
It is the first French-built organ ever installed in New
York City, and the largest new French organ built in almost
a half-century.
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