Following his PASCHENrecords debut “200 Jahre Franz Liszt – Facetten seiner Orgelmusik” (200 Years Franz Liszt – Facets of his Organ Music), which was nominated for the German Record Critics’ Award in 2015, the organist Denny Ph. Wilke again devotes himself to Liszt’s oeuvre on “French Roots.” As the title suggests, all recorded pieces are strongly linked to France. Thus, Liszt bases the monumental composition “Fantasy and Fugue on the chorale ‘Ad nos, ad salutarem undam’” on a hymn from the opera “Le Prophète” by Giacomo Meyerbeer. “Funérailles”, originally a part of Liszt’s piano cycle “Harmonies poétiques et religieuses,” appears in an adaptation by the French composer Jeanne Demessieux. The central piece of “French Roots,” however, are the “Variations on Bach’s ‘Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen’” as adapted by Marcel Dupré. While this transcription was long thought to be lost, Duprés adaptation has now been recorded here for the very first time. The great Seifert organ of St. Mary's Basilica in Kevelaer (Germany) was carefully chosen as a suitable instrument for the programme as it unifies German and French organ building traditions of the early 20th century. Denny Ph. Wilke, who has shown extraordinary musicality and has worked extensively on Liszt’s oeuvre on his first CD, fascinates again with both gripping virtuosity and atmospheric clarity on his new recording. Enjoy a unique sound experience on “French Roots” of – in many respects – great dimensions!
