Vierne, L: Psyché, Op. 33

While Louis Vierne is best known for his organ works, his mélodies form a unique part of his oeuvre, reflecting not only his own tragic life but his reaction to the world around him in all its beauty and pain.

His vocal compositions can be both lyrical and anguished, deliberately contrasting moments of startling simplicity and elemental fury.

Based on the four seasons of the Napoleonic calendar – Floréal, Thermidor, Brumaire and Nivôse, Le poème de l’amour depicts human futility against the relentless force of nature, yet does so with music of great beauty.

In Psyché and Ballade du désespéré the artist searches for the meaning of life; in the former l'amour (love), in the latter la mort (death).

A sumptuous recording of French romantic music at its most ecstatic, led by the brilliant young French conductor Guillaume Tourniaire featuring tenor Steve Davislim and The Queensland Orchestra. Renowned as organist of the Cathédrale de Notre Dame de Paris, the tragedies of Vierne’s personal life are shot through these extraordinary unpublished pieces. The four ‘symphonic poems for voice and orchestra’ by Vierne are all world premiere recordings. Accompanying Vierne’s Poems on this release is Chausson’s masterpiece of 19th century French mélodie, Poème de l’amour et de la mer, recorded here for the first time by a tenor, the voice for which it was originally written.

Steve Davislim is one of Australia’s leading tenors and enjoys a stellar international career in the leading opera houses and concert halls of the world. “Steve Davislim is worth being spoken of in the same breath as his notable predecessors of similar voice - Peter Anders and Fritz Wunderlich - and praise can hardly be higher than that.” (Gramophone Magazine). The brilliant young French conductor Guillaume Tourniaire is currently enjoying a meteoric rise onto the international conducting stage. He continues his exciting groundbreaking work as a champion of world premières and rare music performances, including committing to disc the first recordings of Saint-Saëns’ Hélène and Nuit persane for Melba Recordings. He has also recorded the Mozart Clarinet Concerto with Paul Dean on Melba’s Sublime Mozart.