1998 Rosales/Glatter-Götz 3-77,
Claremont, California
Timothy Tikker plays the famous three-manual organ of 77 ranks at the United Church of
Christ in Claremont, California, built in 1998 by Manuel Rosales in
collaboration with Glatter-Götz Orgelbau.
DUPRÉ: Évocation, Poème Symphonique, op. 37
TIKKER: Variations sur un vieux Noël
TOURNEMIRE: Trois Poèmes, op. 59 (Psalms 22, 23, 150)
"As usual, Raven's engineering is superb. . . He [Tikker] emerges as a top-flight performer, heard to good advantage
on this magnificent organ."
The American Record Guide
"Organist
Tikker... here acquits himself well as both performer and composer. He
intersperses his own work, Variations sur un vieux Noël (Holtkamp/AGO
winner 1993-94) with works by Dupré (Évocation, Poème symphonique pour
Orgue, op. 37) and the first U. S. recording of Trois Poèmes pour Orgue,
op. 59, by the enigmatic Charles Tournemire. Perhaps a comparison is
implied. If so, it is an apt one, for both his composition and his
performances are splendid. The UCC instrument is handsome, well spoken,
and well sited. Chosen by Tikker for its resemblance tonally to the
instruments of Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, the GG/R handles all of the music
well, and itself is handled with dramatic precision by Tikker. For
devotees of 20th-century French Romantic organ music, this is a welcome
addition." The American Organist
Charles Tournemire was born 22
January 1870 in Bordeaux, France. He studied organ with César Franck
and Widor at the Paris Conservatoire, and in 1894 became organist at
Ste.-Clotilde Basilica in Paris, where Franck had been organist. In
1922 he became professor of Ensemble Music at the Paris Conservatoire.
He was a famed improviser as well as prolific composer, with eight
orchestral symphonies, eight operas and oratorios, many piano and
chamber works to his credit, as well as hundreds of organ works. He
died 4 November 1939 in Arcachon, France.
The Three Poems were composed in October and November of 1932, and
premiered by the composer at the inauguration of the rebuilt
Ste.-Clotilde organ on 30 June 1933. His first works after his
monumental l'Orgue Mystique (a
collection of 253 pieces based on Gregorian chant for the complete
liturgical year), these Poems represent Tournemire's mature symphonic
organ style, formally developed from the model of Franck's Three
Chorales of 1890. Also, the form of Poem I recalls Franck's opus 18,
the Prélude, Fugue & Variation. In his memoirs, Tournemire related that these poems were based on psalms, the first on Psalm 22:
My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?... Why do you remain far from helping me, not hearing my moaning?
The second cites Psalm 23:
The Lord is my shepherd; he makes me rest in green pastures; he leads me along still waters. He restores my soul.
The third, Psalm 150:
Praise the Eternal One! Praise
him on the lyre and the harp! Praise him with resounding cymbals. Let
all that breathes praise the Eternal One.
Marcel Dupré was born 3 May
1886 in Rouen, France, the son of Albert Dupré, organist at the abbey
church of St.-Ouen in that Norman city. Marcel proved a musical
prodigy, receiving his formative training from his father, and later
studying with Alexandre Guilmant, Louis Vierne, and Charles-Marie
Widor. Dupré soon became one of the world's leading concert organists,
as well as a great improvisor and noteworthy composer. In 1933 he
succeeded Widor as organist at the church of St.-Sulpice in Paris, and
from 1926 to 1954 was organ professor at the Paris Conservatoire. He
died 30 May 1971, Pentecost Sunday, a few hours after playing morning
services at St.-Sulpice.
Albert Dupré died 5 July 1940, five days before the birth of the
collaborationist Vichy régime during the Nazi occupation of France.
Since civilians were prohibited from traveling between the German and
free zones at that time, Marcel was unable to attend his father's
funeral. The previous year, St.-Ouen's magnificent organ, built by
Cavaillé-Coll in 1890, had been dismantled for restoration. Eventually,
Marcel gave the organ's re-inaugural concert on 26 October 1941,
including his new work written for the occasion, Evocation, the first of
his symphonic poems for organ. While he simply inscribed the score to
his father's memory, Dupré related to a handful of intimates that this
triptych was a musical portrait of his father. As Jeanne Demessieux
quoted him in her journal: "My idea is to recount the three sides of my
father's character: he was a worrier, as I am myself; he was tender;
and he was proud, in the sense of having dignity." However, more than
twenty years later, English organist Graham Steed, in a conversation
with Dupré, confirmed his intuition that the work's deeper program
concerned the fall of France to the Nazis, a prayer for its restoration,
and a call to arms and victory over the oppressors.
Timothy Tikker's Variations on
an Old French Carol were begun in 1986, mostly written in 1988-89, and
completed in 1993, when they won the AGO-Holtkamp Award for Organ
Composition. They were first performed, by the composer, on 17 October
1993 in Eugene, Oregon. "Or, nous dites Marie" (also known as the hymn tune Chartres)
is a French carol tune of c. 1450, to which various texts have been
sung. These variations follow in the centuries-old tradition of
composed and improvised variations on noels. The theme is introduced in
a poised harmonization, emphasizing the Dorian mode. The "Canzona in
trio" evokes earlier Renaissance styles with double-leading tone
cadences. A sombre "Canon at the octave" in the Phrygian mode
incorporates this canon's occasionally unlikely intervals into a rich
harmony. "Flutes" uses Messiaen's sixth mode, which contains the notes
of Scriabin's "Prometheus" chord. Mysterious harmonies float through a
gentle "Lullaby" in 5/8, followed by the jaunty "Musette" inspired by
the bagpipes and shawms of Brittany. "Canon at the fourth" preceeds the
concluding "Fugato and Finale," which combines strict and free fugal
procedures in a fugue/toccata synthesis in a Bulgarian ruchenitsa (7/8) rhythm.
Performance Notes:
Though both were organists in the same city, and were educated and
later taught at the same conservatory, Tournemire and Dupré represented
two very distinct schools of organ performance. From Franck, Tournemire
inherited a very free style, incorporating abundant tempo rubato as
well as a freer approach to articulation. Dupré's style, more indebted
to Widor and Vierne, was comparatively severe, generally avoiding
rhythmic freedom and using extremely strict articulations of repeated
notes and staccati. Both styles have their beauty, their expressive
qualities, Tournemire's being more lyric and rhapsodic, Dupré's more
austere, monumental, architectural. After studying Tournemire's works
with his student Langlais, I have carefully researched both styles,
based on these composer's writings and recordings as well as those of
their contemporaries and students, and have endeavored to render their
respective works sympathetically in their appropriate styles. My
research on Dupré led me to incorporate his changes to the score as
related by Demessieux (quoted in her biography by Christiane
Trieu-Colleney).
I chose the organ at Claremont United Church of Christ Congregational
for this recording after years of considering many different organs. I
needed a large organ of at least three manuals, including 32í stops, and
especially with many voices of French romantic character, particularly
the reeds. Manuel Rosales' extensive research on the organs of the
great Parisian organbuilder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll (1811-1899), among
them the organ of St.-Ouen-de-Rouen, is clearly evident at Claremont.
The magnificent tutti including Trompette-en-chamade and 32' Bombarde is
truly evocative of the grandeur of St-.Ouen. The softer colors and the
rich ensemble of foundation tone are also remarkably authentic, and
completely appropriate to this music. I can hardly think of a better
organ for this music this side of the Atlantic than Claremont's
Glatter-Goetz/Rosales.
Timothy Tikker was born 31
December 1958 in San Francisco, California. He began organ study in
1973 under Ludwig Altman, and later became assistant organist at St.
Ignatius Church at the University of San Francisco. He obtained his
Bachelor of Music in Organ at San Francisco State University magna cum
laude, his Master of Music at the University of Oregon at Eugene, and
studied privately with Jean Langlais in Paris. After improvisation
studies with Guy Bovet, André Isoir and Daniel Roth, he won First Prize
in the San Anselmo Organ Improvisation Competition in 1987. Composition
prizes include the AGO-Holtkamp Award (1993-94), the First Prize in the
Franceschini Competition, UNESP, Sao Paulo, Brazil (1997), and the
Aliénor Harpsichord Composition Competition (1999). His translation of
Messiaen's Lecture at Notre-Dame was is published by A. Leduc, Paris.
From 1996 to 2000 he was organist at the Cathedral of St. John the
Baptist (RC) in Charleston, South Carolina. He is currently College
Organist at Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo, Michigan, and maintains an
active concert and composing career.
Specifications
Tonal design and voicing by Manuel Rosales
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Principal
Principal
Flûte harmonique
Rohrflöte
Gamba
Octave
Spitzflöte
Octave Quint
Super Octave
Mixtur IV - VIII
Cornet V from tenor f
Bombarde
Trompette
Clairon
Tremulant
Chimes
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16'
8'
8'
8'
8'
4'
4'
2 2/3'
2'
2'
8'
16'
8'
4'
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Principal
Gedeckt
Gemshorn
Octave
Hohlflöte
Nasard
Tierce
Octave
Waldflöte
Larigot
Mixture IV - VI
Cromorne
Chamade
Harp
Tremulant
Zymbelstern
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8'
8'
8'
4'
4'
2 2/3'
13/5'
2'
2'
1 1/3'
1 1/3'
8'
8'
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Bourdon
Diapason
Bourdon
Viole de Gambe
Voix céleste
Unda Maris
Aeoline
Principal
Flûte octaviante
Nasard
Octavin
Tierce
Plein-jeu harm. II - IV
Basson
Trompette
Hautbois
Voix humaine
Clairon
Tremulant
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16'
8'
8'
8'
8'
8'
8'
4'
4'
2 2/3'
2'
1 3/5'
2'
16'
8'
8'
8'
4'
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Untersatz
Praestant
Flute
Subbass
Octave
Gedeckt
Flûte
Choralbass
Mixture V
Contre Bombarde
Bombarde
Basson
Trompette
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32'
16'
16'
16'
8'
8'
8'
4'
5 1/3'
32'
16'
16'
8'
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Great to Pedal
Swell to Pedal
Positiv to Pedal
Swell to Great
Positive to Great
Swell to Positive |
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