MOURLAN: Verset & Elévation, played on Shoninger parlor organ

Описание: Louis Mourlan was a 19th-century, Romantic French composer, organist and harmoniumiste, based in Toulouse. In 1870, Mourlan was named titulaire of a new Cavaillé-Coll pipe organ in the parish church of Notre-Dame de l'Assomption in Bagnères-de-Luchon, and Mourlan was later Maître de Chapelle at Notre-Dame de la Dalbade in Toulouse. All I have found are his Op. 11 “Les Voix Saintes de l’Organiste,” dedicated to the Archbishop of Toulouse, and his Op. 17 "Le Livre d'Or des Organistes," inscribed to Pope Léon XIII "aux premiers jours de Votre Pontificat," ergo c. 1878. These two books present sets of pieces grouped together by tonality, most comprising enough pieces for a Messe Basse (a low mass: a church service with eucharist, and an organ, but without a choir). This Verset and Elévation are from the E-flat major set in the Livre d'Or. The Verset calls for a treble 16' Clarionet for certain passages, and I played the Elévation on the 8' stops. The instrument is a splendid American reed organ from the mid-1870s, built by Bernard Shoninger in New Haven, Connecticut, and sold by Horace Waters in New York City with his stencil on it. This was Shoninger's "Centennial Model," an example of which was probably on display at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. The robust walnut cabinet is typical of Shoninger's complex designs. The carved round finials on each side may be removed, leaving candlestands; the music desk folds down to reveal a velvet-lined writing surface; the treadles are flanked with two recesses to store music, and may be concealed by sliding doors. The keyboard is ivory and ebony, five octaves C-C, with the action divided at E and F above middle C like a European harmonium. Besides the standard 8' and 4' ranks, there is a 16' Sub Bass in the lowest octave; a 16' Clarionet, 8' Concerto, and "Chimes" (tuned steel bells) in the treble, and a beater tremolo. This instrument was restored a few years ago by my friends Jim Tyler and George Lipp; it is part of Jim's personal collection in his San Francisco home. Performed by Michael Hendron; recorded 19 June 2025.