Joseph Nolan, Cavaille-Coll organ, La Madeleine, Paris

SIGNUM SIGCD 319        78’09

The first volume in this series had coupled the sixth and fifth symphonies, both probably better known than the first and second, even to regular followers of organ concerts.

The first symphony was worked on regularly by the composer over many years and appears in five different versions. Though the notes are extensive they do not tell us which version Joseph Nolan is playing – not that that need inhibit our enjoyment of his performance. The symphony is in fact seven loosely connected and contrasted movements, which give the organist many opportunities to demonstrate not only his technical finesse but the splendid range and subtlety of the Madeleine Cavaille-Coll. Just consider the wonderful contrast as Joseph Nolan moves from the gentle, floating phrases of the Allegretto to the skittish playfulness and power of the Intermezzo. The Marche pontificale (like the Toccata from the 5^th symphony) is certainly more familiar and here given a rousing, full-blooded romp which fires the blood.

The second symphony goes even further in its demands for range and texture, with movements vying for our attention. The Pastorale is particularly effective, the solo voice ringing out in the vibrant acoustic like a pipe across the valleys. By contrast the Salve Regina seems to hark back to the baroque in both style and registration, the organ coping brilliantly with both. The bright reeds come into their own for the vibrant Scherzo, before a haunting Adagio and the final Allegro which deserves to be as well known as the more popular finale to the fifth!

The notes give us appropriate background to the compositions, but the analysis may be a little too technical for the non-organ buff.

Given the rich acoustic of La Madeleine there is no such thing as silence. When the music dies there is still a very strong sense of place. A pity then that the engineers have chosen to cut off each movement with actual silence, rather than allow us to stay in the building, as we would in a live performance. BH