Northern Lights: Organ Music from Trondheim

I visited Nidaros Cathedral, Trondheim in 2011. It is a remarkable place of worship dating back to the time shortly after the death of King Olav II in 1030. Olav would become the Patron Saint of Norway. Built over a 230-year period, it is the most significant Gothic monument in Norway, and is the northernmost medieval cathedral in the world. The music is played on the remarkable Steinmeyer organ, which was installed in 1930, but was recently (2014) rebuilt and transformed by Orgelbau Kuhn AG from Switzerland. Naturally, the full organ specification is included in the liner notes. 

This CD gets off to a lively start with the Spanish-infused tour de force Yes by the Norwegian composer Mons Leidvin Takle. It is full of catchy melodies, robust rhythms and delicious harmonies. Let’s hope that this exciting work catches on in the UK.

Iain Farrington’s Amazing grace is a set of variations on the well-known hymn tune. It is the third number of a cycle Lay My Burden Down, which features five pieces based on African American spirituals and traditional songs.  I confess that Amazing Grace is not my favourite tune. Ever since the Pipes and Drums and the Military Band of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards reached the Top of the Pops in 1972, I have had a strong negative reaction to this song. But in Farrington’s jazzed and blues-ed exploration, it hits the spot. It captures the full emotion of the hymn and the tune.

This meditation is followed by Theodore Dubois’s Fiat Lux, which develops from quiet music into a powerful peroration. It is taken from his Douze pièces nouvelles pour orgue published in 1892. Fiat Lux was dedicated to the English organist W.T. Best. The title is derived from the biblical book of Genesis, where God commands “Let there be Light.” The music mirrors a course from when the earth was without form and void to a glorious illumination of the Universe and the Soul. It is a compelling theological and musical statement.

The liner notes explain that the Danish composer Christian Praestholm (b.1972) has written “nearly 300 hymn preludes, which are widely-played liturgically and in concert, particularly in Denmark.”  Three chorale preludes featured here, present diverse musical effects. The first, See the golden sun rising from the ocean, opens with a churning sound down in the depths, before building up to a mighty C major chord – like the Dubois piece from darkness to light.  The second prelude is less profound. The sun is rising in the east opens slowly, moves into a “jazzy allegro that toys with strict fugato,” but soon goes its own way to a quiet ending. The last example, Lord, you give us life and happiness, is a full-blown warhorse that includes lots of repeated notes and chordal figurations.  No dates are given for these Preludes.

I was delighted that Christopher Herrick chose to include two remarkable pieces by Percy E. Fletcher. Both were completed in 1915. Much of his music has been consigned to the archives. However, his Epic Symphony for brass band is often dusted down for performance. Fletcher wrote a wide range of music, much of it “light”, often as part of his theatrical work in London, where he worked at a variety of venues including the Savoy, Drury Lane and The Prince of Wales. For many years he was the musical director at His Majesty’s Theatre in the Haymarket. There are one or two tantalising orchestral scores in his catalogue: Parisienne Sketches (1914) and the At Gretna Green (1926) which surely deserve revival. The virtuosic Festival Toccata was written for the organist and composer Edwin Lemare. It is a brilliant piece that is often heard at weddings and as encores. Despite its seeming complexity, it is just about playable by the much-maligned “gifted amateur.”  The beautiful Fountain Reverie opens with will o’ the wisp, undulating arpeggios supported by a tune played on the swell organ. This has definite hints of Louis Vierne. There is a slightly more dramatic middle section. 

Anders S Börjesson’s Toccata “Herren, vår Gud, är en konung” (Praise the Lord, the Almighty King of Creation) is typically rhythmic from end to end. It is based on an old German chorale melody. The overall impetus never really lets up, with much of the music being dancelike. Like all good examples of the genre, it ends with a compelling coda. It dates from 2015.

German composer Hans-André Stamm’s Toccata giocosa was written in 2009. It is an attractive work that lives up to its title. The music is carefree from the first note to the last. This “non-stop” music builds up from a “light and airy” beginning, to a “thunderous and triumphal ending.”  

The ever-popular Toccata in B minor by Eugène Gigout “employs every trick of the trade generally found in the French organ toccata.” It is full of “flourishes and figurations”, deploys the usual powerful pedal part, and builds up to a striking conclusion.   It remains one of the most admired and played concert pieces from the French organ repertoire. It is the fourth number of the Dix Pièces published in 1892.

Johannes Brahms’s Prelude and Fugue in G minor WoO10 was originally conceived for pedal-piano. It was completed in 1857, when the Brahms was in his mid-twenties. It was lost for many years until rediscovered in 1927 amongst some papers in Clara Schumann’s estate.  The entire work is really a homage to Baroque era organ music, employing many clichés from that era. It has been pointed out that formally and thematically it owes much to Bach's Prelude and Fugue in G minor, BWV 535.  Christopher Herrick writes that he has taken “modest liberties with Brahms’s pianistic writing.”

The title of Pietro Yon’s short, but potent Second concert study 'Flying feet' (No. 3 of Three Compositions for organ) says all that need to be said. The bit about the “Feet” is a later appellation. Pedalboard glissandi up and down, chromatic scales on the keyboards, and complex interaction of the parts suggest that this “impossible” étude is all over the place. It would have made a wonderful finale to this CD. Only it doesn’t.

The final track is a rather doleful Wedding March by the Norwegian composer Sverre Eftestøl. It is a nice enough piece for Mattins but lacks any pizzazz for a wedding service. One would imagine the happy couple being a little disappointed and downhearted as they exit the church and head towards married bliss.

It hardly needs saying that Christopher Herrick’s recital is superb. The CD sound is ideal and gives the impression of “being there”. The liner notes give all the information required for an intelligent appreciation of this repertoire. I would have liked all the work’s dates and source when part of a collection, included in the track listing. 

One thing though. I would not have put four toccatas back-to-back in the batting order. Perhaps something a little more intimate interposed here. That said, this is a well thought out recital, with lots of new discoveries (at least for me) and not a few “old favourites.” 

Track Listing
Mons Leidvin TAKLE (b.1942)
Yes! (2015)
Iain FARRINGTON (b.1977)
Amazing grace (no. 3 of Lay my burden down) (2017)
Théodore DUBOIS (1837-1924)
Fiat lux (no. 8 of Douze pièces nouvelles pour orgue) (1892)
Christian PRAESTHOLM (b.1972)
See the golden sun rising from the ocean, op.32 no.1; The sun is rising in the east, op.11 no.13; Lord, you give us life and happiness, op.22 no.110
Percy Eastman FLETCHER (1879-1932)
Fountain reverie (1915); Festival toccata (1915)
Anders S BÖRJESSON (b.1975)
Toccata (2015)
Hans-André STAMM (b.1958)
Toccata giocosa (2009)
Eugène GIGOUT (1844-1925)
Toccata in B minor no.4 of Dix pièces pour orgue (1890)
Johannes BRAHMS (1833-1897)
Prelude and Fugue in G minor WoO10 (1857)
Pietro YON (1886-1943)
Second Concert Study “Flying feet” (no.3 of Three Compositions for organ) (1913/15)
Sverre EFTESTØL (b.1952)
Wedding march (1982, rev.1988)
Christopher Herrick (organ)
rec. 6-8 August 2020, Organ of Nidaros Cathedral, Trondheim, Norway.
HYPERION CDA68376
With thanks to MusicWeb International where this review was first published.