I wrote a long blather, but I'll cut it to this . . I am a classic lunatic organist ;) When I was 13, I became Richard Purvis' final new full-time private student. This was the first piece I studied with him, it was one of my regular pre-lesson warmups, and he would "jukebox" me to play it at least twice a year. I have my 48 year old copy with his/my notations open in front of me. (It was trying to mind-meld with copy of Virgil Fox's "Now thank we all our God" and a strangely adhesive Bärenreiter Bach book, so ancillary thanks for making me check my paper music) Here's where I deleted like 50 line of typical meaningless "RU-vid organist" blather ..... So in summary: If I got through it without crashing and burning, he would smile and say "Bon!," which is what he said was all that Dupre would ever say to him when he played it for him. So all I can say, is "Bon!" Thanks!
I really must get around to learning this - long been a piece I admire / and now I have a bag of tips and tricks to help me! Bravo Richard. Beautiful performance and really wonderful insights into registration and style. (And when I put on my video making hat I have to admire the sheer amount of work you put into this production - engaging narrative and well timed effects. Superb!)
Thanks, Richard. Also nice that you add more background to the piece and explaining your interpretation choices. It makes it not only good as practice video but also interesting to watch for the organists who probably won't dive into this (type of) literature themself (like me 😉).
Lovely channel! I played the Cortège and Litanie the Sunday after the Columbine shootings in the USA. It fit the mood of our souls perfectly. It is a glorious creation. Thanks for your tutorial of the work.
Thanks for another one of these practise videos Richard, I find them really helpful and I pick up some ideas that I wouldn't think about otherwise. Would love to see more of these videos in the future! This is one of my favourite Dupre works.
Thanks for another video with interesting commentary. Nice to see how you solve the problems presented by the piece. Capped off with a wonderful performance.
The commentary is interesting, but not nearly as interesting as the captions, where grande orgue = "Quran dog," toccata = "Jakarta," and Langlais = "long lays"! Oh yes, and then there's the Viole d'amour, 4' -- or as it's known here, the "vile de more forefoot"!
It's always fascinating to watch you work through a piece and then give the complete performance that brings everything together. Thanks for this great learning experience!.
Magnifique! Outstanding in registration and interpretation! I think you may have outdone even Mme Duruflé-Chevalier, who I was fortunate to hear perform this live in Los Angeles, USA! Richard, you continue to delight with your artistry!!
Very nice, Richard. You are a true professional, extremely talented, and a charming host. Would hope for more great organists especially in the USA, who can teach people how to play better, and help restore this great instrument to its rightful place of prominence in Sunday church services. Have you ever thought about moving to the United States? 😂😂😅
Excellent performance and a fascinating look at your preparations, very helpful as a user of the Aristide set! Just wanted to mention that Lynwood Farnam made his own transcription of this work. It varies slightly from that of Dupré. Personally I combined the two arrangements into one for my own use. Thanks again for this presentation, more please!
I am so impressed with your videos and performances. You are a very expressive organist (you facial gestures for the camera on your shorts are delightful) and your talent is impressive. To make such outstanding recordings of these great instruments is a wonderful thing! Thank you for bringing our musical history to life on video for us. I am now subscribed to you and am proud to be one of your new patreon sponsors. BTW I use Grand Orgue as my VPO. As you probably know, it has many amazing North European instrument sets and is free. Since I am not an organist, just a fan who loves the sound, this works better for me than Hauptwerk, which, while wonderful, is too pricey for my dabblings. So it is GREAT (SWELL) to hear your renditions on these amazing sample sets. Really, I am POSITIVE about this! (poor jokes, sorry)
🤗..!Magnificent!.. I was wondering what is the Special Music played for the Funeral?! And This post answers the question. This was Informative, Engaging and Entertaining..! Very nice. Thank you..👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾🥰👍🏽
Give me more of this 😀 While hearing this interpretation I have the version of Olivier Latry in mind - a completely different interpretation as your's. Your interpretation is very transparent. Remarkable is in comparison beside the slow tempo that you start the tutti section very late end set the 32' Bombarde at the last chord (seems to be a very british approach, isn't it?). The St. Ouen sample set of this late Cavaillé Coll masterpiece is perfect for this work. With your explanation of the interpretation and registration my understanding of "Cortège et Litanies" has raised. And let me say finally this: As a guy who grew up under french and german romantic influences while visiting the services in Hildesheim cathedral and hear Fritz Soddemann playing the former neobaroque romanticised Breill-Klais-now-Seifert-english romanticised Organ (sic!) you have widened my musical horizon to english cathedral music. I enjoy this very much! And please add this Yorkshire tea to your shop. I could send you back a package of delicious ans spicy east frisian "Ostfriesen Tee" ;-). And now really finally, if you like to watch "something completely different" - but with chimes, look here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-hX0kYwhIG_U.html
You are lucky to have at your disposal 61 keys to play correctly this wonderful work, and 32 keys at the pedal. To play it, I have 61 keys too on my console with Hauptwerk software (sample of Saint-Étienne de Caen organ, a Cavaillé-Coll, which gets in reality 56 keys keyboards), but my pedal keyboard has only 30 keys. Marcel Dupré tranposed his work for organ to play it in USA on the Wanamaker organ in Philadelphia, so at his organ (Saint-Sulpice in Paris), he had to change a little bit some parts cause of the missing highest notes. Like you I add the Bombarde 32' at the final chord 🙂 . Jacques, best wishes from France.
Thank you, “Sir Richard” for posting this excellent performance of my new favorite piece (NOT song!). Understanding what a litany is. I find this second section to be so poignant and heartbreaking. I truly love your interpretation. Thank you for sharing your talent and music with us. What does “Organ 8” mean? A fan.
8 means piano pitch of a note in organist’s terms. 8 foot pitch builds the foundation of the whole organ, so it’s a spoof with being the foundation player, and a sports jersey.
Enjoyed the tutorial and performance Richard. However I personally felt the balance wasn't quite right towards the end of the piece when the Recit comes in and the left hand plays the litany. I know u said earlier the pedal and recit should not dominate and sound louder. But the Recit was too quiet for me and could have been just a fraction louder. This isn't a reflection on your own performance just my thoughts !
I agree. At that glorious moment, we are hearing the Cortege and the Litany themes together, and they need to be equally prominent. Also at that moment, the pedals are playing two lines, and not just octaves. The left foot is playing the the counterpoint to the Cortege, which was played by the left hand at the beginning of the piece. Richard plays this beautifully and doesn't even comment on it. I found this to be the most difficult section to learn and the most satisfying section to perform.
So, Richard, how did you achieve a legato when the thumb had to play so many different notes in sequence? All I can think of doing is a very smooth, fast hop from key to key. Do you have anything further to say on that topic? Thank you.
