Saturday 7 December 2019

St Asaph Experience: Organ Music (and other pieces)

The recital gets off to a great start with Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in C major, BWV 547 with its largely pastoral prelude featuring a ritornello-like (a short recurring passage) construction. This is followed by a closely argued five-part fugue based on a single bar subject which has many wayward modulations and unexpected entries. Both movements have an unexpected ‘rhetorical pause’ at their conclusion which seems to provide a unity of structure. This late work, probably composed in the 1740s, may have been one of Bach’s last pieces for organ. It is given an exhilarating performance by John Hosking.
C.S. Lang is universally known by organ music enthusiasts for his dynamic Tuba Tune. It has been recorded dozens of times. So, it is refreshing to discover that Hosking has chosen to include the Introduction & Passacaglia in A minor, op.51 composed in 1952.  It is quite definitely in the post-romantic tradition but looking over its shoulder to Bach’s Passacaglia in C minor, BWV 582.
Equally conservative in sound is the Variations sur un Noël Bourguignon composed by André Fleury at the end of the 1950s. This work seems to span the years between the seventeenth century French classical tradition and the more complex passagework prevalent in the 20th century. It is a charming piece which makes an ideal set of Christmas variations. I understand that they are a wee bit easier to play than Marcel Dupré’s Variations sur un Noël but they are no cinch! Satisfyingly played here.

I will pass over the saccharine pieces by Leon Boëllmann, the ‘Ave Maria’ for soprano, violin, harp and organ, and the ‘Ave verum corpus’ for soprano and organ. I hold my hand up and concede that they a well performed, but sound just a wee bit too like Andrew Lloyd Webber for my taste. Equally, syrupy is the present organist’s ‘In the halls of our patronage’ written for soprano and harp.

My interest is aroused again by the characteristically French-sounding Toccata by John Hosking. This work takes its place with the great Toccatas of Vierne, Widor, Gigout and especially Dubois. A wee bit pastiche, but great stuff.  Another Toccata (2003), this time for solo harp, is the technically difficult piece by Guillaume Connesson. It has a delicate, filigree sound, full of vibrant cross-rhythms and just touch of jazz. It often sounds like a theme-tune for a TV romantic drama series. But an enjoyable piece for all that.

I did not warm to Lili Boulanger’s Pie Jesu. This haunting piece has little to generate devotion or to give the dead any kind of ‘everlasting rest’. It was originally scored for high voice, string quartet, harp and organ. The string quartet has been dispensed with here. About as far away from the hackneyed exemplars by Gabriel Fauré and Andrew Lloyd Webber as you could get.  This is the only work that Boulanger wrote using a Christian text: it has been suggested that she may have been working on a full setting of the Requiem Mass. Despite my reservations, it is beautifully sung by Olivia Hunt.

I usually enjoy the organ music of Sigfrid Karg-Elert. However, this lugubrious Symphonic Chorale, op.87 no.3 'Nun ruhen alle Wälder' for soprano, violin and harp composed in 1911 is hard going.  And it is the longest piece on this CD!  The opening organ sections are not bad. It is just that the rest of the music seems to me to be a long-winded ramble and a dirge. The title translates ‘Now all the woods are resting.’ To me, this music certainly does have a somnolent effect, and I am not a tree…

All is back to as it should be with the French composer Marcel Dupré’s frenetic ‘Toccata’ from the Organ Symphony No.2, op.26. It is a fiery and compelling work that is always guaranteed to give a satisfying conclusion to a recital.  Played with aplomb here.

I found the booklet rather difficult to read. The font is very small. A lot of information is presented in these pages, although the order of discussion is very different to the track listings. Dates for some of the music are not given. The texts of the vocal works are included along with translations where appropriate. There is detailed biographical information about the performers. A full specification of the impressive four-manual organ is printed, along with a brief historical outline. The original one manual Hill instrument was installed in 1824, with the most recent rebuild being in 1998. At this time the organ was enlarged, with a ‘solo’ manual and a new oak case. It is an impressive instrument.
The recording is excellent with a good balance achieved, especially when other soloists are accompanied by the organ.  I note the recording date is given as 21-22 November 2019: A wee bit previous.

I guess that I was disappointed that the programme did not feature any music by William Mathias. In 1972, he founded the St Asaph Festival which is going strong to this day. And he is great composer of music for organ! I would willingly have swapped the turgid Karg Elert or the mawkish Boëllmann for any one (or more) of Mathias’s works.

Track Listing:
Johannes Sebastian BACH (1685-1750) Prelude and Fugue in C major, BWV 547 (1740s)
Craig Sellar (C.S.) LANG (1891-1971) Introduction and Passacaglia in A minor, op.51 (1952)
André FLEURY (1903-95) Variations sur un Noël Bourguignon (1959/60)
Léon BOËLLMANN (1862-97) Ave Maria for soprano, violin, harp and organ, from Six Motets (c.1887)
John HOSKING (b.1976) Toccata in F sharp major (2017)
Guillaume CONNESSON (b.1970) Toccata for solo harp (2003)
Léon BOELLMANN Ave verum corpus for soprano and organ, from Six Motets (c.1887)
Lili BOULANGER (1893-1918) Pie Jesu for soprano, harp and organ (1918)
John HOSKING ‘In the halls of our patronage’ for soprano and harp (2018)
Sigfrid KARG-ELERT (1877-1933) Symphonic Chorale, op.87 no.3 'Nun ruhen alle Wälder' for soprano, violin and harp (1911)
Marcel DUPRÉ (1886-1971) Toccata from Symphony No.2, op.26 (1929)
John Hosking (organ); Olivia Hunt (soprano); Xander Croft (violin); Bethan Griffiths (harp)
Rec. St Asaph Cathedral, 21 -22 November 2018?
Willowhayne Records WHR 058
With thanks to MusicWeb International where this review was first published.


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