Morandi: Sonate per organo a quattro mani

Chronique

A suggestion: don't read the liner notes to this CD before sitting down to listen to it. They're confusing enough that it's hard to find the answers to the questions they raise, such as which of these pieces were written for the convent this Romantic-era Italian composer was associated with. And they're so deadly dull that you might decide to do something else entirely. Which would be a shame, because you'd miss out on a recording that's pure fun from start to finish. Whether directed toward a convent or not, the music on this album is the result of a unique idea: applying the powers of the organ, with two players, and four hands, going at it all over the keyboards, to the musical language of Italian opera. Imagine great Rossini-style (or early Verdi-style) tunes, motor rhythms, and a panoply of exciting quasi-orchestral effects unlike just about anything else you've ever heard -- four-hand organ music is extremely rare. (The liner notes don't address the interesting question of whether four feet are also involved, which could make this repertoire a good pick for date night at music school; a guess would be that a second player's foot augments the bass from time to time, but no leg-crossing is involved.) Perhaps the most rousing work on the album is the Introduzione, Tema, Variazoni, e Finale in Fa, the second selection, in which the organ is called on in successive variations to imitate not just instruments but ensembles; crank up the stereo for the final "imitazione di banda militare." The sound is not as detailed as it could be, but owners of high-end stereo systems should have a good time with this disc nonetheless. This is a hugely enjoyable recording that does the added service of introducing an unknown repertoire to the public. Now organists, too, can motion their compatriots to come up on-stage and join in for the encore.
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