Franz Hauk, ever-resourceful organist of Ingolstadt Minster, has been dredging the libraries and publishers’ back-catalogues to unearth repertoire for organ and orchestra beyond the usual diet of Poulenc Concerto and Saint-Saens Symphony. Whether everything on this lavishly packaged pair of discs can realistically be described as ‘Triumphal’ is a moot point. Saint-Saens’ charming Serenade (a gorgeous quartet for harp, violin, viola and organ which deserves to be far better known) is graceful and genteel, while Guilmant’s uneventful ‘Adoration’ for organ and string orchestra never seems to rise above a humble piano throughout its seven minutes of deep, introspective prayer. But there is sufficient music with truly triumphalist tendencies to prevent any feeling of deception. Perhaps the arrogant triumphalism of the brass introduction to Gounod’s wholly uncharacteristic Fantasia on the Russian National Hymn (the old pre-Bolshevik one, that is, familiar to all through Tchaikovsky’s 1812) is not sustained, but Dubois’ gloriously pompous Fantaisie triomphale certainly lives up to its name, and of all the opulent, majestic and, yes, triumphal works for organ and symphony orchestra, none in my opinion can hold a candle to Guilmant’s Second Symphony, here given a truly stirring performance.
Hauk is a thorough, if sometimes uninspiring player, and on the evidence of his discography is far more at home in the music of baroque Germany than romantic France. Nevertheless, these are immaculately measured performances in which every detail is painstakingly prepared. He is blessed with a flawless technique, and there is no doubting that even in repertoire which might seem more the preserve of a grand French romantic organ rather than a 1977 Klais, the Ingolstadt organ is a joy to behold. The recording is most sympathetic, getting a realistic enough balance under appallingly difficult conditions between organ and orchestra, capturing a generous but unobtrusive measure of the Ingolstadt acoustic, and providing a gloriously clear and broad soundscape which fully supports the majestic nature of some of these pieces while providing a deliciously atmospheric backdrop to the more subdued pieces – hear how Samson Gonaschwili’s violin soars magically heavenward in the closing bars of Saint-Saens’ touching Romance.
The Mexican conductor Alfredo Ibarra keeps it all moving along effortlessly, pacing its climaxes nicely, avoiding the self-indulgence which could so easily creep into music where sound rather than substance is often the raison d’etre, and injecting a wonderful sense of drama where it matters most – particularly over the long drawn-out introduction to the Guilmant Symphony. The Ingolstadt Philharmonic is not always flawless in matters of ensemble, tuning or accuracy, but what they lack in finesse they more than make up for in fire, passion and commitment. All in all, two highly recommended discs for those who love a triumphant sound (with occasional reflective interludes).'