OSM | Breathtaking Organ and Trumpet in the Spotlight

A rarely-seen duo took the stage last night at the Maison symphonique. The stage seemed strangely empty, despite the imposing keyboard of the Grand Orgue Pierre-Béique enthroned in its center. The concert on offer was a musical journey between eras, in the company of organist Raúl Prieto Ramírez and trumpeter Lucienne Renaudin Vary. These two virtuosos offered breathtaking musical moments throughout their varied program.

Few works were written specifically for the organ and trumpet duo. But the first piece on the program, Giovanni Buonaventura Viviani’s Sonata for trumpet no. 1 in C major, is one of those rare examples from the Baroque period. The other works on offer, mainly from the vocal repertoire of the turn of the 20th century, have been convincingly arranged for this duo. Two pieces for solo organ completed the program.

Lucienne Renaudin Vary was irreproachable throughout the evening. The clear, lyrical sound of her trumpet filled the hall perfectly. At ease on stage, she could sometimes be seen tracing the outline of melodic lines with one hand as she played. What’s more, the repertoire she chose showed off her talents in many different styles. Whether it’s a baroque sonata with fast, virtuosic passages, or a jazz piece with many ornaments, the trumpeter always seems in her element. The changes of tone are always just right, the nuances just right. Raúl Prieto Ramírez also did justice to the repertoire, and even more so to the instrument he was given to play that evening. As an accompanist, the organist’s choices of stops were always judicious. It was this instrument that gave the pieces their depth: sometimes luminous, sometimes tender, sometimes tortured and dramatic.

But it was above all in the two pieces for solo organ that Prieto Ramírez was able to shine and show the audience all the instrument’s sonic possibilities. A transcription of Franz Liszt’s Valse de Méphisto no. 1 seemed to give him trouble at first, but the virtuosity required to perform this piece soon eclipsed these details. This work, already monumental in the piano repertoire, took on titanic proportions here when performed on the organ. Excerpts from Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition also allowed the organ to steal the show. The audience was able to hear just how versatile the organ can be, both in its different sounds and nuances, and just how agile you have to be to master this instrument!

This rarely-heard duo and a well-constructed program demonstrated the virtuosity of the two performers and revealed the full musical potential of the organ and trumpet. It was a successful concert that will live long in the memory!