MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2024
60,000 reviews
... and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

Presto Music CD retailer
 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             


REVIEW

Some items
to consider

new MWI
Current reviews

old MWI
pre-2023 reviews

paid for
advertisements

Acte Prealable Polish recordings

Forgotten Recordings
Forgotten Recordings
All Forgotten Records Reviews

TROUBADISC
Troubadisc Weinberg- TROCD01450

All Troubadisc reviews


FOGHORN Classics

Alexandra-Quartet
Brahms String Quartets

All Foghorn Reviews


All HDTT reviews


Songs to Harp from
the Old and New World


all Nimbus reviews



all tudor reviews


Follow us on Twitter


Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor
   
Rob Barnett
Editor in Chief
John Quinn
Contributing Editor
Ralph Moore
Webmaster
   David Barker
Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf
MusicWeb Founder
   Len Mullenger



Atoll

 

Franz LISZT (1811-1886)
Fantasia and Fugue on Ad nos, ad salutarem undam, S.259 (1850) [30:24]
Julius REUBKE (1834-1858)
Sonata on the 94th Psalm [26:37]
Robert Costin (organ)*
rec. April 2007, Wellington Town Hall auditorium, Wellington, New Zealand. DDD
ATOLL ACD307
[57:00]
Experience Classicsonline


Virtuoso English organist Robert Costin presents two great mid-19th German classics from Liszt and Reubke on the magnificent romantic symphonic organ of Wellington Town Hall, New Zealand. In the notes Costin describes the instrument as, “…a very fine, and extremely rare example of an English symphonic style organ”.

The organ of Wellington Town Hall was built in 1906 at a cost of £5000 by the eminent firm Norman and Beard Ltd. of London and Norwich. It was almost de rigueur in the late 1800s and early 1900s in many countries for a prestigious public building to have a substantial organ constructed. Norman and Beard benefited from this fervour for organs and were the builders of the organs at Norwich Cathedral (1899), Cheltenham College (1905), Winchester College Chapel (1908), Emmanuel College Chapel, Cambridge (1909), Usher Hall, Edinburgh (1914) and also the organ of Johannesburg Town Hall in South African.

In June 1901 the foundation stone of the Town Hall at Wellington, New Zealand was laid by the Duke of Cornwall and York, who later became King George V with construction commencing in May 1902. The Wellington Town Hall is recognised throughout the world for its wonderful acoustics; often referred to as near perfect. In the 1970-80s a successful campaign was fought against the possible demolition of the Town Hall. Subsequently the organ was restored in 1985/86 and its original specifications have been retained. For the technically minded this splendid Norman and Beard organ consists of four manuals and pedals, 57 speaking stops and 13 couplers.

Liszt’s first work for organ the Fantasia and Fugue on the chorale Ad nos, ad salutarem undam’, S.259 originated from his highly productive early period in Weimar. This version of the score came about as a result of a commission to write a work for the inaugural recital of the magnificent organ reconstructed by Friedrich Ladegast at the Merseburg Cathedral. Liszt visited the Merseburg Cathedral organ a number of times before it was completed in 1855, an instrument that in fact inspired several of his organ compositions.

The theme for the Fantasia and Fugue is based on a chorale from Giacomo Meyerbeer’s highly successful French Grand Opera Le Prophète (The Prophet) in 5 acts from 1849 to a libretto by the eminent Eugène Scribe. Robert Costin writes that Liszt, “went to see the opera (Le Prophète) himself in Dresden and was impressed by much of Meyerbeer’s music…Meyerbeer’s melody clearly intrigued Liszt; its harmonic and melodic characteristics permeated every aspect of the work, lending it an impressive structural coherence”.

The Fantasia and Fugue was published in 1852 as the last of a set of four pieces entitled Illustrations du Prophète, S.414 (1849/50); the first three of the set were for piano. Liszt biographer the composer Humphrey Searle states that the Fantasia and Fugue, “…is certainly not an operatic fantasy. It is based on a chorale sung by three Anabaptists in the first act of the opera, where they call the people to seek re-baptism in the healing water.”A Meyerbeer’s Latin text sung by the trio of Anabaptists Ad nos, ad salutarem undam, iterum venite miseri ad nos, as nos venite populi can be translated as To us, to the water of salvation, come to us again, you who are wretched, come to us, you people. Liszt dedicated the score to Meyerbeer and undertook several revisions on the Fantasia and Fugue before its 1855 première performance by soloist Alexander Winterberger at Merseburg Cathedral.

The Fantasia and Fugue on the chorale Ad nos, ad salutarem undam’ is a substantial score lasting just over thirty minutes. Cast in a single continuous movement the score  has three discernable sections: Fantasia, Adagio and Fugue. Part of the chorale theme, that was Meyerbeer’s own, is located at the start of the opening Fantasia section. Here I was struck by the power and terrific resonance of the Norman and Beard organ. The complete chorale theme is heard in the Adagio in F-sharp, sometimes known as Liszt’s mystical key. I loved Costin’s subtle playing in the meditative Adagio section that has a rather remote feel. Drama abounds in the final section a muscular and vigorous double fugue leading to the exultant conclusion.

A recommendable alternative version of the Liszt’s Fantasia and Fugue is performed with drama and assurance by Andreas Rothkopf on the Wilhelm Sauer organ of the Evangelische Stadtkirche, Bad Homburg, Germany on Naxos 8.555079.

The son of an organ builder Julius Reubke only lived a short life before being struck down in his mid-twenties with tuberculosis. Two years before his untimely death in 1858 Reubke had studied with Liszt at Weimar following a recommendation from Hans von Bülow. Liszt took Reubke under this wing and allowed the young man to live at his Altenburg house. I first came across Reubke’s music hearing his Piano Sonata in B flat minor (1857) a couple of years ago at a recital at my local concert society.

Reubke’s Sonata on the 94th Psalm from 1857 has a substantial single movement span in three sections. It lasts around twenty six minutes and has considerable programmatic elements. The first edition of Reubke’s score contained printed verses from the 94th Psalm that were closely linked to the score’s movements. Bearing a dedication to Professor Carl Riedel, the composer gave the première of the score on the Friedrich Ladegast organ at Merseburg Cathedral in June 1857.

I’m not sure how often Reubke’s Sonata on the 94th Psalm is played today. The world famous organist Sir George Thalben-Ball (1896-1987) who served at the Temple Church, London for sixty years had the Reubke score in his repertoire. Thalben-BallB first played the work in 1918 on the Father Smith organ (destroyed by bombing in 1941) at a public recital at St. Clement Danes, The Strand, London. There is a recording of Thalben-Ball playing the Fugue from Reubke’s Sonata on the 94th Psalm on a recording of ‘British Organists of the 1920sC.

In the opening section of the Sonata on the 94th Psalm Robert Costin provides a heady kaleidoscope of mood and instrumental colour. The central section Adagio is steeped with a sacred character. I was struck by Reubke’s adventurous writing especially the dark and shadowy excursion to the low registers of the organ at 2:28-2:59. Brisk and joyously uplifting the final section contains closing bars that aptly display the rich and powerful sonority of the instrument.

Soloist Robert Costin who studied at the Royal Academy of Music and Pembroke College, Cambridge is currently director of music at Ardingly College, West Sussex. In these scores by Liszt and Reubke, the assured Costin avoids the temptation to rush giving the music ample time to breath. Displaying consummate control he expertly demonstrates the range and luxuriant tone colours of the Norman and Beard organ at Wellington.

Michael Cookson


*Robert Costin is a reviewer for MusicWeb International

Footnotes:

A
The Music of Liszt by Humphrey Searle - Dover Publications, second revised edition (1966) - ISNB not stated. Pg. 87.

B George Thalben-Ball by Jonathon Rennert - Publisher: David & Charles, Newton Abbot, Devon (1979) - ISBN: 0 7153 7863 5. Pg. 50.

C Fugue from Reubke The 94th Psalm Sonata British Organists of the 1920s, Vol. 2 recorded 1913-1926 AMPHION PHICD-156

See also: Organ Historical Society Catalog and Amphion Recordings

 


 


Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos reviews

Hyperion recordings
All Hyperion reviews

Foghorn recordings
All Foghorn reviews

Troubadisc recordings
All Troubadisc reviews



all Bridge reviews


all cpo reviews

Divine Art recordings
Click to see New Releases
Get 10% off using code musicweb10
All Divine Art reviews


All Eloquence reviews

Lyrita recordings
All Lyrita Reviews

 

Wyastone New Releases
Obtain 10% discount

Subscribe to our free weekly review listing

 

 


EXPLORE MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL

Making a Donation to MusicWeb

Writing CD reviews for MWI

About MWI
Who we are, where we have come from and how we do it.

Site Map

How to find a review

How to find articles on MusicWeb
Listed in date order

Review Indexes
   By Label
      Select a label and all reviews are listed in Catalogue order
   By Masterwork
            Links from composer names (eg Sibelius) are to resource pages with links to the review indexes for the individual works as well as other resources.

Themed Review pages

Jazz reviews

 

Discographies
   Composer
      Composer surveys
   National
      Unique to MusicWeb -
a comprehensive listing of all LP and CD recordings of given works
.
Prepared by Michael Herman

The Collector’s Guide to Gramophone Company Record Labels 1898 - 1925
Howard Friedman

Book Reviews

Complete Books
We have a number of out of print complete books on-line

Interviews
With Composers, Conductors, Singers, Instumentalists and others
Includes those on the Seen and Heard site

Nostalgia

Nostalgia CD reviews

Records Of The Year
Each reviewer is given the opportunity to select the best of the releases

Monthly Best Buys
Recordings of the Month and Bargains of the Month

Comment
Arthur Butterworth Writes

An occasional column

Phil Scowcroft's Garlands
British Light Music articles

Classical blogs
A listing of Classical Music Blogs external to MusicWeb International

Reviewers Logs
What they have been listening to for pleasure

Announcements

 

Community
Bulletin Board

Give your opinions or seek answers

Reviewers
Past and present

Helpers invited!

Resources
How Did I Miss That?

Currently suspended but there are a lot there with sound clips


Composer Resources

British Composers

British Light Music Composers

Other composers

Film Music (Archive)
Film Music on the Web (Closed in December 2006)

Programme Notes
For concert organizers

External sites
British Music Society
The BBC Proms
Orchestra Sites
Recording Companies & Retailers
Online Music
Agents & Marketing
Publishers
Other links
Newsgroups
Web News sites etc

PotPourri
A pot-pourri of articles

MW Listening Room
MW Office

Advice to Windows Vista users  
Questionnaire    
Site History  
What they say about us
What we say about us!
Where to get help on the Internet
CD orders By Special Request
Graphics archive
Currency Converter
Dictionary
Magazines
Newsfeed  
Web Ring
Translation Service

Rules for potential reviewers :-)
Do Not Go Here!
April Fools




Return to Review Index

Untitled Document


Reviews from previous months
Join the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the discs reviewed. details
We welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin Board
Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to which you refer.