DESCRIPTION:
Louis Raffy (1868-c. 1932) must have heard the Overture to Richard Wagner’s 1845 opera Tannhäuser about a week before he started composing this march. Raffy was organist at the church of St. Nicolas in Nérac, in the Aquitaine region of France. This Marche Séraphique, his Op. 11, was included in a volume of his works entitled “La Lyre Sacrée” (The Sacred Harp). This was originally published in Paris, and is now available from imslp.org, which dates it c. 1924. After the initial fanfare, the opening of the main theme is a clear quote from the Wagner Overture; I wonder if Raffy had an engaged daughter who liked the opera! The instrument is a wonderful rarity: the interior musical action is a harmonium built by the Mustel firm in Paris, France with five bass stops (six ranks) and seven treble stops (eight ranks); it was sent to America where the Mason & Hamlin firm of Boston built a massive black walnut cabinet for it; all c. 1880. Mason & Hamlin marketed this model as their "Orchestral" organ, Style 1400. It is in the collection of Jim Tyler, a friend and professional restorer of reed organs in San Francisco. Performed by Michael Hendron; recorded 21 August 2014.