Inspired by the WSO's Organ Spectacular and the opening concert of the Westminster concert organ series wih Sarah Svendsen, host Chris Wolf has decided to delve into another name that goes hand in hand with organ music--Mr. Louis Vierne. But instead of the French composer's organ music, we're going to explore his little known chamber works! Tune in every day @ 1pm for a complete recording.
Born October 8th, 1870, Louis Vierne was a French organist and composer.
He was born in Poitiers, the capital of the Vienne department, nearly blind due to congenital cataracts, but at an early age was discovered to have an unusual gift for music. (At age two he heard the piano for the first time: the pianist played him a Schubert lullaby and he promptly began to pick out the notes of the lullaby on the piano.)
After completing school in the provinces, Louis Vierne entered the Paris Conservatory. From 1892, Vierne served as an assistant to the organist Charles-Marie Widor at the church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris. Vierne subsequently became principal organist at the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris, a post he held from 1900 until his death in 1937.
Vierne had a life that was physically and emotionally very difficult, with severe spiritual trials that are reflected in much of his music. His congenital cataracts did not make him completely blind, but he was what would be called today "legally blind." Early in his career, he composed on outsized manuscript paper, using "a large pencil" as his friend Marcel Dupré described. Later in life, as his limited sight continued to diminish, he resorted to Braille to do most of his work.
He was deeply affected by a separation and subsequent divorce from his wife, and he lost both his brother René and his son Jacques to the battlefields of World War I. Though he held one of the most prestigious organ posts in France, the Notre-Dame organ was in a state of disrepair throughout much of his tenure at the instrument. He eventually undertook a concert tour of North America to raise money for its restoration. The tour, which included major recitals on the famous Wanamaker Organ in Philadelphia and its smaller sister instrument, the Wanamaker Auditorium Organ in New York City, was very successful, although the trip physically drained him.
A street accident in Paris caused him to badly fracture his leg, and it was briefly thought his leg would need to be amputated. The leg was saved, but his recovery, and the task of completely re-learning his pedal technique, took a full year during one of the busiest times of his life. Despite his difficulties, however, his students uniformly described him as a kind, patient and encouraging teacher. Among his pupils were Augustin Barié, Edward Shippen Barnes, Lili Boulanger, Nadia Boulanger, Marcel Dupré, André Fleury, Isadore Freed, Henri Gagnebin, Gaston Litaize, Édouard Mignan, Émile Poillot, Adrien Rougier, Alexander Schreiner, and Georges-Émile Tanguay.
Although his emphasis as composer was the organ, Vierne's musical compositions also includes several chamber works, vocal and choral music, and a Symphony in A minor for orchestra. It's the chamber works we're going to concentrate on this week.
We start off on Monday with Vierne's String Quartet in D Minor, Op.12. Written in 1894, while in Caen on holiday, Vierne was just 24-years-old. We're going to hear it performed by the Goldner String Quartet.
On Tuesday we move on to Vierne's Cello Sonata in B-Flat Minor, Op. 27. He dedicated this work to Pablo Casals. An impassioned work, critics and musicologists have compared it with the cello sonatas of Rachmaninov, York Bowen and John Foulds. We'll be treated to a complete recording by cellist Yvan Chiffoleau & pianist Olivier Gardon.
On Wednesday we'll hear his Piano Quintet Op. 42. a work written 'à la mémoire de son fils Jacques'. In the original issue Jacques is pictured on p. 21 of Jean-Pierre Mazeirat's notes. Fresh-faced and in uniform the picture was taken as he left for the Front. He was killed on November 11, 1917. Vierne already under threat of blindness from glaucoma, and with his marriage to Arlette in ruins now blamed himself for having consented to Jacques joining up. He wrote the Quintet as an outlet for his grief. Vierne wrote of the work that he would bury his son 'with a roar of thunder not with the plaintive bleating of a resigned, stupid sheep.' The recording features Canadian pianist Stephane Lemelin and the Arthur Leblanc String Quartet.
On Thursday it's Vierne's Violin Sonata Op. 23. In four movements, the sonata was written with Raoul Pugno and Eugene Ysaye in mind but a 'friend' premiered it and did not make the best of it. To cap it all Vierne was to discover that the 'friend' was the lover of Vierne's wife, Arlette.
And finally, we finish the week off with Vierne's Le Soir and Légende--two pieces for viola and piano. They were written for his kindly teacher Pierre Adam who died just as Vierne finished his studies.
Vierne's Death
Louis Vierne died on June 2nd, and the tale of what happened that day has to be one of the most epic stories in all of the history of music. Concert organist Christopher Houlihan wrote about it for the Huffington Post 4 years ago on the 75th anniversary . . . .
Despite having held one of the most prestigious posts an organist could hope for, Vierne’s life was otherwise almost unbelievably tragic. His marriage ended after his wife cheated on him (with a friend of his, no less), and because of his job at the cathedral he was never allowed to remarry. His two successive female companions each eventually left him as well. His youngest son died from tuberculosis, and his eldest son and brother were killed fighting in World War I. At one point, he fell and broke his leg and ankle and had to completely relearn his pedal technique (a big part of playing the organ!). Four years of his life were spent living in Switzerland, undergoing then state-of-the-art eye treatments, mostly unsuccessfully; at one point he even had to spend six months in a dark room recovering.
To put it mildly, by 1937 Vierne was not in good shape, physically or emotionally. He was smoking three packs of cigarettes a day, taking tranquilizers, sleeping pills, and inhaling ether when he felt nervous. He was depressed, and lonely. But, on June 2nd, a reported 3,000 people gathered to hear the famous organist of Notre Dame perform. Vierne could barely climb the many steps up to the organ loft, and a doctor even gave him heart stimulant pills to help.
The program began with one of his own compositions. By the end of the work, Vierne was reportedly clutching at the keys. No one in the cathedral, apart from the very few gathered around Vierne high up in the organ loft, could see what was happening.
Next, he was programed to improvise (something French organists are famous for). Vierne adjusted many stops of the organ, choosing the sounds he wanted to hear.
“I’m going to be ill,” he said to his student Maurice Duruflé, who was standing beside him.
Then, the 3,000 in the audience, far below the organ loft, heard a low note come from the organ: the start of the improvisation, they assumed. But right then, Vierne had a heart attack. His foot landed on low E of the pedalboard — the last note he ever played. He died just a few short moments later.
It’s not an entirely depressing story. The great thing is, Vierne had always said that was exactly where he hoped he would die — at the keyboards of the instrument he loved. The organ bench he was sitting on is even on display in the organ loft at Notre Dame to this day. 
For as long as I have played the organ, I have loved Vierne’s music. It is colorful, emotional, tragic and triumphant — just like the story of his life.
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/christopher-houlihan/louis-vierne-concert-organist-tribute_b_1559222.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Vierne
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2005/Nov05/VIERNE_chamber_2C2098.htm
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