Joseph Jongen - Symphonie Concertante, Op. 81 (1926)

Marie-Alphonse-Nicolas-Joseph Jongen (14 December 1873 - 12 July 1953) was a Belgian organist, composer, and music educator.
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Symphonie Concertante, Op. 81 (1926)
Dedication: A mon Frère Léon
1. Allegro, molto moderato (in modo dorian) (0:00)
2. Divertimento (8:11)
3. Molto Lento (16:32)
4. Toccata (Moto perpetuo) (27:41)
Michael Murray, organ and the San Francisco Symphony conducted by Edo de Waart
His monumental Symphonie Concertante of 1926 is a tour de force, considered by many to be among the greatest works ever written for organ and orchestra. Numerous eminent organists of modern times (such as Virgil Fox, Alexander Frey, Jean Guillou, Michael Murray and Olivier Latry) have championed and recorded it. The work was commissioned by Rodman Wanamaker for debut in the Grand Court of his palatial Philadelphia department store, Wanamaker's. Its intended use was for the re-dedication of the world's largest pipe organ there, the Wanamaker Organ, as part of a series of concerts Rodman Wanamaker funded with Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Wanamaker's death in 1928 precluded the performance of the work at that time in the venue for which it was written, but it was finally performed for the first time with the Wanamaker Organ and the Philadelphia Orchestra on 27 September 2008.

[@DustyOldCowTown]

I love this piece, it means a lot to me.

[@stephenyusko6540]

By far the most striking and original work for organ and orchestra; especially since the organ part is practically a concerto. I have the Cranz organ part for this which unfortunately does not have the complete reduction when the organ is not playing. If folks like this there is Charles Widor's 3rd Organ symphony for ORGAN AND ORCHESTRA (op. 69)... Another astonishing piece of music practically unknown. There is a great recording of this using the Liverpool Cathedral organ with Ian Tracey on organ. (Chandos; it used to be on YT but has been removed) The Widor has a gorgeous anthem that runs through the piece appearing here and there in fascinating guises. The slow movement is devoted entirely to it. At the end it sounds like WW2 just ended...an unbelievable polyphony of the treat anthem at its absolute grandest. The final plagal cadence, inthis context

[@kempedkemp]

@Stephen Yusko: Not to mention Marcel Dupre's Symphony in G minor for organ and orchestra. I memorized that score for love alone.

[@steveegallo3384]

Outstanding masterpiece.....BRAVI from Mexico City!

[@heyguysinternet]

I find the sequence starting around 23:20 incredible, especially the subtle, surprising progression at 23:30. Just an amazing grasp of harmonic quality, color, depth. I was lucky to catch a very good performance of this piece early last year at Boston Symphony Hall -- especially memorable, as the piece was new to me.

[@neillog132]

Oreilles grandes ouvertes, l'esprit surplombant la médiocrité du Monde, sans rien dire je me laisse porter par ce grand flot vers un monde que je reconnais bien. Bouche bée. J'ai ce sentiment aussi à l'écoute de Charles Tournemire, mais c'est encore un voyage sur un autre tapis.

[@daveluttinen2547]

When I was young (in the 1960s), our church organist played the Toccata as a Recessional. I had no idea what it was - but I requested she play it - much to her annoyance. She played it very well, mind you. (She passed away in 2022.) Segue a number of years and I heard it played on a theater organ and asked the performer about it. Then I found the orchestral recordings and then had to have the music. That was when the nickel dropped as to what she had been playing and I had been so smitten. A remarkable piece of music in its entirety. The music sits on my home pipe organ (III/29). I'll never master it, but much of it I can play and it is a glorious way to spend time on the bench.

[@DustyOldCowTown]

15:58 to the end of the movement is just absolutely sublime. Where other composers would stop, Jongen says I’ll give you some more at 16:13

[@Troubleshooter125]

This recording has been part of my collection, both on vinyl and CD, for longer than I care to think. While I love the entire work, to me, the third movement is the real magic.

[@BearAZ]

Totally agree about the 3rd Mvt. It is beyond ravishing!

[@stephenjackson2479]

Spectacular pedal gliss in the penultmate bar of the Toccata, not in the score but on all KZbin recordings.

[@daveflanagan5723]

Magnificent Music. Especially the Toccata.

[@georgemurphy2579]

Everyone's favotite!

[@leoinsf]

This a magnificent orchestral composition with a virtuosic organ part. It is not an organ concerto: it is an organ symphony! Magnificent cohesion between instruments and organ in an accessible style which should knock an audience's socks off! Why in the hell is it so neglected? Poor Jongen, to have written such a perfect composition and it be neglected?

[@Danzig987]

When I first knew this piece back in the 1970s, it was indeed a neglected composition. Virgil Fox had the exclusive performing rights to it so it was performed only by him -- and he could only be in one place at one time. Fox also had the only recording of the music. But in the decades since, the piece has become better known, and more and more popular with each successive year. There are more than 15 commercial recordings, and these days the piece gives the Saint-Saens Organ Symphony a run for its money in concert for the simple reason that organists love playing this piece and every time it's presented, the audience response is electric. I see parallels with the Korngold Violin Concerto, which was barely known at all in the 1970s but in the last ten years has grown in stature to where it is performed in concert more often than any other violin concerti except for the Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky and maybe Mozart 3. These days, the Jongen is nearly at parity with the Saint-Saens 3, and it's certainly played more frequently than the Poulenc. That's only fitting, since Jongen's is THE ultimate showpiece for organ and orchestra -- bar none.

[@leoinsf]

@@Danzig987 Phillip, I really enjoyed your comment in every way. I am a pianist who plays at the organ. I have never gotten the Symphonie Concertante in published form, but played the "life" out of a recording I had of it. I agree that this piece is "THE ultimate showpiece for organ and orchestra - bar none." Frankly speaking, I like it better than the Saint-Saens 3rd, although Saint-Saens is a better composer all around. The Jongen absolutely "knocks the socks" off its audiences when they hear it. It is a thrilling piece that needs more performance!

[@mlowry]

I’ve owned this recording since I bought the Telarc CD way back when.We learned about the piece because the Hi-Fi shop where we bought our new amplifier was using this recording to show off their equipment. Such incredible music. I didn’t know until recently that the second movement is almost entirely in 7/4 time. Remarkable. Once while on a long bus trip, I listened to the Symphonie Concertante on my CD player using a good pair of Sony headphones. After the dramatic first two movements, I enjoyed the lovely third movement so much that as the last notes faded into nothingness, I drifted off to sleep. Needless to say, the toccata woke me up again. I will remember that moment every time I listen to this pice of music. :)

[@johnbender5393]

OK, no s***, when my father upgraded his hi-fi system in 1992 (with a Marantz 150 wpc 0.008 distortion), he asked me to come home from college to test it out with one of my organ CDs, and I used the exact same Telarc CD, I still have it !!

[@ShorkGamer]

So amazing! Many Thanks for this find!

[@scottw9318]

One of my favorite pieces of music. Thanks for posting this with the score so we can follow along!

[@gapont2]

Quelle musique géniale. Un bonheur de trouvailles sonores.

[@senafan]

THANK you for posting this! I've never been able to get my hands on an orchestra score before!

[@georgemurphy2579]

Viegil Fox owned an original copy ... and ... could play the orchestral parts along with the organ part.

[@senafan]

@@georgemurphy2579 Yes, there's video up here of him doing it... and I personally think Jongen would be appalled.

[@DustyOldCowTown]

Maybe it’s just me but I notice a lot of influences from fellow Belgian composer also from Liege, Cesar Franck, his theory of frequent modulation evident in the toccata.

[@MrClaudeholmes]

Definitely this recorded performance with MR. Murray & the SFS on the TELARC CD is my favorite. I was quite fortunate to attend this performance in Philadelphia's famous Wanamaker Department Store - Now aka MACY's. The Wanamaker building's acoustic's is excellent with the Wanamaker Organ for this composed piece & was performed quite well too , and was also recorded live - for a historical anniversary celebration . But I still prefer this piece on the TELARC CD which give my music system a good work, from the softest range - to the floor rumble of the finale - every time *

[@scottw6704]

I have worn that CD out since I came across it in... '91 I think! It's one of the reasons I insist on CD players in whatever vehicle I end up with. I know, iTunes...but. Some stuff you just can't find there.

[@stephenyusko6540]

Continuing from immediately below: The final plagal cadence,in this context, is mind blowing.

[@nicholas72611]

17:17 WOW!!!

[@scottw6704]

I keep playing that part over and over, analyzing it doesn't give you half of the experience just listening to that bit does. But it's still fun to imagine Jongen's head working the harmony out.

[@Smin-f3h]

gives me impressionistic vibes! This music should be more known!

[@scottw6704]

It all depends on the building itself rather than the orchestra that plays there; since there is not a great deal of organ+orchestra repertoire it''s essential that the venue be somewhat centered on the organ already. Obviously, this is ideal for churches, but not necessarily orchestras which have different acoustical requirements. Thus, this piece isn't performed an awful lot. I wish it were!

[@davidrehak3539]

Joseph Jongen:Symphonie Concertante Op.81 1.Allegro,molto moderato (in modo dorian) 00:05 2.Divertimento 08:11 3.Molto lento 16:32 4.Toccata:Moto perpetuo) 27:41 Michael Murray-orgona San Franciscói Szimfonikus Zenekar Vezényel:Edo de Waart

[@tobinluto]

Thanks so much for posting this!

[@BearAZ]

I've wanted to see the full score to this work for decades. Thank you so much for creating this video including it!

[@Mezzotenor]

Really, really fun to see how methodically orchestrated this piece is. The final movement comes off as a deliciously nutty romp, but apart from that, the work is a fine specimen of craftsmanship, if a tad conservative in its melodic contours and crème brûlée harmonies.

[@Lostcreekwv1]

This has to be the greatest piece of music that has ever been written.

[@WinrichNaujoks]

Don't be absurd!

[@Kewlpipes]

Let's say it is the best piece for Organ and Orchestra ever written. I was gobsmacked the first time I heard this as a teenager.

[@ryangiraldi5722]

Definitely ONE of the best...

[@michaelkollner9710]

einfach nur - GEIL!!!!!

[@anthonyhk]

Magnum opus !

[@kempedkemp]

Thanks much for putting up the score!

Amazing channel.

[@JakeRazorClawson]

Elegant yet aggressive, lovely balance of atmosphere 💓 💞 💖

[@EdnaManley-wf8qn]

The toccata would be an Awesome prelude for Easter Sunday

[@sergiovicogimena5979]

UNA OBRA MAESTRA DE TODOS LOS TIEMPOS. CONTIENE UNA MAGIA, ADEMÁS DE UN PODER MÍSTICO INDESCRIPTIBLES, CON EL PROTAGONISMO ABSOLUTO DEL BELLO INSTRUMENTO, EN INTEGRIDAD SONORA, CON UN CIERRE EN EL 4° MOV. EN TOCCATTA DESCOMUNAL. TENGO UNA GRABACIÓN DE ÉSTA OBRA, EN UN FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL REALIZADO EN EL AUDITORIUM DE SAN JUAN (REPÚBLICA ARGENTINA), REALMENTE HERMOSO EN SONIDO Y EJECUTANTES DE MARAVILLA (ORQUESTA SINFÓNICA DE LA U.N.S.J). QUE SE REALIZÓ APROXIMADAMENTE EN EL AÑO 2.000. FASCINANTE Y BELLA OBRA.-

[@innocenzobarrera1505]

Magnifica !

[@Classic336]

At first I thought that this symphony is a "simple", "naive" symphony (similar to the symphonies of the Classical period) but then with all the augmented chords and the 7/4 meter, I changed my mind. It's a symphony of its time. Not Classical, not Romantic, neither post-Romantic, nor Neo-Classical. Early 20th-century.

[@DavidA-ps1qr]

Good comment George. Not being an admirer of Belgium music (what little there is on the grand scale of things) or anything Belgium for that matter, you are absolutely right. It doesn't fit into the grand scheme of things and that in itself makes it interesting.

[@BostonBum15]

Just curious, after how long did it take you to realize that this is not "simple and naive"? Because to me many of those early 20th century qualities you mentioned seem present to me in the first few pages of the score.

[@fabiangutierrez339]

@@BostonBum15 It could've been based on assumption listening to the first few bars. But very soon, they were caught off guard by the modern sound of it.

[@lehardyjean7534]

@@DavidA-ps1qr go back to your cancel culture!

[@anibalvivanco5960]

​@@DavidA-ps1qrAfter 4 years of your goofs, it's likely you have finally realized that 'Belgium' is a country in Europe, and there's no such thing as 'Belgium music', as there's no 'Mexico music', either! Back to elementary school!

[@FreakieFan]

Am I the only one who thinks that the orchestral part of the final movement sounds like it came straight from a Star Wars film? (Vise versa of course) It’s uncanny to me, especially the brass parts.

[@Leofiora]

John Williams has ''copied & pasted'' from here.

[@FreakieFan]

@@Leofiora It sounds as such doesn't it?

[@Leofiora]

@@FreakieFanYes!

[@Leofiora]

@@FreakieFan El tipo de contraste entre las cuerdas y los brass es muy similar a los arreglos de John Williams en el tema de Star Wars y tambien el de E.T. Los musicos de cine han tomado mucho de los compositores de esta epoca de 1915 a 1940. Sobre todo de Erich Korngold y Rachmaninoff. y de Gershwin por supuesto!

[@segmentsAndCurves]

the Divertimento is :chefkiss:

[@BearAZ]

Was the full score found in some library? Otherwise, I'd always thought the full score/parts were available only on rental.

[@bartjebartmans]

It is on IMSLP

[@BearAZ]

@@bartjebartmans DOH!! Thank you very much.

[@antoonpauw1993]

As usual the organ part is recorded from too far, the strings are always too loud.

[@davidmtz2175]

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