Melanie Barney - The Power of the Organ, Vol. 2 (2012) [Hi-Res]

Classical organ music is generally appreciated by true connoisseurs and by music lovers. This album presents the instrument in a contemporary and youthful light that will appeal to a wider audience. The audacious choice of repertoire and the use of a modern organ contribute to showcase it as a concert instrument, rather than simply a religious one. The program features classical pieces from the symphonic organ repertoire, as well as spectacular transcriptions of famous orchestral works. The idea is to attract a larger public with transcriptions of famous pieces that are rarely interpreted on the organ, whether in concert or on a recording.

Mélanie Barney brings together some of the greatest transcriptions for organ. Camille St-Saëns’ Danse Macabre (1874) and The Ride of the Valkyries by Richard Wagner (1854) are grandiose transcriptions rarely performed. Another masterpiece of Wagner’s on this album is the Vorspiel (Prelude) from the opera Tristan and Isolde (1857-1859), transcribed by John E. West. While reflecting on her choice of repertoire for this album, Mélanie Barney heard the Prelude to Tristan and Isolde during a screening of Lars von Tier’s film Melancholia. Ever passionate about symphonic music and film scores, the organist was seized by the emotion of this piece playing along fixed images that are slowly put into motion, revealing the end of the world as the planet Melancholia approaches Earth. Some transcriptions necessitate several sound planes and rigorous research regarding the registration of the organ in order to recreate the original sound of an orchestra. Such is the case for the famous Adagio of the Symphony for Organ and Orchestra, op.78, of St-Saëns (1886), transcribed for solo organ by Fred Tulan, as well as Nimrod (1898-1899), the famous 9th Symphonic Variation Enigma, of Edward Elgar, transcribed by Robert Gower. The Finale of the First Symphony for Organ, op.14 (1898-1899) and the Carillon de Westminster (1927, Fantasy piece) of Louis Vierne are great classics of organ composition on this album, as well as Clair de Lune, another of Vierne’s Fantasy piece composed in 1926. The famous Toccata of the 5th Symphony for Organ, op.42, no.1 (1887) of Widor, a virtuoso piece, grandiose and festive is the perfect conclusion for The Power of the Organ 2.