Mark Steinbach, Cavaillé-Coll organ (1880), Saint-François-de-Salles, Lyon

AEOLUS AE-11401 [54’30]

★★★★

This is another typically elegantly presented, if slightly stingy, release from Aeolus. Mark Steinbach, organist at Brown University in Rhode Island, performs La Nativité on one of the best-preserved organs from Cavaillé-Coll’s later period. That said, I’m not entirely convinced by Steinbach’s conviction that the Lyon organ closely resembles the organ at La Trinité prior to Messiaen’s substantial intervention of 1962-67. The publication and premiere of La Nativité are surely closely tied to the initial changes directed by Messiaen in 1935 and, in particular, the addition of independent flute-scale mutations on both Positif and Récit. In Lyon, the Nazard is notably absent at the opening of Les Bergers for instance. And, if Steinbach’s playing is uniformly excellent, I wonder if it’s also a bit quick on occasion; Messiaen himself takes a minute longer over Les Bergers, a minute longer over Les Mages (Steinbach’s may be the quickest on record) and fully three minutes longer over Le Verbe. The ubiquitous void between Messiaen’s recordings and his written instructions inevitably renders questions such as those of tempo highly subjective however; ultimately this is a beautifully recorded La Nativité on one of the most beautiful organs in France.

This article originally appeared in the Autumn 2024 issue of Choir & Organ. Never miss an issue – subscribe today