The Maison symphonique will give space this weekend to the Grand Orgue Pierre-Béique, an instrument from Casavant Frères inaugurated on May 28, 2014. Four concerts and free activities around the “king of instruments” will be on the menu. Jean-Willy Kunz, organist in residence of the OSM, is the linchpin of this great tribute.
“Thanks to the Grand Orgue Pierre-Béique, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra serves as an example, and it was not expected to this extent,” rejoices Jean-Willy Kunz when asked what surprised him the most in the first ten years of symbiosis between the instrument, the orchestra and the hall.
“The influence that the OSM has acquired in the organ world is impressive. The OSM has been a leader in international programming since the inauguration of the Grand Orgue Pierre-Béique, and several halls have been equipped with organs: the Philharmonie de Paris, that of Hamburg, Musiikkitalo in Helsinki, without talk about the restoration of the organ at the Maison de la Radio in Paris. The organ is acquiring a new place in concert halls, and we have served as a sort of model. Moreover, in Paris, the Maison de la Radio has hired an organist in residence, Thomas Ospital. Ditto at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. »
Afterglow
The organ, named in memory of Pierre Béique, general director who presided over the development of the OSM for several decades, and whose entire cost was covered by Jacqueline Desmarais, who died in 2018, is equipped with 109 registers, 83 games, 116 rows and 6489 pipes. It has been heard in over 200 concerts and used by over 50 different organists.
“This is an important point,” underlines Jean-Willy Kunz. The organ remains a central point of the OSM’s programming. Between 20% and 30% of all concerts include the organ; either in the form of solo recitals, organ preconcerts or concerts in which the organ is associated with the orchestra. And ten years later, that’s still the case. From this point of view, we really stand out from other venues in North America. »
The resident organist points out to us that in Canada only five halls have organs: “La Maison symphonique, the Palais Montcalm in Quebec, the Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, the Jack Singer Concert Hall in Calgary and the Winspear Center in Edmonton . » But with a very big difference in consideration: “At the Palais Montcalm, the instrument is highlighted, but, when we look to the west, the first year, the organ was used and then almost nothing. » Certainly, in Montreal, the position of organist in residence ensures that the organ remains present in the programming.
One of the specificities of the instrument built by Casavant Frères is the instrument’s ability to enter into symbiosis with the orchestra. “Of the 83 sets, 40 imitate the sounds of the orchestra, and the very way they are made aims to approximate the instruments of the orchestra. There are 8 sets of flutes, 8 sets of trumpets, 2 bassoons, a clarinet. All the winds are there, and almost half of the games therefore have an orchestral color,” explains to Duty Jean-Willy Kunz. “The sound of the organ is integrated into the orchestra, and each organist can use these colors and “orchestrate” in a way the organ part to stand out or, rather, integrate the orchestral mass. »
“It is interesting to gauge the approach of each artist,” emphasizes Jean-Willy Kunz. “Over the first ten seasons, there were ultimately 54 guest organists from the OSM, so 54 approaches to the instrument: that’s quite exceptional. Even the most vibrant church concert series lack this variety. »
Reflections
The weekend will combine concerts and free activities, some of which, thanks to virtual headsets, will allow a “journey inside the organ”. The “Bach-mobile”, an electronic instrument which belongs to the Canadian Organ Competition and replicates the sounds of real instruments in their place of origin, will be calibrated for the occasion on the Cavaillé-Coll organ of the Saint -Étienne de Caen. This “Bach-mobile” can be touched by the most daring, who will think they are “Bach-man”!
As for the four indoor concerts, they are intended to be “a concentrate of the activities organized over the past ten years”. Saturday afternoon, the organ and orchestra program will highlight youth, with the Montreal Youth Symphony Orchestra conducted by Louis Lavigueur. “Soloist Maria Gajraj is a doctoral student at McGill University in Isabelle Demers’ class,” explains Jean-Willy Kunz, who is delighted with this first appearance at the OSM.
For the Toccata and fugue in D minor, BWV 565, by Bach, the toccata will be played on the organ and the fugue in the orchestra, in Stokowski’s transcription. Walking Crown Imperial by Walton “highlights the brass of the orchestra and, for the organ, the reed stops”. By opposition, Music to St. Cecilia, the latest work by Canadian Jean Coulthard, will aim to “merge the violin, cello, viola da gamba and double bass of the organ into the strings of the orchestra”. The main room will be 2e Symphony for organ of Vierne in a previously unpublished transcription by Montrealer Vincent Hamel for organ and orchestra.
In the evening, distinguished host, Thomas Ospital, first organist in residence at the Maison de la Radio in Paris and, alongside Olivier Latry, professor at the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique de Paris, will improvise on four silent films: The Immigrant by Charles Chaplin, two short films by Norman McLaren (Neighbors And Spook Sportsan animated film, both accessible with their original soundtrack on nfb.ca), as well as a new film selected by Kino Montréal.
The discipline of improvisation on a cinematographic work is one of the most exciting there is. We really imagined seeing this discipline take off because of its originality, its creativity and the attraction of the unexpected. Several Charlie Chaplin films, The Phantom of the Opera, Metropolis Or The journey to the moon by Georges Méliès experienced live improvisations on the organ with certain success, but not as much enthusiasm as we hoped for, as shown by the disappointing attendances when this type of concert was offered during the Classical Spree. Jean-Willy Kunz does not have the same vision: “Over the years we have not been disappointed. It’s beautiful to see 1,500 people at a film concert. We remember that it’s an organ: a single person attracts 1500 people! Thomas Ospital is an incredible improviser, and I can’t wait, because we will be able to highlight several atmospheres: comedy with Chaplin; the drama with Norman McLaren. »
Jean Willy Kunz recalls that Neighbors, who won the Oscar in 1952, uses a particular technique for a statement that criticizes the Cold War. “ Spook Sports, from drawing to film, took McLaren six months. As the film is designed on The dance of death by Saint-Saëns, Thomas Ospital will play a transcription of Louis Robillard while synchronizing with the images. »
Sunday morning the version for organ, 13 brass instruments and three percussionists of the Planets by Holst, a transcription by Mark Gaal, trombonist at the Vienna Philharmonic, performed for the first time in 2022 at the Vienna Musikverein.
In the afternoon, the Canadian Ken Cowan will offer a sort of “ideal recital to introduce great organ works to an audience for whom it would be the first time”. Will follow in particular the Toccata and fugue in D minor by Bach, the Carillon of Westminster of Vierne, the Toccata of the Symphony no 5 of Widor, of Mendelssohn, of Messiaen, and Beelzebub’s laugh by Rachel Laurin, work commissioned by Ken Cowan from the organist and composer who died a few months ago.
Next major meetings, in May, with the arrival of Olivier Latry for transcriptions of the Bolero and Rite of Spring, then the highlighting of the organ during the final concert of the season conducted by Rafael Payare.