Louis James Alfred Lefébure-Wely

The Modern Organist

…a bicentennial reflection upon the art of one of the most popular and powerful Parisian organists of the 19th century, Louis James Alfred Lefébure-Wely (1817-1869).

Program Broadcast dates:

• Week of November 6, 2017

Links and Resources:

• Printable program listings

Music played in the program

Hour 1

LEFÉBURE-WELY:  Offertoire in G (No. 8), fr L’organiste moderne –Richard Lea (1967 Walker/Metropolitan Cathedral, Liverpool, England) Priory 726

LEFÉBURE-WELY:  Adoro te (alternatum) –L’Accent Grave; Vincent Genvrin (1862 Cavaillé-Coll/St. Sulpice, Paris) Hortus 005

LEFÉBURE-WELY: Benissons a jamais–Emmanuel Martin & Cécile Bodereau, soprano; Béatrice Duchéne, violin; Guilaine Petit, harp; Le Concert des Dames/Fréderic Bourdin, director; Olivier Perin (1846 Cavaillé-Coll/Orleans Cathedral, France) VXDI 1

LEFÉBURE-WELY:  Salon Music (Montagnarde; La désespérance; Marche des gardes), fr Suite No.2 –Joris Verdin (Debain harmonicorde) Ricercar 163147

LEFÉBURE-WELY:  Scene Pastorale in G –David Sanger (1994 Walker/Exeter College Chapel, Oxford, England) Meridian 84296

LEFÉBURE-WELY:  Verset in G; Offertoire in d –Ben van Oosten (1846 Cavaillé-Coll/La Madeleine, Paris) MD&G 316 1278

Hour 2

LEFÉBURE-WELY:  Prelude and Communion in F –Rene Saorgin (1845 Lété/Nantua Abbey, France) Harmonia Mundi 1901205

LEFÉBURE-WELY:  2 Sacred Songs (Alfn d’etre docile et sage; Mon fils pour apprendre) –Pythagore Vocal Ensemble/Géraldine Toutain, director; Vincent Genvrin (1946 Cavaillé-Coll/La Madeleine, Paris) Hortus 004

LEFÉBURE-WELY:  Andante (No. 1) and Sortie (No. 8) in B-flat –Alfred Müller (1977 Schuke-Berlin/St. Matthias Basilica, Trier, Germany) Psallite 60201

LEFÉBURE-WELY:  Bolero de Concert –David Britton (1987 Rosales/Trinity Cathedral, Portland, OR) Delos 3077

LEFÉBURE-WELY:  Sortie in E-flat –Timothy Smith (Aeolian-Skinner/Riverside Church, New York, NY) Pro Organo 7146

LEFÉBURE-WELY:  Pastorale (No. 16) and Offertoire (No. 15) in C, fr L’organiste modern –Richard Lea (1967 Walker/Metropolitan Cathedral, Liverpool, England) Priory 785

LEFÉBURE-WELY:  Sortie Missum redemptorem; Sortie in B-flat –La Lyre Séraphique; Vincent Genvrin (1862 Cavaillé-Coll/St. Sulpice, Paris) Hortus 005

A precocious and prolific talent, with more than 200 works in his catalog, Lefébure-Wely was the incarnation of the organ in the Second Empire.  Though often later derided for his popular style, Lefébure-Wely nevertheless was “an exceptionally talented dandy who, better than anyone, grasped the musical potential of the new voices and combinations of the evolving Cavaillé-Coll pipe organs to create music that was thrilling, renewing, impressive, and at even times heart-breaking.”