Jean-Baptiste Dupont - Jean-Baptiste Dupont: Improvisations (2019/2020)

Approaching listening to a improvisation disc is by definition a "terra incognita". The sound universe of Jean-Baptiste Dupont is so original and personal that it captivates the listener with a spontaneous and apparently unexpected speech. It is undoubtedly with this that one expects to be touched, or in any case hooked, by a world which is alternately effervescent and dreamy.

This recording offers two suites, followed by two poems. The first suite, made up of seven pieces, evokes by its titles a work such as Louis Vierne had constructed in his Pieces of Fantasy: Prélude, Adagio, Fileuse, Sicilienne, Choral, Andantino and Postlude. Each title speaks for itself evokes an atmosphere suitable for developing an idea, a climate, and even more a properly musical path, nourished by melodies and rhythms. The colors of the organ follow one another to the point of going around all that the 71 games can offer, just like in the rest of the program. This set of pieces offers a discourse more in reference with some music from the past, whose inspirations do not replace instant creation, but rather to nourish it harmoniously, such as some evocation.

The second suite, made up of ten so-called free-style improvisations, explores other avenues. Names like Water drops, Maelstrom or Soubresauts among others, offer research on some steep terrain where the listener never miraculously gets lost. Some improvisations can evoke great improvisers from the past. We think in particular of Jehan Alain, Pierre Cochereau or Jean Guillou, each in his own way. But at no time did the benevolent shade of these masters really hinder or influence the personal and springing song of Jean-Baptiste Dupont.

The disc ends with two poems: Incantation and Embrasement. Most of the previous improvisations oscillated between two and five minutes, the latter two are more developed and are around ten minutes. Particularly constructed in thought, they could appear as real compositions. The impact of these pieces is impressive, somewhere between a purely symphonic style and another more avant-garde. The excessive dissonance is discarded in favor of a harmony more comfortable to the ear.

The history of the organ of the cathedral of Saint-Albans in England begins in its modern period as early as 1906. It was in 1962 that the firm Harrison and Harrison gave it its current form, with some additional improvements completed in 2009. This organ is one of the most beautiful witnesses of the English invoice of the XXth century, thanks to very precise characteristics concerning the style even of this kind of instrument, and profiting especially from a harmonization (setting in sounds) of the most successful. The electropneumatic transmission of keyboards provides great flexibility for the organist’s game, essential for freeing himself from any hindrance linked to the speed of note execution.

Since 1963, Saint-Albans has hosted an International Organ Festival with an improvisation competition. Six French organists have since won this competition, including Jean-Baptiste Dupont in 2009. This recording shows us how rich and fertile the young French school of improvisation is. These works are the expression of an inner impulse, filled with cheerful, meditative and energetic moods, magically transmitted to the listener, like so many enchanted gifts.