Sir Charles STANFORD (1852-1924)
Procession Music from Drake [10:47]
Sir Edward ELGAR (1857-1934)
Elegy [5:08]
Sospiri [5:40]
Coronation March [13:11]
Frederick DELIUS (1862-1934)
On hearing the first cuckoo in Spring [7:52]
Sir Hubert PARRY (1848-1918)
An English Suite [23:37]
Paul SPICER (b.1952)
The Land of Lost Content [7:52]
Gustav HOLST (1874-1934)
Chaconne [4:49]
Martyn Rawlins (organ)
rec. organ, Lichfield Cathedral, 18-20 September 2012
PRIORY PRCD 1090 [79:51]
The present organ of Lichfield Cathedral derives originally from
an instrument by George Holditch which dates from the restoration
of the Cathedral Quire in 1861. Alterations by William Hill &
Son in 1884 were followed by further changes in 1908. Overhauls
in 1974 and 2000 have resulted in an instrument which, according
to Martyn Rawlins, the Cathedral organist and soloist on this
disc, has been restored to an approximation of its 1908 arrangement
including the use of Old Philharmonic Pitch which is sharper than
normal concert pitch.
With a single exception the music played on this disc consists
of arrangements of orchestral or band music by the great names
of English music around the early twentieth century, transcribed
by a series of famous organists including Sir Walter Alcock, John
E. West, Henry Ley and Arthur Wills. I have no objection in principle
to such transcriptions which can add a new and interesting dimension
to the music, but arranging and playing such music is by no means
easy, and some types of music resolutely refuse to translate well
into this very different medium. Works for wind instruments are
closer to the fundamental sound of the organ, so that the Chaconne
from Holst’s First Suite for Military Band is particularly
effective, arguably even gaining from this new guise. Works for
strings can present more difficulties. Where they have a generally
clear-cut sound, such as the Parry Suite, they can be effective
on the organ but there is more of a problem where the ability
of stringed instruments to vary their attack or for a single line
to get louder or softer within a single note is hard to replicate
or find a suitable alternative to those characteristics. Thus
the two short Elgar pieces for strings – Elegy and Sospiri
– are, to my ears at least, wholly ineffectual, their character
lost and nothing new gained. Although Delius’ First Cuckoo
is heard in a transcription by no less a Delius expert than Eric
Fenby it too loses much more than it gains.
I should say at this point that I am in no wise blaming Martyn
Rawlins or the Lichfield organ for this. Mr Rawlins does all that
is possible to make these pieces sound idiomatic on an instrument
whose actual sounds are wonderfully redolent of the period of
the music. Where the music and instrument fit together better,
as in the Coronation March or in the music by Stanford and Parry,
the result is effective and enjoyable. Best of all however is
the only piece of original organ music here – The Land
of Lost Content by Paul Spicer. Despite or perhaps because
of its relatively short duration it has a real sense of shape
and character, and, maybe incidentally, shows off the organ and
player’s capabilities well.
Despite my reservations about some of the pieces this is a worthy
and interesting addition to the Great European Organs series which
rightly attempts the match the music to the instrument. Like its
predecessors it is well recorded and presented with good notes
on the music, the instrument and the player. It would certainly
be a very good souvenir of a visit to this most interesting but
by no means most visited of English cathedrals. Much more than
that, it is a well filled disc offering an interesting and coherent
programme of music, well played on a very characterful instrument.
John Sheppard
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