Louis Vierne’s 24 Pièces de fantaisie are well established in the organ repertoire, though specific selections—particularly Clair de lune, op. 53/5, the Toccata, op. 53/6, and Carillon de Westminster, op. 54/6—have assumed independent lives of their own. Herewith is a list of the complete sets I have been able to locate. Unfortunately the majority are out of print and only available as downloads.

As with so much of the later 19th and early 20th century French repertoire, Vierne wrote his pieces with the sound of a Cavaillé-Coll organ very much in his mind—in his case, his home instrument in the cathedral of Notre Dame. Of these 10 sets, five—Labric, Litaize, Latry, Baker, and van Oosten—were recorded on Cavaillé-Coll instruments (Latry at Notre Dame). Some devotees accordingly will insist on a Cavaillé-Coll as a desideratum for a recording; I prefer it, all other things being equal, but am hardly a stickler on that point.

It should be said up front that none of these sets is less than good overall, meaning that a choice will come down to three factors: interpretive approach, choice of instrument, and recorded sound. For myself, the winnowing process narrowed the choices considerably in short order. The premiere Pierre Labric recordings originally appeared on the Grand Orgue label on LP. The original masters were subsequently lost, and Solstice had to use a mixture of second-generation copies of those plus some LPs for its CD issue. Interpretively Labric is excellent, but the sound has serious limitations, and a certain amount of detail is obscured, so his set can be recommended only to collectors with a historical interest. While Gaston Litaize has both the requisite style and technique, his approach is simply not to my taste; his choices of stops are rather quirky, gauged to magnify dissonances in the overtones and make Vierne sound as progressive and as close to Litaize’s own more advanced compositional idiom as possible. Wolfgang Rübsam is an organist whose playing I generally do not like; I find him to be the least idiomatic interpreter here, with thick-textured renditions hampered by a soupy recorded acoustic. Latry again has the technique and basic idiom, but he sometimes opts for rather heavy registrations, and there is a surprising amount of background hiss and other occasional noises in his set. The version by van der Steen, while estimable, is long out of print and has a rather reverberant acoustic.

With George C. Baker we reach the first in-print set to which I can give an unreserved recommendation. Although the recorded sound does not equal that of the best organ recordings being made today it is still very good, every interpretive element is outstanding, and the instrument is the lovely Cavaillé-Coll of the Church of Saint-Ouen de Rouen. It would be a mistake to rule out Günther Kaunzinger, as a German organist playing on a German instrument; he was a pupil of Marie-Claire Alain, Maurice Duruflé, and Jean Guillou, has a perfect grasp of this music, plays with great energy, and finds thoroughly suitable counterparts on his instrument to the stops on a Cavaillé-Coll. Ben van Oosten’s complete Vierne set has rightly been highly praised; he follows Latry in favoring heavier registrations, but he has much better recorded sound, and along with Baker his is one of the two best sets to feature a Cavaillé-Coll (in this instance at the Church of Saint-Antoine des Quinze-Vingts). Readers of these pages will recall the praises I lavished on Bernhard Buttmann’s complete Reger cycle. His Vierne is not in the same class, though; like Rübsam his textures are overly dense and his reverberant recorded acoustic magnifies that. Similar things can be said of Kay Johannsen’s cycle, except that in addition I find his instrument (the organ of the Frauenkirche in Dresden) not well suited to this repertoire either. In sum, of the predecessors to the current release, I would especially recommend van Oosten, Baker, and Kaunzinger—and how fortunate it is that the first two of those comprise parts of the two complete sets of Vierne organ works!

So, where does this new set, on the performer’s own CD label, rank in the competition? Quite highly. Daniel Bruun has all the dexterity one expects from organ virtuosos nowadays; his articulation is always agile and clear, his sense of both meter and rhythm well grounded, and his tempos nicely judged. His selection of stops and registrations on the 2015 Carsten Lund organ in the Hellerupland Church (located in a suburb of Copenhagen) is entirely apt, with a lovely lightness and transparency of textures. The recorded sound is outstanding for vividness and sharpness of detail. The excellent booklet notes, also by Bruun, not only describe each piece in detail, but provide all of their individual dedications by Vierne to various friends and colleagues. Full specifications for the instrument and an artist bio also are provided. Make this set a fourth top recommendation from me for the Fantaisies. 
 
James A. Altena - for Fanfare Magazine, July/Aug 2021

Extensive Louis Vierne recordings in the Nordic countries aren’t particularly common, but now Daniel Bruun, organist in Helleruplund Kirke in Copenhagen, has released a double CD with a complete recording of 24 Pièces de Fantaisie. The centrepiece of the recording is Carsten Lund’s French Romantic organ with 43 stops, III/P, from 2015.

Louis Vierne’s 24 Pièces de Fantaisie is a rich source to draw from. Daniel Bruun, who studied with Hans Fagius, David Sanger, Jan Willem Jansen and Michel Bouvard amongst others, plays wonderfully, with great feeling and care. The organ of Helleruplund Kirke carries great depth and variation, with a convincing tone particularly suited to French Romantic music – when played by someone who knows the instrument, that is. And Daniel Bruun certainly does. He was even greatly committed already when the organ came to be.

The text booklet of the double CD (in English) provides a lot of insights and information of interest. In the commentary for each piece, Daniel Bruun provides not only a short form analysis, but also other interesting facts. Unique to this recording is that the reader is also gifted with information about who the people whom Vierne dedicated each piece to were.

Daniel Bruun already has multiple critically acclaimed CD recordings on the international stage behind him. In other words, there’s good reason to be on the lookout for when the next recording is released!

Mats Larsson - for Orgelforum, March 2021

It is almost embarrassing to admit it, but the author of this review did not actually play a single organ work by Vierne in the anniversary year 2020. I cannot blame the corona either, it was completely different concert projects that went down the drain for me. Fortunately, there were plenty of other organists at home and abroad who marked the 150th anniversary of Vierne's birth with concert series, tours, CD recordings and other events. Naturally, there has been a lot of focus on the organ symphonies, but Vierne’s other works really also deserves attention. The Danish concert organist Daniel Bruun has thus marked the anniversary by recording Vierne’s 24 Pièces de Fantaisie. Like the simpler, and perhaps more played «24 Pièces en style libre», the 24 fantasy pieces use all major and minor keys, but in contrast to the «sister work», this collection is organized by the composer in 4 suites of 6 movements , not unlike for example Grieg's lyrical pieces for piano.

Daniel Bruun is organist in Helleruplund church, Denmark, where he plays on the church's Carsten Lund organ (43 stops), which he also inaugurated in 2015. Bruun has a very confident sense of rhythm and timing. The dry acoustics in Helleruplund church make this extra important, and the combination of performer, church room and instrument is virtually a unity on this recording. When it comes to the organ, the romantic voicing of the instrument suits Vierne's music very well. Although the instrument is by no means a stylistic copy of Cavaillé-Coll, the instrument speaks very good French, so to speak. Not least, I was very excited about the reeds in this repertoire. It is also interesting here to compare the sound of the organ with the previous Daniel Bruun record I reviewed for Norsk Kirkemusikk. He then played, on the same instrument, Schumann's canonical studies, a (very good) transcription of Mendelssohn's piano work Variations Sérieuses, Liszt's prelude and fugue over B-A-C-H and the Reubke sonata. I myself was impressed with the organ in the early romantic repertoire, but missed a bit of colors in both Liszt and Reubke. This is completely absent on this recording. This may be to some extent due to the fact that 24 Pièces de Fantaisie is for the most part more chamber-musically laid out than the great works by Liszt and Reubke, and thus does not suffer from the disposition of "only" 43 stops. However, I would also argue that this Carsten Lund organ in general is even better suited to French than to German romance organ music. The more symphonic single movements, such as the well-known Carillon de Westminster, are interpreted very convincingly here.

It is always exciting to hear Vierne in the small musical forms, and it is interesting that he manages to create a whole through each individual suite, even if each movement is written in a new key. Daniel Bruun's sense of form must also be emphasized here. He manages in a very convincing way to bring out the large form in a material that at the first listening can appear a bit fragmented. If I have to make a tiny personal objection, it is against the choice not to play the suites in the composer's own order. Daniel Bruun is by no means the first do this, in order to end with the previously mentioned Carillon de Westminster, but such a shapely and inspiring musician as Bruun could safely have allowed himself to rely on the composer's own chronology, with Les Cloches de Hinckley as an equally stately ending.

In short, this is an excellent recording of a repertoire that is not played as much as it deserves. I also look forward to hearing more of Daniel Bruun, who in addition to active concert activities, has for many years already spread his organ art on YouTube.

Øystein Jæger - for Norsk Kirkemusikk, January 2021

Daniel Bruun clearly has great affection for Vierne’s colourful suite of 24 pieces. The 2015 Carsten Lund organ is built in French symphonic style and, while modest in size, has the complete palette of sounds for these works. Yes, we may lack the Gothic ambience of a large cathedral to enhance pieces like Fantômes, but there is a beguiling intimacy to these performances enhanced by some beautifully understated playing. The only curiosity is a clanging wrong note at the end of the Carillon de Westminster. Otherwise, this is a fine recording augmented by Bruun’s informative sleeve notes.

Rupert Gough - for Choir & Organ, January 2021

French organ music

It makes perfect sense that the cover of a new double CD with organ music by the French composer Louis Vierne shows a selection of Paris seen from the top of the Notre Dame Cathedral – easily recognizable on one of the famous cathedral's characteristic gargoyles. Vierne, who lived from 1870 to 1937, had in 1900 won the place as organist at Notre Dame.

The recording features 24 "fantasy pieces" by Louis Vierne, divided into four suites – and evenly spread across the two CDs. On the first we get his "Première suite", opus 51, and his "Quatrième suite", opus 55. The second offers his "Deuxième suite", opus 53, and "Troisième suite", opus 54. The music originates from the end of the 1920s and is characterized by strong uniformity and logical structure – while the numerous swarming sequences that can stimulate the listener's imagination alternate with more powerful passages.

It is the Danish organist Daniel Bruun who plays the 24 Vierne pieces on the organ in Helleruplund Church in northern Copenhagen. He possesses a distinguished technique and must be said to have fine prerequisites in this repertoire. Back in 2013, he released his first CD, entitled "French Impressions” that contained works by Bonnal, Roger-Ducasse, Cochereau, Duruflé… and also Louis Vierne. The following year, he presented on YouTube a video recording of Johann Sebastian Bach's Clavier-Übung III. It has been viewed more than 200,000 times at the time of writing!

This release must arouse great enthusiasm for anyone with an interest in organ music.

Peter Dürrfeld - for Kristeligt Dagblad, January 2021

The first CD with music played on the new Carsten Lund organ in Helleruplund has been recorded by the church's organist since 2009, Daniel Bruun. Bruun studied in Denmark under Hans Fagius and Hans Ole Thers, in London under David Sanger and in Toulouse under Jan Willem Jansen and Michel Bouvard. All of these exceptional teachers have contributed to the development of a talented organist in his own right with a great musicality and delightful virtuosity.

On this CD he has chosen to represent the organ with a number of highly romantic, German works composed within a brief golden period from 1841-1870, by Liszt (the 1870 version of Fantasy Prelude and Fugue on the Theme B-A-C-H), Schumann (Six Studies in Canonical Form), Mendelssohn and Reubke (Psalm 94). The CD is entitled Variations Sérieuses, named after Mendelssohn's work of the same name for the piano in a transcription by Reitze Smits. With this title, Bruun reinforces the same close connection between the music for keyboard instruments at that time; Liszt composed many of his works in versions for both piano and organ, Schumann experimented with pedal board pianos, and Reubke had a serious companion piece to the famed organ sonata on the 94th Psalm, a grand piano sonata in B Minor.

The organ presents itself beautifully despite the relatively poor resonance, with 43 registers divided between three manuals and a pedal board, with a scope from manual to A'', pedal to F. As always with a Carsten Lund, there are strong characteristics in all registers; Bruun makes varied and inventive use of the organ, for example the beautiful cromorne in the positive work gives surprising and excellent results. An organ with relatively few registers such as this one, despite a large number of 8' registers, cannot react orchestrally, that is to say with barely perceptible transitions between piano and forte, but regardless, there is much that succeeds. To my ears at least the treble is too powerfully intoned, which backfires a little in the six Schumann canons, where accidental emphasis arises, because the same register is so different at the bottom from the top. The Reubke sonata becomes very powerful very quickly, and this disturbs the very long climatic build-ups, which then delivers a certain ambiguity.

Despite not being a fan of transcriptions, I believe that the organ shows its best side in Variations sérieuses. This is perhaps contrary to the nature of the work, as it does not have the same tone as on the piano, where it builds up and intensifies, in that the registrations with Bruun benefits the individual characters of the variations in a different way, but it is precisely here that the powerful intonation is achieved in the highest octaves with no trouble at all. The lyrical organ has a rather hard time of it with the acoustics of the church, but both Bruun's sense of rhythm, control of accelerando etc. and clear organ tones show a wonderful musician throughout all the works.

The small booklet includes an interesting article by Bruun about the composers and works featured on the CD, while an explanation of the arrangement of the organ can be found on the cover itself.

A nicely put-together website about the organ is worth visiting at www.helleruplundorglet.dk, where there is not only a wealth of images but also a wonderfully instructive (though it could have been less hasty) video about the dismantling of the old organ and commissioning of the new, accompanied by appropriate organ music. I have no doubt that this would make ideal viewing for a class of confirmands.

Birgitte Ebert - for Orglet, December 2017

This imaginative recital of 19th-century Germanic organ music offers two significantly different kinds of challenges. It’s anchored in two standard blockbusters, idiomatically written by two brilliant organists to highlight the performer’s virtuoso control of the instrument. But if those works play to the organ’s strengths, the two works in between demand that the performer, in a sense, play against the instrument. For both were originally written for the piano (or pedal piano in the case of the Schumann), and both make their strongest case when the performer manages to resist the organ’s inclination toward sustained tones. (In a sense, Liszt’s later piano version of the BACH work does the same in reverse, asking a pianist to mimic the very different qualities of an organ).

Youngish Danish organist Daniel Bruun certainly holds his own. The big works are confidently set out, with a wide range of color (there’s no fear of extroversion in evidence here), plenty of drama (the end of the Reubke is especially thrilling), a good sense of the rhythmic ebb and flow, a Romantic sensitivity to the grand gestures of the music, and a technical control that allows him to navigate the thorniest passages without stumbling. The Schumann sounds almost like an organ work here, too; and if I’m marginally less happy with the Mendelssohn, it’s less a consequence of any weakness on Bruun’s part than because, even with the adjustments transcriber Reitze Smits has made, an organ performance can’t really convey the work’s sharp profile, something you’ll feel especially strongly if you know the work from the classic and very pianistic performances by Horowitz and Richter. Yes, there are moments where the organ’s capabilities help out. On an organ, for instance, you can sustain the bass of the ritenuto before the final Presto without resorting to left-hand octave tremolos. Then, too, many of Bruun’s interpretive moves pay off (listen to how well he plays up the quirks of the fourth variation). But too many of the busy inner workings of the music are smudged—and when it’s over you’re really glad to get to the Reubke.

This is the first recording made on the new 43-stop Carsten Lund instrument in Helleruplund Kirke, Copenhagen—and on this cleanly engineered disc, it boasts tremendous clarity and focus. More detailed notes would have been helpful, especially with respect to the instrument—but that’s a minor flaw on a welcome disc.

Peter J. Rabinowitz - for Fanfare Magazine, November 2017

Helleruplund church is a fairly new church in Hellerup, just North of Copenhagen. The planning stage for the church began in 1942, during the war. It wasn’t until1956 however that the church was finished. It was opened in December of that same year. This is where Organ builder Carsten Lund, part of Denmark’s great organ building tradition, from Frobenius to Marcussen, built a 43 stops instrument, which was inaugurated in 2015. The organ is comprised of great, positive (in swell), swell and pedals. It’s style and tone can be characterized as bold from a current classical organ movement tradition, but with romantic and symphonic ambitions, including several 16´and 4´ couplers, both between and within the different ranks.

We can listen to the church’s organist, Daniel Bruun, who has played there since 2009. In 2013 I wrote a review in this newspaper about his lovely debut “French Impressions” at the Århus cathedral, on its great 1928 Frobenius pipe organ. He has studied at the Copenhagen conservatory under professor Hans Fagius, as well as in London under David Sanger for a time, and in Toulouse under Michel Bouvard and Jan Willem Jansen. On this occasion, his playing is consistently brilliant and technically splendid with fabulous control.

We are treated to pieces by Liszt, Schumann, Mendelssohn, and finally Reubke’s Sonata on the 94th Psalm. We start with Bach’s-Liszt’s Prelude and Fugue with great bravura and mastery. The sound palette is richly varied, and the gentle strokes and flutes sound marvelous in the weak parts.

This is followed by Schumann’s splendid and seldom heard Sechs Stücke in Canonic Form op 56. They were originally composed for pedal piano, an instrument Schumann raved about and considered to be an innovation for the future. Schumann had access to a pedal piano to practice organ music on, as his wife Clara most likely did as well. She was very fond of the organ. These six pieces were later played as and considered organ pieces, and thus were always performed for obvious reasons. This is perhaps when the organ sounds its best, with marvelous chamber music and well-balanced registrations. One is struck by how refined and varied these pieces are compositionally, inspired by Bach’s tone art and Schumann’s own detailed counterpoint studies. Listening to en suite is a sublime and profound listening experience. One can also hear the composer’s personal piano style shine through. Bruun’s registrations are consistently well chosen.

During the 19th century, it became obvious that a significant majority of the major organ composers were also brilliant pianists, including all those we hear on this recording, Liszt, Schumann, Mendelssohn, and Reubke.

In 1845 a monument dedicated to Beethoven was inaugurated in Bonn, along with the release of an anthology of piano music for which Felix Mendelssohn was asked to contribute. The result was the piano piece Variations sérieuses, composed in 1841. Here, it is part of an organ transcription by Dutch organist Reitse Smits. The piece is highly ranked among 19th century piano compositions, alongside Beethoven's own 32 Variations, Brahms' Händel variations, etc. Here too the organ sounds lovely, the playing is brilliant and temperamental.

Finally, we have Reubke’s Sonata on the 94th Psalm in the Psalm Book. This magnificent, well-known organ piece, a repertoire highlight, is performed with great bravura and a virtuous interpretation. Here, however, one may notice the lack of a larger symphonic and saturated sound of the instruments, despite the organist working incredibly with fine registrations and emphasizing the organ’s qualities in the weaker nuances. The acoustic conditions combined with one’s closeness to the organ could be a reason for this.

All in all, this is a solid and ambitious recording with a beautiful repertoire, reflecting the rich proliferation of organ music from the 19th century that in Germany in particular, became intimately associated with the great romantic piano tradition that developed there with composers such as Mendelssohn, Schumann, Liszt and Brahms during the first half of the century.

Nils Larsson - for Orgelforum, September 2017

The Helleruplund church outside of Copenhagen has received a new organ from Carsten Lund and Daniel Bruun has chosen to present the organ in all its glory with a well planned out CD named Variations Sérieuses. It’s a great production of a high-class performance, instrument and recording, featuring two central organworks from the 1850s which surrounds piano compositions in an organ version.

First out on Bruun’s CD is Liszt's Fantasia and Fugue over BACH in the 1870’s edition (S 260/2). This is a important composition that has played a major role in the development of the late Romantic organ literature. However, I was never fond of the piece and it seems to me like Liszt never comes full circle. It’s all just a long line of incidents without a clear finale and I don’t find it to be “Fugue” at all, as Liszt claims. The work is more a kind of variations having been more or less inspired by BACH where rapid runs are combined with dramatic chords and the dynamics is characterized by violent contrasts lacking any overall structure.

In order for Liszt’s work to be in any way pleasant for someone like me, it has to be played with tension and efficiency. Daniel Bruun does this as he presents his sober and "tidy" interpretation, which is technically very impressively executed in a consistently distinct manner. I haven’t been to the church of Helleruplund, but from the sound of the CD, it seems like the room gives smooth acoustic. The recording appears to have been made quite close to the organ as all the notes are very clear, including in the ppp range. There are minimal tractor noises but all other non-musical noise seems absent.

Schumann's Studien für Pedalflügel (op. 56) from 1845 is a formidable contrast to Liszt. Here we encounter six nice, relatively short movements where the "undogmatic" canon, usually in unison/octave or retrograde, is combined with free voices. Schumann's melodic abilities are evident and as a listener it can be quite tricky to differentiate which parts are in canon as it all seems like character pieces with some elements of imitation. These movements are nowadays played almost exclusively on the organ, because who owns a grand piano with pedals today? Here it’s easy to give the movements character having its own appropriate registration. Daniel Bruun knows exactly how it should be done: the gentle flutestops in one movement is superseded by a principal registration in the next, aliquots and reeds are backed up by a mild labiumplenum, and the organs celeste is used in the last movement. Everything comes together very nicely and serves as a welcomed contrast to the discharges in Liszt’s Fantasia.

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy’s Variations sérieuses, op. 54 (1841) is written for the piano, but several organists have inserted themselves into this work, as a supplement to the "real" organ works, op. 37 and 65. Just as with Schumann’s work, the organ's tonal palette can be used to create variety and emphasize character. Bruun do this to the fullest. But the playing seems a bit too quick here. Granted, his speed is about as fast as most other pianists out there - or perhaps even a little slower! - but the peacefulness gets lost when Bruun plays predominantly non-legato with evident piano articulation. What was supposed to clarify instead results in a restless and worrisome feeling. It’s quite a pity because the playing is otherwise brilliant and the playing is portrayed carefully and thoughtfully in order to create coherence throughout all of the 17 variations.

Next and lastly, we arrive at Julius Reubke’s magnificent organ sonata Der 94. Psalm. This work, inspired by Liszt and his great Ad nos-Fantasia, is one of the absolute masterpieces of organ literature. Unlike Liszt and Ad Nos, I feel that Reubke through his Der 94. Psalm has managed to create a great work with a strict, clear and logical structure without ambiguous sections and superficial passages. I also feel that the young Reubke has a genuine understanding of how the organ works, as opposed to his mentor Liszt. The work is truly dramatic and the choice of Psalm 94 is a bit special as Daniel Bruun writes:... as it is one of the most violent and vindictive psalms. Perhaps this was a foresight of what came to pass less than a year after the first performance of the piece. The work was premiered by the 23-year Reubke in 1857 and he passed away the next year from tuberculosis.

Brunn truly brings the sonata to life. His playing is superb and he’s able to really see the long lines of the work and keep his focus through all of the 530 bars in the 25 minutes. The organ in the Church of Helleruplund is a powerful instrument at 43/III+P. (You can read more about this in Hans Fagius' mention in the magazine of our Danish sister association Orglet, issue 1/2016.) It’s clearly extremely flexible and beautiful and very suitable for the repertoire in question, despite the fact that this is an organ that clearly speaks Danish and that Fagius believes is better suited for French literature than German. However, I do feel that the great works of Liszt and Reubke are completely preserved and timbral development is ensured on all levels. The reeds express almost a German romanticism and we hear contrasts in both the flute and string stops to ensure a natural sound development - a true labium characterization. It’s particularly impressive how Daniel Bruun creates an organic diminuendo against the adagio in bar 233 of Reubke’s sonata. This is a not smooth transition with minimal tonal differences as we know it from the great German Romantic organs. We find organic transitions where distinctive notes appear as the registers disappear. Every stop has its own identity but are still connected in a beautiful cooperation. For example of "the other way around": From ff in bar 367, Reubke demands a crescendo against fff in bar 375, where alle “Bässe und Pedalcoppel” should be drawn. The organ executes this task flawlessly. And yet there are resources left for the real climax. Carsten Lund and his team (starring Erik Hult in the lead?) has done a fantastic job with the organ in Helleruplund!

Thomas Trotter at Argo (Decca) has a somewhat similar approach to the music as Daniel Bruun, although I feel his playing doesn’t have the same depth. He plays both Liszt and Reubke with a lot of tension and efficiency and both able to emphasize the natural highlights of the music without making the pieces choppy or sectioned. Unlike Bruun, Trotter chooses to play the 1855’s edition of BACH’s Fantasia and that alone certainly makes the recording tempting for many. Ave Maria (S 20) and two symphonic poems (S 98 and S 99) might also be tempting. However, his instrument - a Klais organ from 1977 on 70/IV+P - too greatly influenced by a universal idea, polished and smooth sounding but having an almost cold expression. Many good individual stops are kept isolated amongst the timbre and the overly brilliant mixtures often settles on the outside of the sound. It's a pity because on paper this is an interesting organ aimed to unite German and French elements, and should be able to mesh well with Liszt's music.

Kåre Nordstoga released his Liszt CD in 2005, played at the Ryde & Berg organ of Oslo Cathedral. He uses his time more efficiently than Bruun and utilizes 13:56 on BACH’s Fantasia against Bruun’s 12:18. This doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s playing slower, just that we have more time to enjoy the highlights and let the impression sink in as the music builds. The sound in the Ryde & Berg instrument also stretches wider than that of Carsten Lund, which naturally invites to a somewhat calmer progress. In addition to BACH’s Fantasia, you’ll also get variations over Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen (S 179) and Ad nos Fantasia (S 259). This is certainly a good option for those wishing for a Liszt with a bit more weight and dignity while still being able to experience lively playing on a magnificent organ - Nordstogas Liszt is undisputedly top class.

Hans-Jürgen Kaiser plays the same works as Nordstoga on the Ladegast organ in Schwerin Dom. This organ shares many similarities with the organ in Merseburg, where Liszt's BACH Fantasia had premiered. A certain pleasure for many, but sonically, this is a disappointment for me. The sound of the mighty Schwerin Dom is concealing the rich acoustics, resulting in a lot of details disappearing and creating a “mess” of rapid big chords, despite the fact that Kaiser plays significantly slower than most. He uses 16:15 in the BACH piece, which it is about 30% longer than Bruun does. Although the tempo is supposed to be in line with Liszt's wishes, the work becomes even less interesting for me.

There are many recordings of Reubke’s great sonata of Psalm 94 out there. It’s often combined with his piano sonata in B minor or with the works of Liszt, such as on Thomas Trotter’s recording. But Bruun’s combination with Mendelssohn Bartholdy and Schumann is interesting as well and the entire Variations Sérieuses consists of a well-thought out concert program. In addition to this, you’ll experience an exciting organ that must be incredibly rewarding to play. Daniel Bruun's love of playing and enthusiasm for the music is evident from start to finish. What should be a reference recording of Reubke’s sonata is, for me, unclear but the fact remains that Daniel Bruun's version indisputably belongs in your record collection.

Sven Atle Johannesen - for Orgelspeilet
September 2017

The Danish organist Daniel Bruun is one of many exciting young concert organists in Scandinavia these days, and Bruun has recorded this completely new publication with his “own” organ in Helleruplund church, Copenhagen, where he plays the organ daily. This new 43 stops Carsten Lund organ, which Bruun himself consecrated in 2015, chimes wonderfully to the German romantic program we get to hear here. Bruun has chosen to record three standard performances within the organ literature, as well as some more unknown piano performances by Mendelssohn, Variations Sérieuses, here in a splendid organ transcription by the Dutchman Reitze Smits. This is also the Mendelssohn composition that has given name to the CD.

The record opens with Franz Liszt’s well known Prelude and fuge over B-A-C-H. The piece was first composed in 1855 but like most others, Daniel Bruun plays the composer’s revised edition from 1870. Bruun has obviously good chemistry with his organ, and we get to hear a form safe interpretation with clarity at the centre of the stage. I would have wished for even more variation in tone and dynamic, but the pianist Franz Liszt was probably not the composer who made the best use of the organ acoustically. Regardless, it is a sympathetic version of Liszt with a lot of technical surplus!

Six canonical studies of Robert Schumann follow, and this Bach inspired early romanticism is probably ideal repertoire for Daniel Bruun, who forms Schumann’s pedal grand piano in the best manner possible, in a much wider degree. The Carsten Lund organs warmth, but sober sound, is a perfect partner here, and continues to be so in the earlier mentioned piano versions by Mendelssohn. Daniel Bruun shines most in the “retrospective” organ romanticism from the Leipzig pals Mendelssohn and Schumann.

The CD ends with Julius Reubke’s well known Sonata on the 94th Psalm. Reubke, who died of tuberculosis only 24 years old, and only had time to write two larger works (a piano sonata which is rarely performed, in addition to this cornerstone in the organ literature), was a student of Liszt. Reubke himself was an organist, and you can tell from the sonata that he handled the organ better than his mentor. This reviewer rather enjoys the interpretation – Bruun has an organic feel for tempo and timing – but occasionally experiences, as with Liszt, that there are not enough sound colors involved in the music. I somewhat wish that a richer expression register with weak dynamic from both artist and the instrument was present here. Overall a wonderful organ album by a talented organist which excels with the early romantic repertoire.

A small curiosity to wrap this up, when we review albums —especially regarding popular music— the CD as a medium has almost retired entirely, and probably lives on borrowed time within classical music as well. Daniel Bruun is one of the contemporary classical musicians who has also utilized more modern channels to spread his art. His live recording of Bach’s “Dritter Theil der Clavier Übung" was not published as a physical CD or DVD, but posted as a playlist on YouTube.

Øystein Jæger - for Norsk Kirkemusikk
September 2017