Number 7 on our list of the top 50 classical recordings of all-time is a legendary recording of Saint-Saens’ Symphony no. 3 “Organ”, a recording by the Boston Symphony Orchestra led by Charles Munch. It was recorded in 1959 by RCA Victor as part of their state-of-the-art at the time “Living Stereo” Stereo-Orthophonic High Fidelity Recording series. It sounds astonishingly good for its age, and the performance is white-hot.
Saint-Saens and the “Organ” Symphony
The French composer Camille Saint-Saens died in December 2021, so we are now a century from his death. To commemorate the great composer, there have been many new recordings and articles in classical music publications recently. Arguably Saint-Saens’ greatest composition was the so-called “organ” symphony, which he composed in 1886. It is not really an organ symphony, but rather he titled it Symphonie No. 3 “avec orgue” (with organ). Indeed, the organ only appears in the second and final movements, and the organ is silent during the greater majority of the piece. It had its first performance on May 19, 1886 at St. James Hall in London in a concert by the Royal Philharmonic Society.
In addition to the bold move of adding organ to a symphony, there was the addition of piano in a few parts which also adds to the color palette in an interesting way. Saint-Saens also divided the symphony into two parts, although in reality the four major sections are still easily identified. There are many original touches in the orchestration as well.
At the time of the symphony’s composition, there were relatively few French symphonies around. Remember, classical music was dominated by the German speaking world, especially Haydn and Beethoven. But in the 1850s, that began to change with Saint-Saens, Bizet, and Gounod all composing fresh and lively symphonies. Even in an age of cultural conflict, and political defeat at the hands of the Prussians, ironically the French composers still relied on the existing German models, especially Beethoven, for inspiration (with the exception of Berlioz, he was a case unto himself). It was nothing less than a national effort to compose “French” symphonies, and Saint-Saens was at the forefront.
Although Saint-Saens was a prodigious composer, he had not written a symphony since 1859. The symphony was commissioned by the Royal Philharmonic Society in 1885. Saint-Saens was touring around Germany at that time, and he had recently published a book titled Harmonie et melodie. In the book, Saint-Saens took the view that Wagner was not to be included in the pantheon of great German composers (Saint-Saens was especially fond of Mozart), and that he was not a good model for young composers. Of course this was heresy in Germany, and Saint-Saens was mercilessly attacked in the press. In fact, some cities refused to welcome him. Nevertheless, Saint-Saens began work on his symphony with clear homage to the giants of the symphonic form, Beethoven and Schubert.
Famously, when the symphony was finally played in Paris later in 1886, Gounod came from the concert declaring “Voila le Beethoven francais!” (“Here we have the French Beethoven!”). The symphony’s final movement’s beginning is started with a huge, grandiose C major chord played on the organ, and there is a big theme introduced accompanied by a lovely piano part. It will certainly leave an impression on you. Although the final movement suggests joyful triumph, the symphony as a whole is more varied. There are a few more searching passages, as well as some truly beautiful passages with the strings singing out (especially in the poco adagio second movement).
Saint-Saens was truly proud of his work, and he knew he had put his whole heart into it. He was quoted as saying, “I have given it all that I had to give. What I have done I shall never do again.”
The recording at hand by the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Charles Munch is one of my favorite recordings of all time. Charles Munch was Alsatian born, and through his 13 year tenure in Boston (1949-1962), he championed a lot of French music, particularly Debussy and Ravel. Due to being one of the primary orchestras used by the RCA Victor label for recordings during that time, and also touring the USA and the world extensively, Munch became very well-known. Boston also had the benefit of one of the greatest concert halls in the world, Symphony Hall. If you have ever been to Symphony Hall, you know the prominent position the organ is given on stage. This made for a natural opportunity for Munch to record Saint-Saens’ “Organ” symphony for RCA.
Munch was sometimes faulted for not being very subtle in his conducting style, and at times his recordings are almost too overt and in your face. However, it is this very style that I find works quite well with this symphony. There is nothing “routine” about it, but rather it almost feels like a live recording where the orchestra’s playing is on fire. The first movement is taken a pretty fast clip, and this only adds to the excitement. While you have to keep your hand on the volume in a few places, the strings and brass are captured gloriously here, and Munch presses forward in all the appropriate places. The organ part is played by Berj Zamkochian, sensitively in the second movement, and then to spine-tingling effect in the final. The organ symphony presents challenges in recordings especially, due to the difficulty of keeping the balance properly between the organ and orchestra. You will notice at the beginning of the huge final part, there are some significant distortion levels very audible with the organ. If anything, I think this adds to the realization that this was a groundbreaking recording that was trying to capture a wide dynamic picture.
Listen for example to the orchestral climaxes in the louder passages. The way the orchestra attacks the notes and the crescendos, along with the perfectly times brass fanfares are exactly what I am looking for in this symphony. Munch’s tendency to overemphasize staccato playing, something you might have also heard with Toscanini, for me is just right for this symphony. I also believe this is the finest recording ever made in Symphony Hall, Boston. It shows off the acoustical merits of the hall in a special way.
So this is truly a white-not performance of a grandiose symphony, recorded with state-of-the-art technology of the time. I would never want to be without it. There are other fine recordings of the “organ” symphony, but none of them put all the pieces together the way this one does. The other pieces on the album, Debussy’s La Mer and Ibert’s Escales, are also given fine performances if not at the same level of the Saint-Saens. In those pieces, Munch’s style doesn’t work nearly as well due to the quiet, more subtle passages. But the Saint-Saens is the star of the show.
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Burk, John 1959. A Hi-Fi Spectacular! Saint-Saens Symphony No. 3. Debussy La Mer. Ibert Escales. RCA Victor Living Stereo Liner Notes. Pp. 3-7.
Macdonald, Hugh 2013. Camille Saint-Saens, Symphony no. 3, Opus 78 (“Organ Symphony”). Boston Symphony Program Notes, Week 19. 2012-2013 Season. Pp. 43-49.