I think that Priory are doing
themselves down a wee bit in selling this as a ‘lollipops’ CD. Certainly, there
are several warhorses here as well as some pieces that are probably
overrepresented in the record catalogues. There are some 285 versions of Bach’s
Toccata and Fugue in D minor BWV 565 and a surprisingly spartan 68 recordings
of Widor’s ubiquitous ‘Toccata’ from the Symphony No.5.
The dictionary definition of a ‘lollipop’
is ‘a short and undemanding piece of classical music.’ This, I feel, is
disingenuous – at least on this CD. For example, there is a depth and intimacy
with RVW’s popular, but never hackneyed, ‘Rhosymedre’ from the ‘Three Preludes
founded on Welsh Hymn Tunes.’ Equally thoughtful is Percy Fletcher’s ‘Fountain
Reverie’. The approachability of Pietro
Yon’s 'Humoresque' Toccatina for (L'Organo primitive) is clearly a nod to
popularity. Yet only so with organists, I fear. It is never heard on Classic
FM, which only seem to play two organ pieces - the above-mentioned Bach Tocc.
& Fug. in D minor, and Widor’s Toccata. Equally approachable is Louis-James-Alfred
Lefébure-Wely’s Sortie in E flat which sounds at home on this Tickell organ. It
could be just as successfully played on a Cavaille-Coll or a Wurlitzer. One of
my favourite organ pieces.
Fewer people will know Theodore
Dubois’s ‘Fiat Lux’ (Let there be light) which develops from quiet music into a
veritable Toccata. Probably everyone who has played the organ has had a ‘go’ at
Easthope Martin’s ‘Evensong’. This could be regarded as the ultimate in
sentimentality. But come on! it is a beautiful piece that is more about a love
affair than the vicar’s Evening Prayer. Percy Whitlock’s Five Piece for Organ
is not liturgical in any way: in fact, they are charmingly secular. Naturally,
they can be used at worship too. The ‘Folk-Tune’ is a pastiche of the
prevailing ‘pastoral’ school of the 1920s – and none the worse for that
too.
I have never heard Derek
Bourgeois’s ‘Serenade’. Originally penned for his own wedding in the 1960s it
has also been arranged for brass band.
It is a charming little piece with a hint of the orient that deserves to
be well-known. Not sure what part of the wedding service it was used for,
though. Certainly not the bride’s entrance...
Karg Elert’s powerful march ‘Nun
danket alle Gott’ op.65 no.59 needs no introduction. I was delighted that
Christopher Allsop included Samuel Wesley’s lovely ‘Air and Gavotte’: it was a
piece I learnt at organ lessons many years ago and enjoy to this day. Elgar’s ‘Chanson
de Matin’ is always welcome in any one of its many incarnations. It was
originally written for violin and piano. The liner notes remind the listener
that local composer Elgar’s splendid Organ Sonata was first heard in Worcester
Cathedral during 1895.
Finally, I accept that Sibelius’s
Finlandia works well on this organ,
especially the snarling opening chords. But it is not enough to convince me
that this is not a transcription too far. I enjoy Sibelius’s Symphonies and ‘Tone
Poems’ but the politically charged Finlandia
does nothing for me.
The main event of this CD is the instrument.
This Quire Organ was built by Kenneth Tickell and Company in 2008. It featured
in that year’s Three Choirs Festival and included a recital by Dame Gillian
Weir. The recording engineers have made
a splendid job in balancing the sound levels of these contrasting pieces: from
the delicate flutes of Pietro Yon to the massive noise of Mulet’s
Carillon-Sortie.
Clearly, the soloist Christopher
Allsop is a master of his instrument. All works sound wonderful and the
complexities of the war-horses are made to feel perfectly playable! I think
especially of the rippling sounds of Lefebure-Wely’s Sortie in E flat. His wide-ranging
skill is also apparent in the introspection of RVW’s ‘Rhosymedre’ and Bach’s ‘Liebster
Jesu wir sind hier.’
The liner notes include brief,
but informative, notes (usually just sentence) about each work. They are
written by the soloist. There is a complete specification of the organ. The
very short paragraph about the instrument could have been expanded considerably
to reflect the complex history of Worcester Cathedral’s organs. There is a
short bio of Christopher Allsop. Even with my magnifying glass, I could find no
CD ‘total time.’
I enjoyed this CD of so-called ‘lollipops.
However, as noted above there is more here than mere ‘froth’. All these pieces deserve
our attention. All organ buffs will be
keen to add this superb CD to their collection.
Track Listing:
J.S. BACH (1685-1750)
Toccata and Fugue in D minor BWV 565
Ralph VAUGHAN
WILLIAMS (1872-1958) Rhosymedre (Three Preludes founded on Welsh Hymn
Tunes) (1920)
Pietro YON (1886-1943)
'Humoresque' Toccatina for (L'Organo primitive) (c.1918)
Theodore DUBOIS (1837-1924)
Fiat Lux (Douze Pièces Nouvelles) (1893)
Frederick EASTHOPE
MARTIN (1882-1925) Evensong (1910)
Derek BOURGEOIS (1941-2017)
Serenade (?)
Percy WHITLOCK (1903-46)
Folk Tune (Five Short Pieces) (1929)
Sigfrid KARG-ELERT
(1877-1933) Nun danket alle Gott Op.65 No.59 (1908-1910)
J.S. BACH Liebster
Jesu, wir sind hier BWV 731 [2:45]
Jean SIBELIUS (1865-1957)
arr. Jean SIBELIUS and Herbert A. FRICKER (1868-1943) Finlandia
Op. 26 (1900/1907)
Samuel WESLEY (1766-1837)
Air and Gavotte (Twelve Short Pieces) (1816)
Henri MULET (1878-1967)
Carillon-Sortie (c.1912)
Edward ELGAR (1857-1934)
arr. Herbert BREWER (1865-1928) Chanson
de Matin (1897/1904)
Louis LEFEBURE-WELY
(1837-1869) Sortie in E flat, L'organiste moderne, Book 11 (1867)
Percy FLETCHER (1879-1932)
Fountain Reverie (c.1915)
Charles-Marie WIDOR
(1844-1937) Toccata in F (Symphony no.5) (1879)
Christopher Allsop (organ)
Rec. Worcester
Cathedral, 22-24 May 2018
PRIORY PRCD 1214
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