Parallels: the organ of Cheltenham College Chapel

The Divine Art website explains that this new CD of music from Cheltenham College Chapel is a “meticulously curated album that explores the organ’s remarkable breadth and sonority. Featuring three monumental organ works and delightful arrangements of English classics, the collection is a testament to the grandeur and versatility of the instrument.”

The Suite No.1 by Florence Price dates from 1942. However, it shows none of the then-modernist traits of Olivier Messiaen, Marcel Dupré or Jean Langlais. What she does bring to the party is an enthusiasm for certain African American musical tropes such as spirituals, hymns, pentatonic scales and jazz inspired harmonies and rhythms. After an ageless Fantasy, she presents a very Reger-ian Fughetta, that uses the Spiritual Sometimes I feel like a motherless Child as the subject. Jazz does seem to infuse the Air, but only to a limited extent. This is no Gershwin-like exploration of the medium. Perhaps Percy Whitlock was the model here? The concluding Toccato (sic.) certainly shifts along. It uses a “juba base” which is a concept beyond my ken, but certainly creates movement and makes it swing. A touch of the theatre organ here.

The rock band Coldplay is not on my radar. In 2011 they had a ‘hit’ with Paradise taken from their fifth studio album Mylo Xyloto. Ten years later, Alexander Ffinch made a transcription of the song. I listened to the original track as part of my prep for this review. All I can say is that this realisation for the organ reflects its "slice of hug-warm ecstasy.” If I heard this piece played at the conclusion of Evensong, I would never guess its genesis and its fusion of “electronica, ambient, pop, R&B, classical and progressive rock.”

Little need be said about the Holst and Elgar transcriptions. They are always a pleasure to hear. It is especially appropriate to have Jupiter (from The Planets), to celebrate the 150^th anniversary of GH’s birth. Along with Elgar’s P&C No.1, these days it (at least when sung with the words I Vow to thee, my country) is liable to be a bit non-PC and liable for ‘cancelation.’ There is nothing controversial about Elgar’s Chanson de Matin in Herbert Brewer’s 1904 arrangement.

I have not heard any music by Dan Locklair before, at least consciously. Peter Hardwick writing in The Diapason magazine has stated that Rubrics is “one of the most frequently played organ works by an American composer.” Extracts were played at the Washington National Cathedral funeral service for President Ronald Reagan in 2004, and during the January 2009 Martin Luther King Jr. service during the Presidential Inauguration of President Barack Obama. A ‘Rubric’ (or Rubrick) is used in the Anglican Book of Common Prayer (and successive revisions) as an instruction to the officiant and/or worshipers. Locklair has used five directions. The energetic “The ancient praise-shout, ‘Hallelujah,’ has been restored…” is followed by a “Silence may be kept” which is a “lyrical movement featuring the flute stops.” Then there is a vivacious trumpet tune section which suggests “…and thanksgivings may follow.” Another slow, expressive, movement reflects on the instruction that “The Peace may be exchanged.” Rubrics concludes with the challenging toccata “The people respond – Amen!” Overall, this is a satisfying work that is both jazzy and sometimes minimalistic but is still in the great tradition of 20^th century organ music.

Leon Boëllmann’s Suite Gothique was written for the commissioning of the new Jean-Baptiste Ghys organ at Notre-Dame de Dijon during 1895. This was a small two manual instrument, so the Suite is suitable for a wide range of organs. The powerful Introduction-Choral, which contrasts a loud theme and its quieter echo, seems to run into the vigorous Menuet Gothique. The Prière a Notre-Dame evokes the statue of the Notre-Dame de Bon-Espoir. The final movement is the ever-popular Toccata with its surging progress suggesting both light and darkness. The soubriquet Gothique may refer to the literary genre or more likely to the architectural structure of the Dijon church which is a masterpiece of 13^th century Burgandy Gothic. The Suite is given an exceptional performance here.

The present three manual and pedal organ at the Cheltenham College Chapel was originally built by Norman and Beard in 1897. It was subsequently rebuilt by Harrison and Harrison in 1930 - with additions in 1976. In 2013 a 32-foot Double Ophicleide pedal stop was added. The latest cleaning, re-leathering of the wind system along with the restoration of the console and a new piston system were concluded in 2017. A complete specification of the current instrument is printed in the booklet.

The liner notes, by various hands is helpful, but often do not carry dates of the compositions and arrangements. They include a lengthy essay about Florence Price by Calvert Johnson, and a long-winded interview between Alexander Ffinch and Dan Locklair, as well as notes on the other numbers. There is a resume of the soloist.

This is an impressive recital that “parallels’ old and new favourites. New to me was Coldplay’s Paradise, Locklair’s Rubrics and Price’s Suite. It was good to hear Leon Boëllmann’s Suite Gothique and four “pot-boiler” English transcriptions.

Track Listing:

Gustav Holst (1874-1934), arr. Thomas Trotter
Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity from The Planets op. 32 (1914-17)
Florence Price (1887-1953)
Suite No.1 for Organ (1942)
Chris Martin (b.1977), arr. Alexander Ffinch
Paradise (2011/2021)
Edward Elgar (1857-1934), arr. William H. Harris
Nimrod from Enigma Variations (1899/1932?)
Dan Locklair (b.1949)
Rubrics (1988)
Edward Elgar arr. Edwin H. Lemare
Pomp and Circumstance March No.1 (1901/1902)
Edward Elgar arr. Herbert Brewer
Chanson de Matin (pub.1899/1904)
Leon Boëllmann (1862-1897)
Suite Gothique, op.25 (1895)
Alexander Ffinch (organ)
rec. 23-24 August and 18-19 November 2023, Cheltenham College Chapel, Cheltenham, England
Divine Art DDX 21112
With thanks to MusicWeb International where this review was first published.