Superbly judged and played. The E Major Chorale is a formidably difficult work to make sound effortless, but Joseph Wicks pulls it off, bringing the triumphant final statement of the chorale theme in a blaze of reeds. And there is nothing, nothing on earth like the sound of Cavaillé-Coll reeds in full cry!
I don't know how Franck did it - the tension-building through those melodic variations, never quite resolving, never quite going where you thought he was going, the subtle dissonances . . oh my god. Franck's 3 chorales (along with his Pastorale) are some of the most beautiful works ever composed for organ, imho. Joseph played this piece with exquisite finesse and tempo. I was in tears the whole time - never having actually seen this piece performed, only heard it countelss times since I was a small child. My dad always tried to play it, but never got very far. Love you dad, wish you could see this!
The best performance I have ever heard of this was on the very English Willis at Lincoln. Music and organ fitted perfectly. I am polishing it up for a recital in January and am trying to detect its alleged eroticism. So far with no success. Any kind of excitement at my age is always welcome.
Cesar Franck is my favorite composer and this is one of his favorite compositions for me. The possibility to listen here these masterful presentations is my paradisum of being retired.
My favourite of the three - by a whisker. A lovely reminder of listening to you play the Three Chorales on the 'Little Giant' Father Willis of Truro Cathedral, to the manner born.
Graham Twist, my friend, you said it absolutely perfectly. JOSEPH WICKS, you gave a heart-moving performance of FRANCK's No. 1 Chorale. Thank you, so much, for the years of training, rehearsal and perfection you have given to your gifts and talents.
This is a beautiful, sensitive performance of the least often performed of the Three Chorals. Possibly its dynamic demands and immensely important musical architecture make it a tough challenge for many organists. The opening is just seductively and deceptively simple gut is the start of a long and exciting journey to final destination.
Lawrence, your comment really rings true with my feelings about Franck’s music in general, but particularly this piece and its melodies. So easy to imagine the tunes sung.
One of the most moving and musically sensitive performances of this work that I have ever had the privilege of hearing. Thank you, Joseph, for sharing your talents and Richard for your vision.
My goodness, what a majestic sound! That St. Ouen Cavaille-Coll is my favorite organ. Great Franck -- so extremely well played. Thank you very much Joseph, and to Richard and Caroline (and Hugo.) DJ in Knoxville TN
The E maj has never been my favourite of the Franck chorales but I have to say I’ve heard very few performances that held me as that one did! Fantastic job!
Bravo for a masterful performance. I actually played this piece (from memory, no less!) on my senior recital back in the mid-1980's. I can't believe now that I ever mastered it, and I'm sure I didn't do it the justice Joseph does on this recording. What a pleasure to hear it on a classic French organ!
Living in Cambridge I have the opportunity to hear some wonderful instruments in the Churches and Colleges and some wonderful Organists. I have heard Joseph play several times at St John's. :)
I put this on to play whilst lying in bed, trying to get back to sleep. Within just a few bars I was literally sitting bolt upright: I recognized it as something special - VERY special indeed. I've heard it played by a dozen other organists, and I play it myself, and all played it well. However, never have I heard it so profoundly gripping from the very outset. Chorale indeed - not just harmony - and a powerful one too, played like this. I knew without any doubt that what was special about this performance would continue to the end. Wonderfully, so many others here also recognised it as something very special - indicating that it's objectively so.
Bravo!! What an amazing performance and amazing sound. This piece is on my to-do list for this year and this recording is truly inspirational (if I can play it 10% as good as Joseph when I'm done I'll be happy). Bravo, and thank you Richard and Joseph!
Excellente idée d'inviter des organistes!! Superbe hommage à César Franck par M.Wicks. Franck disparaît le 8 novembre 1890 et l'orgue reconstruit de l'église abbatiale Saint-Ouen de Rouen, par Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, est inauguré par Widor le 17 avril 1890. Les festivités marquant la naissance de Franck, ont commencé. A Saint-Eustache, c'était la Grande Pièce symphonique op.17 le 27 février 2022 et y sont annoncés le 13 mars 2022 la fantaisie en la, le Cantabile et la Pièce héroïque...que nous entendrons très certainement ici sur BIS dans les prochains mois.
Je suis ravie que vous approuviez cette initiative ! J'ai besoin de trouver quelqu'un pour jouer la Grande Pièce symphonique... avez-vous des suggestions ?
@@beautyinsound Cher Monsieur McVeigh, comme vous écrivez bien le français, je vous réponds donc en français.Il y a sans doute de très bons organistes anglais pour interpréter la pièce de Franck.Vous cherchez un organiste étranger, un organiste français? Bon courage à vous pour votre défi Duruflé car ce n'est pas du gâteau!!! Je ne sais pas si vous avez déjà interprété une des plus belles oeuvres de Franck: Prière?
J'aimerais que quelqu'un comme Ben Van Oosten joue du Franck sur mon orgue - peut-être la Grande Pièce Symphonique. Je persévère toujours avec le Duruflé et j'adore ça !
Really exciting performance ! It's almost like u have the organ of St Ouen in your living room and the final chords are like the church bells ringing out !
Beautiful. Franck Chorales are very similar to Bach Prelude and Fugues. I think you can see the similarities on Franck Chorale in A Minor with the beginning measures being a romantic twist to Bach Prelude an Fugue in A minor.
Fab. I love this piece and echo many of the (positive) comments below: although it has its technical challenges (accidentals and big stretches for example), I think that this piece has real musical challenges which Joseph has very convincingly met.
Lovely performance and the machine is very impressive! What happened to the sound at the Maestoso section where Franck calls for 16 & 8 ft reeds? There seems to be some attenuation? Is this caused by UA-cam sound management - seems more likely than this set up!
Very inspiring performance but which raises a very dull question from me: How are the physical stops on the jambs adjusted in accordance with the different Hauptwerk organs selected?
Superbly judged and played. The E Major Chorale is a formidably difficult work to make sound effortless, but Joseph Wicks pulls it off, bringing the triumphant final statement of the chorale theme in a blaze of reeds. And there is nothing, nothing on earth like the sound of Cavaillé-Coll reeds in full cry!
I don't know how Franck did it - the tension-building through those melodic variations, never quite resolving, never quite going where you thought he was going, the subtle dissonances . . oh my god. Franck's 3 chorales (along with his Pastorale) are some of the most beautiful works ever composed for organ, imho. Joseph played this piece with exquisite finesse and tempo. I was in tears the whole time - never having actually seen this piece performed, only heard it countelss times since I was a small child. My dad always tried to play it, but never got very far. Love you dad, wish you could see this!
A fabulous performance by Joseph Wicks of this beautiful first Chorale by César Franck: BRAVO!
Thanks Graham!
The best performance I have ever heard of this was on the very English Willis at Lincoln. Music and organ fitted perfectly. I am polishing it up for a recital in January and am trying to detect its alleged eroticism. So far with no success. Any kind of excitement at my age is always welcome.
Cesar Franck is my favorite composer and this is one of his favorite compositions for me. The possibility to listen here these masterful presentations is my paradisum of being retired.
Joseph Wicks is a master of sensitivity, lyricism, and musicality! Breathtaking! :D
What beautifully paced and inflected playing. His background as a singer shines through.
Absolutely, I completely agree. I often think singers can shape musical phrases better than others. Joseph plays very musically 😊
Thank you Philip. This comment means a lot to me - it is precisely what I aim to convey, particularly in the music of Franck!
And I love Franck! Did not know you are a singer! Bravo! @@JosephWicks93
My favourite of the three - by a whisker. A lovely reminder of listening to you play the Three Chorales on the 'Little Giant' Father Willis of Truro Cathedral, to the manner born.
Graham Twist, my friend, you said it absolutely perfectly. JOSEPH WICKS, you gave a heart-moving performance of FRANCK's No. 1 Chorale. Thank you, so much, for the years of training, rehearsal and perfection you have given to your gifts and talents.
I did enjoy that Joseph so much! Thankyou.
This is a beautiful, sensitive performance of the least often performed of the Three Chorals. Possibly its dynamic demands and immensely important musical architecture make it a tough challenge for many organists. The opening is just seductively and deceptively simple gut is the start of a long and exciting journey to final destination.
Wonderful performance! Many thanks to Joseph Wicks and Richard and BIS.
I love the slower tempo at the opening. The effect is like singing.
It’s a very dignified and majestic tempo, isn’t it?
Lawrence, your comment really rings true with my feelings about Franck’s music in general, but particularly this piece and its melodies. So easy to imagine the tunes sung.
STUNNING! Many thanks
Very well played Joseph. Thank you.
One of the most moving and musically sensitive performances of this work that I have ever had the privilege of hearing. Thank you, Joseph, for sharing your talents and Richard for your vision.
Great performance - one of the best on UA-cam for sure!
Such a beautiful piece played with such warmth and feeling. 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Thanks Joseph, I enjoyed your interpretation. Congratulations
This was an absolutely splendid and engaging performance! Joseph, bravo!
My goodness, what a majestic sound! That St. Ouen Cavaille-Coll is my favorite organ. Great Franck -- so extremely well played. Thank you very much Joseph, and to Richard and Caroline (and Hugo.) DJ in Knoxville TN
This is a truly captivating performance, love the registrations throughout too very powerful. Thank You!
The E maj has never been my favourite of the Franck chorales but I have to say I’ve heard very few performances that held me as that one did!
Fantastic job!
beautiful playing and registration, very emotionally captivating. Thank you. this was not a piece i have heard before
He makes the organ sing! Bravo Joseph Wicks!
Good to hear from you! Do you play this? It's such a wonderful piece!
@@beautyinsound Hello Richard. Thank you for doing a Franck music available - specially for this year. It's a great piece and part of my study list.
Thank you so much Alejandro!
Absolutely wonderful! Love his work as a tenor in The Gesualdo Six as well...
Simply lovely. Thank you Joseph.
Glad you enjoyed it :)
Thank you for watching!
Performed with such sensitivity.
Marvelous! Thanks.
Blooming Marvellous, I say! 😀
@@beautyinsound Not a bad result out of a simple house-organ, eh. :)
Bravo for a masterful performance. I actually played this piece (from memory, no less!) on my senior recital back in the mid-1980's. I can't believe now that I ever mastered it, and I'm sure I didn't do it the justice Joseph does on this recording. What a pleasure to hear it on a classic French organ!
Amazing. What a good choice to play Franck with the St Ouen's organ palette.
Brilliant!! Thank you xx
You’re welcome, from us both 😃
WONDERFUL!..👏👏👏🙏 Good Sounds to start my day! (I work in the evening.. 🌆) Thank You!!!💘🎧😊
Living in Cambridge I have the opportunity to hear some wonderful instruments in the Churches and Colleges and some wonderful Organists. I have heard Joseph play several times at St John's. :)
Thank you very much Joseph, it sounded absolutely amazing! I love the Chorales by Franck and can't wait to hear more pieces throughout the year!
Played so wonderfully. Thank you Joseph, hope to see you again here
He’s definitely coming back! 😉
😃
Beautiful performance! This is my favorite of the 3 Chorales.
Interesting! Mine favourite is the 3rd, I think. No... perhaps the 2nd? Actually the 1st. Argh! I love them all equally!
I put this on to play whilst lying in bed, trying to get back to sleep. Within just a few bars I was literally sitting bolt upright: I recognized it as something special - VERY special indeed. I've heard it played by a dozen other organists, and I play it myself, and all played it well. However, never have I heard it so profoundly gripping from the very outset. Chorale indeed - not just harmony - and a powerful one too, played like this. I knew without any doubt that what was special about this performance would continue to the end.
Wonderfully, so many others here also recognised it as something very special - indicating that it's objectively so.
Crucially, Joseph is clearly deeply mentally and emotionally engaged with the music. That's vitally important for my enjoyment of music.
A lovely comment John, thank you.
How lovely to read this. Thank you so much for writing it and I’m very glad you enjoyed it!
Just brilliant, nothing more to say!
Perfectly summed up!
Phenomenal playing can't beat the Cavaille-Coll Bravo!
Thank you!
Amazing!!!!!!
Wonderful performance!
Love it! Thank you, Joseph, for this wonderful performance. I hear shades of the Symphony in d minor, one of my all-time favorites.
Cheers Ben. I hope Andy gets to see it 😊
Bravo!! What an amazing performance and amazing sound. This piece is on my to-do list for this year and this recording is truly inspirational (if I can play it 10% as good as Joseph when I'm done I'll be happy). Bravo, and thank you Richard and Joseph!
Many thanks, Jerry 😊
Wonderful job!
Very nice 😃
That feeling you get when you listen to your forefather's music
Excellente idée d'inviter des organistes!!
Superbe hommage à César Franck par M.Wicks.
Franck disparaît le 8 novembre 1890 et l'orgue reconstruit de l'église abbatiale Saint-Ouen de Rouen, par Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, est inauguré par Widor le 17 avril 1890.
Les festivités marquant la naissance de Franck, ont commencé.
A Saint-Eustache, c'était la Grande Pièce symphonique op.17 le 27 février 2022 et y sont annoncés le 13 mars 2022 la fantaisie en la, le Cantabile et la Pièce héroïque...que nous entendrons très certainement ici sur BIS dans les prochains mois.
Je suis ravie que vous approuviez cette initiative ! J'ai besoin de trouver quelqu'un pour jouer la Grande Pièce symphonique... avez-vous des suggestions ?
@@beautyinsound Cher Monsieur McVeigh, comme vous écrivez bien le français, je vous réponds donc en français.Il y a sans doute de très bons organistes anglais pour interpréter la pièce de Franck.Vous cherchez un organiste étranger, un organiste français?
Bon courage à vous pour votre défi Duruflé car ce n'est pas du gâteau!!!
Je ne sais pas si vous avez déjà interprété une des plus belles oeuvres de Franck: Prière?
J'aimerais que quelqu'un comme Ben Van Oosten joue du Franck sur mon orgue - peut-être la Grande Pièce Symphonique. Je persévère toujours avec le Duruflé et j'adore ça !
Really exciting performance ! It's almost like u have the organ of St Ouen in your living room and the final chords are like the church bells ringing out !
In the room, it sounds just like it - honestly!
An exceptionally fine interpretation. The others please...
haha well stay tuned because they will all appear over the coming months! 👍
Beautiful. Franck Chorales are very similar to Bach Prelude and Fugues. I think you can see the similarities on Franck Chorale in A Minor with the beginning measures being a romantic twist to Bach Prelude an Fugue in A minor.
Nice 👌🌹
😃
Fab. I love this piece and echo many of the (positive) comments below: although it has its technical challenges (accidentals and big stretches for example), I think that this piece has real musical challenges which Joseph has very convincingly met.
Hi, Joseph! Hope we hear you again in Truro before too long...
Perhaps I should swap my daytime and evening activities so you can hear my 👏🏼 👏🏼 👏🏼 👏🏼 !
Lovely performance and the machine is very impressive! What happened to the sound at the Maestoso section where Franck calls for 16 & 8 ft reeds? There seems to be some attenuation? Is this caused by UA-cam sound management - seems more likely than this set up!
It sounds much more raw in the room itself, which you’ll hear when you come round 😉
Another fabulous performance on this glorious instrument. Love your new console. What are all the extra drawknobs goingto control?
Very inspiring performance but which raises a very dull question from me: How are the physical stops on the jambs adjusted in accordance with the different Hauptwerk organs selected?
I’d suggest watching my Organ Overview video which I uploaded a few weeks ago. I think the answer to your questions will be in there :)
Just listened to a friends SACD DSD recording of the same piece in the same venue, and apart from tempo, the Hauptwerk sample set is amazing
You should hear it in the room - it’s astonishing! Joseph has played the real organ fairly recently and said it’s very much like the real thing! 👍
@@beautyinsound I hope you baked him some homemade patisserie for even more immersion!
Nicely played The Recit sounds a bit mild compared to the GO. The vox is stunning
You're the spitting image of your dad
(That’s a nice complement!) 😉