Author Archives: Robert Jan Dukarm

Pierre Pincemaille (organ) improvises on the Cavaillé-Coll organ of St. Denis

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Aristide Cavaillé-Coll (1811-1899)

Aristide Cavaillé-Coll was a 19th Century French organ builder.  He completed his first organ in 1840.  The period from the French Revolution beginning in 1789 and during the time of Cavaillé-Coll’s first organ was devoid of french organ music.  Many pipe organs in France were auctioned off or destroyed, and many organists lost their jobs during the revolution.  Some kept their jobs because they played popular music glorifying the revolution.  When Cavaillé-Coll built his first organ there was basically one French organ composer named Boëlly who was writing for the organ.  Cavaillé-Coll revolutionized organ building in France and he encouraged organists to compose for his romantic organs.  He worked together with composers to promote their music and they wrote music that fit well together with the sounds of his organs. It was because of Cavaillé-Coll that French organ music became an important part of 19th century France. The organ in the Basilica of St. Denis was the first organ that Cavaillé-Coll built.

 

Pierre Pincemaille (1956-2018)

Pierre Pincemaille was a French organist who was well known for his improvisations during live performances and on cd recordings.  He recorded Charles-Marie Widor’s organ symphonies on several Cavaillé-Coll organs, as well as works by Franck, Duruflé, Cochereau, and Vierne.  Pierre graduated from the Paris Conservatory with first prizes in harmony, counterpoint, fugue, organ, and improvisation.  He became the organist of St. Denis in 1987 and played there until his death on January 12, 2018.   In the video clips you are about to see, Pierre Pincemaille improvises on the organ of St. Denis.  He is making up the music on the spot.  Enjoy!

La Cumparsita – Hassan Sharara (violin), Emad Hamdy (guitar)

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The tango La Cumparsita was composed by Gerardo Matos Rodriguez (1897-1948) in 1916.  Lyrics were written by Pascual Contursi and Enrique Pedro Maroni.  It is one of the most famous tangos.  the piece began its life as a march.  After it was written, Rodriguez had his friend Manuel Barca show it to orchestral leader Roberto Firpo.  Firpo decided to turn the piece into a tango.  It was named the cultural and popular anthem of Uruguay in 1997.

Here is La Cumparsita (in tango form) played by two Arabic musicians at the Cairo Opera House in Egypt.  The musicians are Hassan Sharara and Emad Hamdy.  They arranged the piece for violin and guitar.  Sharara plays the violin and Hamdy plays the guitar. I hope that you enjoy this music!

 

Michel Chapuis improvisation on “Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern”

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Michel Chapuis (1930-2017)

Michel Chapuis was a French organist. He was well known for his interpretations of French Baroque and German Baroque organ music. He devoted his career to historically informed performance. He was also one of the masters of improvisation on the pipe organ. Chapuis served as the organist of many churches including St. Severin, Notre Dame, and St. Nicolas de Champs. Michel Chapuis was the titular organist of the Royal Chapel of Versailles from 1995-2010.

Here is an improvisation by Michel Chapuis on the chorale “Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern” (How brightly shines the morning star) from a live performance in 2001. I hope that you enjoy it.

Fini Henriques – Lullaby

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Fini Henriques (1867-1940)

Fini Henriques was a Danish composer and violinist. He was a colleague of Victor Borge’s father and both he and Victor Borge’s father played in the Royal Danish Orchestra. Fini Henriques was an excellent composer. He wrote music for piano, violin, and chamber ensembles. Fini Henriques also wrote operas.

Here is a rare clip of the Danish comedian and pianist Victor Borge playing a Lullaby by Fini Henriques. This piece was sentimental for Victor Borge because his mother used to play it for him when he was a little boy. I hope that you enjoy this music.

Rachmaninoff: Siren (Lilacs) & Zdes’ khorosho! (How peaceful it is here!) from Twelve Romances (Op21. no.5&7)

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Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)

Sergei Rachmaninoff was a Russian piano virtuoso, composer, and conductor. He started piano when he was four years old. In 1892, Rachmaninoff graduated from the Moscow Conservatory. By the time of his graduation from the conservatory, Rachmaninoff had already composed several piano and orchestral pieces. Rachmaninoff and his family left Russia in 1918 after the Russian Revolution and came to the United States. He didn’t do much composing between 1918-1943 because of a demanding touring schedule. Rachmaninoff had planned to make a career of only being a composer, but he had to provide for his family so he started touring as a pianist.

The two songs, Siren (Lilacs) and Zdes’ khorosho (How Peaceful it is here) are from Rachmaninoff’s Twelve Romances op.21. Siren (or Lilacs) was originally a song for soprano with piano accompaniment that Rachmaninoff later arranged as a solo piano piece. He recorded the solo piano version of the song on a piano roll.

Aida Garifullina (1987-)
Aida Garifullina is a Russian operatic soprano. In 2013 she won the 2013 Operalia competition. She has performed in several operatic productions at the Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg, and Wiener Staatsoper (the Vienna State Opera). Aida is a rising star in the operatic world.

Iain Burnside (pianist, broadcaster)
Iain Burnside is a Scottish pianist and BBC braodcaster. He specializes in song repertoire. Iain has collaborated with many singers.

Here is a clip from a Rosenblatt recital in 2014 of Aida Garifullina (soprano) and Iain Burnside (piano) performing Sirens (Lilacs) and Zdes’ khorosho (How peaceful it is here) in London, England. Rosenblatt recitals are world class recitals of opera and song presented every year in London, England.

Dieterich Buxtehude – Klag-Lied “Muss der Tod denn auch entbinden”

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Dieterich Buxtehude (1637-1707)

Dieterich Buxtehude was a Danish-German baroque composer and organist. His organ music is a major part of the organ repertoire and is frequently performed at organ recitals and church services. His keyboard music represents the height of the 17th century North German School of organ composition. Buxtehude wrote over 100 beautiful and very expressive vocal compositions. Today Buxtehude is often thought of as a predecessor to J.S. Bach. In 1705, 20-year-old Johann Sebastian Bach walked over 200 miles to hear Buxtehude perform his music.

Bernarda Fink (1955 -) mezzo-soprano

Bernarda Fink is an Argentine mezzo-soprano. She has sung with many of the world’s top orchestras and ensembles including the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Vienna Philharmonic, and the English Baroque Soloists. She has worked with many of the top conductors in the world including Sir Neville Mariner, Sir John Elliot Gardiner, Riccardo Muti, Sir Colin Davis, and Valery Gergiev.

Bernard Foccroulle (1953-) organist, composer

Bernard Foccroulle is one of the top organists in the world. He is also a composer, conductor, and opera director. Bernard Foccroulle plays a wide repertoire of organ music from the Renaissance to contemporary music. As well as playing many world premieres of music by living composers, Bernard Foccroulle has performed and made many recordings of organ masterworks by composers such as Scheidemann, Weckmann, Buxtehude, and J.S. Bach.

Here is a recording of an aria by Buxtehude called the Klag-Lied: “Muss der Tod denn auch entbinden” (Must death then also break those chains). The aria was one part of a two part work written in homage to Buxtehude’s father who passed away in 1674. It is performed by Bernarda Fink, mezzo-soprano, and Bernard Foccroulle on the organ.

Stephane Grappelli and Joe Venuti play “Venupelli Blues” and “After You’ve Gone”

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Stephane Grappelli (1908-1997) was a French-Italian jazz violinist and jazz pianist. He is most well known for his collaboration with the Quintet of the Hot Club of France and gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt. Grappelli also played with many other great musicians including jazz pianist Earl Hines, Duke Ellington, and violinists Eddie South, Stuff Smith, Svend Asmussen, Yehudi Menuhin, and Joe Venuti. Throughout the 1940s, 50s, and 60s, Grappelli was constantly re-inventing his playing style to stay relevant. It wasn’t until 1970 that his performing career took off again. He began touring the world. Grappelli continued to perform and record until his death at age 89 in 1997.

Joe Venuti (1903-1978) was an Italian jazz violinist. He and jazz guitarist Eddie Lang are credited with being the first musicians to play violin guitar jazz. After Lang’s early death in 1933 Venuti played with various groups. In the 1940s and 1950s Joe Venuti’s star began to fade and he suffered from alcoholism. He was “re-discovered” in 1967 and resumed regular performances and made many recordings until his death in 1978 from lung cancer.

Here are two pieces from a recording that Stephane Grappelli and Joe Venuti made together in 1969 called “Venupelli Blues.” The first piece is called “Venupelli Blues” (a word that combines the last names of both violinists) and the second is a jazz standard called “After You’ve Gone.” I hope that you enjoy this music. The other musicians playing with Grappelli and Venuti on the recording are Barney Kessel on guitar and George Wein on piano. They are part of a supporting four-piece rhythm section.

Claude Debussy – “Reverie” arranged for Harmonium and Piano by Jonathan Scott (performed by the Scott Brothers Duo)

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Claude Debussy (1862-1918)

Claude Debussy was a French impressionist composer and pianist. His style of composition was greatly influenced by Javanese music he heard in Paris in 1889. To Debussy each piece of music was its own sound world.

Here is an interesting arrangement of a piece called “Reverie” (Dreaming) by Debussy which was originally composed for the piano. Jonathan Scott (harmonium) and his brother Tom Scott (piano) perform Jonathan’s arrangement of “Reverie” for harmonium and piano. I hope that you enjoy this arrangement.

Glinka “Ruslan and Ludmila overture and Mozart Marriage of Figaro overture (Jonathan Scott organ)

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Jonathan Scott

Jonathan Scott was born in Manchester, England. He has a varied performing career as an organist doing solo recitals and performing with orchestras such as the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and BBC Philharmonic. Jonathan also performs with his brother Tom Scott in a piano duo called the Scott Brothers Duo. With his brother Tom Scott, Jonathan Scott has released many recordings to critical acclaim on their own label entitled the Scott Brothers Duo label.

Here is a recording of an arrangement for organ solo by Jonathan Scott of Glinka’s Ruslan and Ludmila overture recorded at the organ of Lancaster Priory, and another recording of an arrangement by Jonathan Scott for organ solo of Mozart’s overture to the Marriage of Figaro recorded on the Marcussen Concert Organ of Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, UK. I hope that you enjoy these performances.

Lyudmila Zykina – The Volga River Flows

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Lyudmila Zykina (1929-2009)

Lyudmila Zykina was a great national folk singer of Russia. In 1947 Lyudmila joined the Pyatnitsky Choir (a choir that sang traditional Russian folk songs). In 1960 she started her solo singing career. Lyudmila was a favourite singer of Leonid Brezhnev and Kim Il-Song and Kim Jong-Il. During her long singing career she won many honors including the Lenin Prize, Order of Lenin, the People’s Artist of the U.S.S.R., and the Order of St. Andrew. Her most popular songs included Techot Volga (The Volga Flows) and Orenburgskii platok (Orenburg Shawl). An asteroid is named after her — 4879 Zykina.