Holy Smoke: finding spiritual treasure in César Franck
Best of the Spectator
The Spectator
4.4 • 785 Ratings
🗓️ 8 June 2025
⏱️ 36 minutes
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Summary
The Belgian composer César Franck – unfairly associated with kitsch and sentimentality by certain cultural sophisticates – wrote some of the most spiritually inspiring music of the late 19th century.
In this episode of Holy Smoke, Damian Thompson talks to the British-Israeli pianist Ariel Lanyi, who has just recorded Franck’s late masterpiece Prélude, Aria et Final on the Linn label. Ariel discusses the influence of Catholicism and the anti-Catholic Richard Wagner on the devout Franck, who was organist of a church in Paris for 30 years – but reserved his most profound thoughts for ostensibly secular works.
Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Damian Thompson.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Spectator magazine is home to wonderful writing, insightful analysis and unrivaled books and arts reviews. |
| 0:06.9 | Subscribe today for just £12 and receive a 12-week subscription in print and online. |
| 0:12.7 | Alongside that, you get a £20, John Lewis or Waitrose voucher. |
| 0:16.6 | Go to spectator.com.uk forward slash voucher. |
| 0:26.5 | Music Go to spectator.co.uk forward slash voucher. Welcome to Holy Smoke, the Spectator's Religion podcast. |
| 0:30.5 | I'm Damien Thompson. |
| 0:37.3 | You'd have to be a pretty serious music lover, I think, to be able to sing off the top of your head, |
| 0:42.6 | a tune by the subject of today's podcast. Cesar Fronk, a 19th century Belgian composer, a devout Catholic, |
| 0:52.0 | whose wonderful music and its associated spirituality is still, I think, |
| 0:57.5 | not given the attention it deserves. But maybe there's one exception. This. angelicus, Fitt panis ominum, |
| 1:16.6 | Doth manis c'nicus, You're Dermin' Ores The beginning of France, The beginning of France, Parnis Angelicus, sung by Placido Domingo, |
| 1:59.6 | Still deservedly popular, but there's so much more to César Frang. |
| 2:05.7 | Music of infinitely greater sophistication written later in his life, such as this, |
| 2:12.1 | the beginning of Fronk's prelude, aria and finale, played by my guest today, the brilliant young British |
| 2:20.4 | Israeli pianist Ariel Lanny on a new disc from Lynn Records called Organ Reflections, featuring |
| 2:27.7 | music that's either transcribed from or inspired by music associated with the organ. |
| 2:33.9 | And Frank was organist of a church in Paris for 30 years. |
| 2:38.5 | Listen to this. |
| 2:40.7 | Music I'm I'm I'm |
| 2:51.6 | I'm |
| 2:53.6 | I'm |
| 2:55.6 | I'm |
... |
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