Symphonies

Description

First recording on the restored Schyven organs of the Liège Philharmonic Hall, the first encounter on record between a new music director and his orchestra. Cypres and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège don their festive attire for a delivery of two symphonies featuring organ. A deployment of orchestral forces in symbiosis with the spirit of the venue through two works closely linked to Liège, served here by an exceptional performer! Jongen - for whom Cypres is releasing the 6th disc dedicated to the (re)discovery of his music - is a native of Liège (like César Franck), and it was with Saint-Saëns' 3rd symphony, three years after its London premiere, that the new Schyven organs were inaugurated in 1890. A program that ideally allows one to savor the different tonalities of a work with organ — an orchestra in itself! The organ is predominant in Jongen's symphony concertante, which in its concluding Toccata delivers a demonstration of power and expressive strength, while Saint-Saëns, in his famous (and final) 3rd symphony, uses it in both intimate and brilliant registers, beautifully blending the colors of the instrument with those of the orchestra.