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Carson COOMAN (b.1982)
Monody, op.949 (2012) [4:52]
Canzona II, op.943 (2011) [3:00]
Trio in Memoriam Dirk Flentrop, op.552 (2004) [3:21]
Hornpipe, op.934 (2011) [2:25]
Partita on 'St Elizabeth', op.424 (2005) [7:00]
Rondeau, op.947 (2011) [2:32]
Prelude on 'Martyrdom', op.639 (2005) [2:12]
Prelude on 'O Sacred Head', op.226 (2000) [2:08]
All My Heart This Night Rejoices, op.587 (2004) [2:28]
Lamento e Giga, op.948 (2012) [5:29]
Vision: O the Lamb, op.274 (2001) [3:36]
Prelude and Fugue, op.913 (2011) [5:13]
Monody, op.949 (2012) [4:57]
Erik Simmons (organ)
rec. Basilika Mariä-Himmelfahrt, Krzeszów (Grüssau),
Poland. No dates given. DDD
ERIK SIMMONS and CARSON COOMAN no number [49:06]
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When is a CD running time of 49 minutes not only not
a cause for complaint, but in fact constituent of a fantastic
bargain? The answer is: when the music is not just good, but
free! In an act of great generosity American composer
Carson Cooman and organist Erik Simmons, publishers of these
recordings themselves, defy all known economic models in offering
all the music here as free downloads - including lossless -
from the disc's own website. For those preferring a physical
product, the CD can be had from the same site for only $2 plus
postage ($4.30 at the time of writing for the US/UK). Either
way, no music-lover should hesitate.
Carson Cooman is one of the most prolific composers of all time.
He writes so fast that every time a figure for his total number
of works appears in print, or even on the internet, it is immediately
out of date. This new release, hot off the press, premieres
his opp. 948 and 949, and a casual perusal of the track-list
reveals that in 2005 he had 'only' reached op.424! That is well
over 500 published works in seven years, astonishing in itself,
yet Cooman has actually been publishing a new work at the incredible
rate of more than one a week for sixteen years. As evidenced
in this programme, many are only three or four minutes in length,
but scattered throughout his corpus there are a great number
over ten minutes, and such prolific production combined with
enormous breadth - he has written for virtually every solo instrument
and every combination of two or more - amounts to a mind-boggling
fertility and application.
As the website link above shows, this is Cooman's second monograph
of organ music, the first appearing on Raven Records (OAR-932)
only last year. Of the dozen pieces in Erik Simmons' recital,
only the Trio op.552 has been previously recorded (on that Raven).
Cooman himself is also a concert organist, a frequent performer
of contemporary music: according to his excellent website
more than 130 organ works have been written for him by various
other composers. Nevertheless, his own music is self-evidently
written for audiences - or more accurately, for audiences that
enjoy the Germanic tradition stretching back to Scheidemann
and Buxtehude - tuneful, reflective, straightforward yet stimulating
'reformist' music. There is much variety to keep the listener's
interest, with pious pieces introspecting over long bass drones
alternating with jaunty dances or soaring soul-stirrers. Most
items are kept to a congregation-pleasing three or four minutes
in length.
Cooman's pieces focus on general aesthetics rather than virtuosity,
but Erik Simmons, to whom Canzona II is dedicated, still has
plenty of scope to demonstrate confidence, agility and expression,
for which he is happy to oblige on the beautiful German organ
built in the 1730s by Michael Engler. Good sound quality further
enhances his performance.
Given that the CD itself is so cheap, no one can complain that
there are no notes beyond a line or two for each piece, explaining
who the dedication is for or commission from. Biographical information
on Cooman can be found on his website; Simmons is more elusive.
In short, this disc has to be one of the bargains of the year.
Those liking what they hear, which should be everyone, could
do much worse than to order 'A Trip to the Sky', an outstanding
CD of Cooman's chamber works that appeared last year on MSR
Classics - see review.
Byzantion
Collected reviews and contact at reviews.gramma.co.uk
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