The Star of the Sea
A superb programme of Italian and French organ favourites, shaped to draw on every resource of the celebrated George Fincham grand organ at St Mary's Star-of-the-Sea, West Melbourne.
Claude-Bénigne Balbastre composer
Joseph Bonnet composer
Marco Enrico Bossi composer
Johannes Brahms composer
Jean-François Dandrieu composer
César Franck composer
Olivier Messiaen composer
Pietro Alessandro Yon composer
The organ at St Mary's Star-of-the-Sea Church was built between 1898 and 1900 by the leading colonial organ builder George Fincham at his factory in the Melbourne suburbs. It was the first pipe organ in Australia to be classified by the National Trust and is regarded as an instrument of national importance. It remains the largest organ built in Australia during the nineteenth century to survive essentially intact.
Sergio de Pieri plays a concert of Italian and French favourites that draws on the full resources of the restored instrument, from Franck's epic Pièce Héroïque and Bonnet's virtuoso Variations de Concert to Messiaen's Le Banquet Céleste and Alain's Litanies.
Reviews
magnificent sound ... all of this, and the soaring music, demonstrate the organ's range and versatility, and the virtuosity of the performer.
it's stirring, reflective, rousing, thoughtful ... Turn your volume up and listen to those bass pedals.
an interesting program of delights
quite beautiful to listen to ... Sergio de Pieri's playing ... is musical, sensitive and accurate ... breath-taking.
The recital makes immensely enjoyable listening.
Artist
Sergio de Pieri
Born in Treviso, Italy, well-known organist Sergio de Pieri emigrated to Australia in the 1960s and was chiefly responsible for reviving local interest in the organ and its true repertoire. He was organist at the Basilica of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne, Chief Study Organ Lecturer at the University of Melbourne and still regularly performs throughout Australia, Europe, USA and Canada.
Audio preview
Tracks
- Variations de Concert, Op. 1 Joseph Bonnet 9:23
- Canzoncina a Maria Vergine Marco Enrico Bossi 4:17
- Pièce Héroïque César Franck 9:28
- Il Natale in Sicilia (Christmas in Sicily) Pietro Alessandro Yon 5:29
- Prelude and Fugue in G minor Johannes Brahms 8:06
- Chorale Prelude, Op. 122 Johannes Brahms 4:29
- Noël Jean-François Dandrieu 6:36
- Le Banquet Céleste Olivier Messiaen 7:19
- Noël Claude-Bénigne Balbastre 6:33
- Litanies Jehan Alain 5:21
Performers
Composers
Jehan Alain
Jehan Ariste Alain (1911 – 1940) was a French organist and composer. Alain was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye in the western suburbs of Paris, into a family of musicians. His father, Albert Alain (1880–1971) was an enthusiastic organist, composer and organ-builder who had studied with Alexandre Guilmant and Louis Vierne.
Claude-Bénigne Balbastre
Claude Balbastre wrote flamboyant French harpsichord character pieces and Noëls that thrived in Parisian salons and on the organ: portrait pieces full of colour, dance rhythm and courtly swagger, still vivid when the keys rattle and the stops open.
Marco Enrico Bossi
Marco Enrico Bossi (1861–1925) was an Italian organist, composer, improviser and teacher, best known for his organ music and for the lasting standards he set for organ study in Italy.
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms (1833–1897) was a German composer and pianist of the Romantic period. His music for piano, chamber ensemble, orchestra, and voice remains central to the concert repertoire.
César Franck
César Franck’s music carries the weight and colour of the Romantic organ loft into symphony, chamber music and song. The Violin Sonata, Symphony in D minor, organ Chorales and Pièce héroïque, and the serene Panis angelicus remain central to the repertoire he shaped.
Olivier Messiaen
Olivier Messiaen (1908–1992) was a French composer, organist and ornithologist whose colour-rich, rhythmically intricate music stands among the major achievements of the twentieth century.
Jean-François Dandrieu
Jean-François Dandrieu was a French Baroque composer, harpsichordist and organist. Dandrieu's harpsichord oeuvre is, after those of François Couperin and Jean-Nicolas Geoffroy, the most important in terms of sheer quantity of pieces.
Contributors
Instrument builder [organ]
George Fincham
Organbuilder (1828-1910). Born in the UK in 1828 George Fincham moved to Melbourne in the 1850s. He is considered to be the father of the Australian organ building industry. The firm he started was still in operation until the late 1990s.
Where to listen
The Star of the Sea is available for streaming through Apple Music. It can also be purchased through the iTunes Music Store.
The Star of the Sea is available as a CD. It can be purchased online through Buywell Music or the Australian Music Centre which both offer online ordering.
Product details
- Catalogue number
- MD 3228
- List price
- $25.00 AUD
- Total playing time
- 67 minutes 1 seconds
- Recording Engineer
- Martin Wright
- Editing Engineer
- Vaughan McAlley
- Venue
- St. Mary's Star-of-the-Sea Church, West Melbourne
- Credit
- George Fincham
- Release date
- 2000
- Musical work
copyright - © 2000 Move Records
- Sound recording
copyright - ℗ 2000 Move Records
- Categories
- Classical, Organ
- Genres
- Organ, Romantic & Impressionist
- Barcode
- EAN 9314574322828
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