I’ll be surprised if
this release from the dependable Scottish
label Delphian is not on my list of
‘discs of the year’. The disc most successfully
showcases the world famous Kelvingrove
organ of the Kelvingrove Art Gallery
and Museum in Glasgow and features transcriptions
of popular and larger-scale works by
many eminent composers. Built by the
firm of T. C. Lewis and Co. Limited
of Brixton, London in 1901 the magnificent
three manual organ was exported to Scotland
initially for the Glasgow International
Exhibition and was subsequently purchased
by the Glasgow City Corporation before
moving to its present home in 1902.
Throughout most of
Europe the primary role of the organ
has been a liturgical one. However in
Edwardian Britain the established Anglican
Church tradition began to be substantially
augmented by copious amounts of secular
organ compositions. In the late-nineteenth
Century considerable technical advances
in organ design lead composers to write
increasingly more complex and imaginative
music for the instrument. Across Britain
it had become fashionable for large
organs to be constructed in secular
buildings such as Concert Halls and
Town Halls. Between the 1950s into the
1970s the organ had became unpopular.
Often considered by many to be an obsolete
instrument many organs had fallen into
disrepair owing to neglect and some
had been even dismantled. Thankfully,
over the last couple of decades, these
large organs have regained their respect
as an integral part of British heritage
with many having been restored back
to their former glory and some considerably
improved.
This release pays tribute
to the widespread trend in Edwardian
Britain for transcriptions for the organ
of popular orchestral and choral works,
opera and even some chamber works. The
vast number of organ transcriptions
completed by composer/organists such
as William Best, Edwin Evans, Edwin
Lemare, Alfred Hollins, Albert Peace,
William Faulkes et al allowed
a considerable number of people to hear
much admired repertoire previously inaccessible
to them.
Organist Timothy Byram-Wigfield,
the newly appointed master of music
at St George’s, Windsor, has selected
a varied and fascinating programme of
transcriptions which is eminently suited
to the impressive and colourful Kelvingrove
organ. Seven of the eight transcriptions
are taken from the British concert organ
tradition and range from William Best’s
transcription of Mozart’s The Magic
Flute overture to Edwin Evans’ eighteen
minute transcription of the 1812
Overture by Tchaikovsky. For reasons
that remain unclear to me the recording
includes a fine transcription by twentieth-century
French composer/organist Marcel Dupré’s
of J.S. Bach’s Sinfonia to Cantata
29, ‘Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken
dir’, (‘Unto Thee, O God, do we give
thanks’).
Timothy Byram-Wigfield’s
playing is magisterial with colourful
performances that are alive with fluency
and abound with expression. There is
never any hint of ill-mannered showmanship
just a strong sense of concentration
of giving full justice to the score
and the technical demands of the instrument.
The excellent sonics give an impression
of being surrounded by the music.
An enterprising release
from Delphian, magnificently performed
and recorded. A thoroughly recommendable
addition to the organ canon.
Michael Cookson