Weinen Klagen

Franz Liszt was not an organist. On the organ he never acquired anything like the level of virtuosity that distinguished his pianism; his pedal playing in particular remained limited. Nevertheless, Liszt regularly appeared at the organ, even during his years as a travelling piano virtuoso. His earliest performance probably took place in the Swiss city of Fribourg in 1835. In 1839 he played in the church of San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome, in 1843 in St Peter and Paul in Moscow and in 1845 in Mulhouse in Alsace.

Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Gustav Leonhardt were at the forefront of the early music movement that swept classical music in the ’70s and ’80s, performing pieces from the canon with period instruments in order to re-create the original intent of the composer as closely as possible. And their most enduring legacy is right here, the complete survey of Bach’s sacred cantatas that they began in 1971 and completed in 1988. This body of work has served as a beacon for younger musicians seeking a fuller understanding of Bach’s work, and will forever be regarded as one of the pioneering projects in the history of recording classical music. 60 CDs in all.

As well as being the promoter of the piano recital and creator of the symphonic poem, Franz Liszt was also a prodigious innovator in the organ repertory. Olivier Latry - resident organist on the great organ of Notre-Dame-de-Paris for more than thirty-five years - has recorded five of his pieces on the Rieger organ of the Philharmonie de Paris, including the three major published works for the instrument, fleshed out with transcriptions and arrangements.

The three sections of this Triptych can be described as follows: the left-hand panel — Misery — depicts the vale of tears; Transitio on the right-hand panel represents a transformation in everyday life, whilst Transfiguratio , the central panel, portrays the brilliant colours of transcendental bliss.