Características
Ten years after the release of “Organ Treasures,” Mattias Wager has released another spectacular organ album, “Hymne À L’Univers”. Spectacular in more ways than one: First, Wager has chosen a thematically fascinating repertoire of works by Johan Alain, André Jolivet, Joseph Ermend Bonnal, and Maurice Duruflé from the 1930s. In doing so, he impressively demonstrates the boundless possibilities that many composers sought to realize in the period before World War II and their irrepressible creativity.
Even if the selection seems very specific at first glance, it is by no means intended only for repertoire specialists. Secondly, sound engineer Jan-Eric Persson took the opportunity to record the organ at Stockholm City Hall – for the first time ever! The instrument is very popular because the annual Nobel Prize award ceremony takes place in this very hall. Completed in 1926 and equipped with 10,400 pipes, this organ is by far the largest instrument of its kind in Scandinavia and, given its gigantic size, one of the few instruments in the world capable of rendering even the finest nuances of the most demanding organ literature. As Mattias Wager is the long-standing organist at Stockholm City Hall and knows the instrument like no other, the conditions for this Opus 3 Records production are ideal. "Mattias Wager has made a wise choice of venue: Concert halls rarely have the acoustics required for this type of music, but here the atmosphere is quite impressive – perhaps mainly because the organ is mounted on the ceiling – and the timbres of the instrument are expressed with great clarity through the textures. 5 stars!" (Rupert Gough in Choir & Organ, March/April 2014)
The outstanding Hybrid SACD from Opus 3 Records contains a booklet with detailed information about the recording technology and microphones used.
Jehan Alain (1911 - 1940):
“Trois Danses”
1. Joies
2. Deuies
3. Luttes
Josef Ermend Bonnal (1880 - 1944):
“Paysages Euskariens”
4. La Valllée De Béhor Léguy
5. Le Berger De Ahusguy, Au Matin
6. Cloches Dans Le Ciel
Maurice Duruflé (1902 - 1986):
7. Scherzo, Op. 2
André Jolivet (1905 - 1974)
8. Hymne À L’Univers