Press Release

New Atma Classique Release: Camille Saint-Saëns: Symphony no 3

March 7, 2006 — ATMA Classique is delighted to announce the release of the first recording of Saint-Saëns’ thrilling Organ Symphony by a Canadian label featuring a Canadian orchestra. Recorded using SACD format last December in Montréal’s St. Joseph Oratory, the CD features the brilliant young organist, Philippe Bélanger, together with the Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal under the direction of Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

Many previous recordings of the Saint-Saëns organ symphony have been made using post-synchronization techniques, where the orchestra and organ are recorded separately. The ATMA CD distinguishes itself in that the the orchestra and organ were recorded simultaneously and in the same acoustic environment, capturing the great solemnity and magnificence of the work.

Producer and ATMA President Johanne Goyette rose to the challege presented by the enormous scale and logistical detail the Oratory space imposed: some of the pipes of the great five-manual von Beckerath organ soar almost 100 feet in height, and the orchestra was arranged on the floor below the organ loft. A camera was installed in front of conductor Nézet-Séguin so that the organist could follow his beat. The nine-second reverberation time in the Oratory required that groups of microphones be placed strategically to record within the dense dynamic of the church while capturing every detail of the orchestral score.

Philippe Bélanger, official organist of St. Joseph’s Oratory, was nine years old when he was named organist at Saint Paul’s church in his native Aylmer, Québec. Since then, he has held posts as organist in the Ottawa region, at St. Rémi’s church and at Our Lady of Ottawa Cathedral Basilica, and in Montréal at Saint Matthias Church in Westmount, at the Presbyterian College, and at the Maison mére des Sœurs Grises. In 2002, he won the competition to become organist at St. Jospeh’s Oratory when he was just 27 years old. He has performed in Canada, the United States and France, and has been heard on CBC Radio’s French and English networks, and has recorded for the National Film Board of Canada. He won first prize in the John Robb Organ Competition of the Royal Canadian College of Organists, as well as first prize in the Ligue d’improvisation à l’orgue. Philippe Bélanger is also known for his love of organ building, and is currently artistic director of the manufacturing company Les Orgues Baumgarten.

The recording includes virtuoso works for organ composed by three contemporaries of Saint-Saëns: Guilmant, Vierne et Widor.

Available in retail outlets across Canada starting March 7, 2006 www.atmaclassique.com

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Media contact: Luisa Trisi, Big Picture Communications
416-481-1161; ltrisi@sympatico.ca

Camille Saint-Saëns: Symphony no 3

• Camille Saint-Saëns: Symphony no 3 in C minor, opus 78 “organ symphony”
• Alexandre Guilmant: Westminster Carillon
• Louis Vierne: March after Handel’s “Lift Up Your Heads” from Messiah
• Charles-Marie Widor: Allegro Vivace from Symphony no 6 for organ

Philippe Bélanger, organ
Orchestre Métropolitain de Grand Montréal
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor

[7193] News posted Thursday, March 2, 2006.