Above: Guest conductor for this concert, Stéphane Denève. Photo credit: Jay Patel. Featured image: SSO, Stéphane Denève and organist Olivier Latry. Photo credit: Jay Patel.
This exciting event let audiences hear the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall organ, in the hands of a global master of the instrument, Olivier Latry.
Close to Bastille Day 2024, the all-French flavour of this event shone with a pleasing and timely accent. The French conductor Stéphane Denève, a conductor with an awarded history of live performance and recording success, led the event with passionate and detailed interpretations.
Denève collaborated with our local band and the superstar French organist in music reflecting, paying tribute to and extending old traditions.
The subtitle to this concert title is ‘Thunderous and Tender’. Such contrasts are inherent features of all three exciting and unique works on the programme.
The title French work-the ‘organ symphony’ – is Camille Saint-Saëns’ Symphony No 3 in C minor Op.78. From 1886, Saint-Saëns’ employment of the older symphonic structure reduced the number of movements to two instead of three or four as in the heyday of the German composers such as Beethoven or Brahms.
In perhaps something of a French, and definitely a modern extension of the older symphonic model, each of these two movements unfold with successive mood and tempo changes in sequence throughout each movement.
Above: French organist Olivier Latry. Photo credit: Jay Patel.
In the hands of this conductor, guest organist and orchestra, the suite of tempi and mood required across each movement are nicely delineated.
The inimitable energy and pictorial, vivid soundscape are well outlined by the orchestra also. The subdued, lower end of the nuance spectrum from the organ lines was smoothly and subtly outlined by Latry.
The larger chords and organ voice in louder mode for the well-known melody in the second movement were a highlight for the audience.
Familiar music amidst all other brilliantly performed works still packs a punch in a concert. Some members of the audience may have relished the chance to hear this famous melody and compare it to the 1977 pop song ‘If I Had Words’ by Scott Fitzgerald and Yvonne Keeley which employed Saint-Saëns’ melody in its pop-reggae feel track.
That melody here was ennunciated and developed joyously by SSO players in large forces mode as well as by the visiting organ soloist. The organic growth, build of energy and musical vistas were harnessed with fine attention to detail by this charismatic guest conductor.
Stephane Denève demonstrated affinity with the emotional and structural timbre of the other two French works with their labours of love and creative musical atelier focus.
Above: Sydney Symphony Orchestra, led by Stéphane Denève. Photo credit: Jay Patel.
Opening the concert with an Australian premiere, we heard the work Flammenschrift (‘Written in Flames’) by popular and prolific living composer Guillaume Connesson. With its extra musical programme referring to Beethoven’s frustrations and angry, annoyed temperament, its aggressive rhythmic and melodic morphing of Beethoven’s famous motives is a clever morceau of musical industry.
This ingenuity from 2012 was well-championed by conductor and the local players to create an energetic, complex tapestry of sound, executed with the technical precision and emotion frisson the concept and memory of Beethoven demands.
This was a good premiere, meaty start to a concert of vivid moods and imagery and a nice introduction or reminder of the state of modern French composition.
Stepping back in time to the twentieth century, Devène, Olivier Latry and SSO shared the many colours of Francis Poulenc’s Organ Concerto in G minor.
This work gave us the chance to be reunited with the sound of the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall organ in a substantial outing of this concerto work.
It also enabled us to experience Poulenc in a more serious, less than satirical, fuller than elegant nite club mode.
Above: This concert’s guest organist Olivier Latry allowed audience to enjoy a rare, extended hearing of the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall organ. Photo credit: Jay Patel.
This concerto, structured with seven moods/atmospheres/ moments musicaux in continued flux. This modern treatment of the historic three-movement concerto model punctuated by cadenza(s) was an uninterrupted journey.
The considerable contrast between moods and pace was nicely voiced by orchestra, and interactions between strings and soloist carefully approached and harnessed by this guest conductor.
This chameleon concerto scoring, with its range of solo organ textures and positioning around the strings or timpani accompaniment was solidly and imaginitively traversed by Olivier Latry.
His was well nuanced, layered and shapely organ expedition, presenting Poulenc’s vision in all it’s changing glory and range of utterance.
We also were treated to a broad colour palette from Poulenc’s concerto pen as well as from the Concert Hall organ. Audience experienced a satisfying contrast of keyboard expression across, above and within the musical architecture.
We were gifted a range of organ sonorities from grand, dissonant chords to intimate participation within the string texture.
This work showcased the modern organ and concerto well. The entire concert emphasised the unique communication of French music. It highlighted the skilful accompanying hues of our local orchestra, gave us possibilities for new sounds via the use of organ and introduced us to treasured, successful guest musical specialists.
This Prélude à Bastille Day was a formidable event.
