Bravura!
York BOWEN (1884-1961)
Fantasia, op. 136 (1949) [10:28]
Olivier MESSIAEN (1908-1992)
Diptyque (1930) [11:36]
Oskar LINDBERG (1887-1955)
Sonata in G minor (1924) [16:18]
Marcel DUPRÉ (1886-1971)
Prelude and Fugue in F minor, op.7 No.2 (c.1915) [9:16]
William MATHIAS (1934-1992)
Variations on a Hymn Tune, op. 20 (1962) [12:30]
Jehan ALAIN (1911-1940)
Choral Cistercien pour une élévation (1934) [2:16]
Egil HOVLAND (1924-2013)
Nu la oss takke Gud (Organ Toccata) (1973) [6:58]
Francis POTT (b.1957)
Empyrean (1982) [6:58]
Francesca Massey (organ)
rec. 2014, Durham Cathedral.
PRIORY PRCD1137 [76:20]
This CD gets of to a fine start with a rare excursion into
the organ loft with York Bowen: in his catalogue there is
also a Melody in G minor and a transcription of the orchestral Somerset Suite.
The composer, who is best known for his piano works, is often unfairly dubbed
the ‘English Rachmaninov’. Pianistic textures with considerable
use of octaves in the right hand, arpeggios and chromatic scale figurations
are to the fore in this Fantasia, although I do believe that these work exceptionally
well — in this case — for organ. The liner-notes do not mention
that this Fantasia was written in 1949 and received its first outing
during the Festival of Britain by the work’s dedicatee Arnold Richardson.
It is a romantic piece with one or two nods towards something a little more
hard-edged.
The second piece is a million miles away in mood and tone. Olivier
Messiaen composed his Diptyque for organ in 1930: it is
subtitled ‘essay on earthly life and blessed eternity’. Diptyque
was dedicated jointly to Paul Dukas and Marcel Dupré. There could not be a
greater disparity between the two ‘panels’ of this early masterpiece.
The opening section has a powerful rhythmic drive that displays huge suffering
and torment. Suddenly, the dreamy second ‘panel’ begins. This
is timeless (as in duration) music that reveals much of the nature of the
Christian view of peace and eternal rest. Messiaen was to reuse this material
in his superlative Quatuor pour la fin du temps, which was written
and performed in a German prisoner of war camp during the winter of 1941.
Diptyque is beautifully played here by Francesca Massey.
I have never heard Oskar Lindberg’s Sonata in G minor
before. This four movement work was written by the Swedish composer, organist
and teacher in 1924. The liner-notes suggest that the music was composed in
a late-romantic style evoking Rachmaninov, Sibelius and the French Impressionists.
It was dedicated to his friend, the composer Albert Lindström (1853-1935).
The first movement is a lugubrious funeral march. This is followed by a spectral
adagio which has the sound of improvisation written all over it. The next
movement, ‘alla sarabanda’ is also mysterious in its working out:
this is gloomy music indeed. The finale is impressive with a powerful rhythmic
drive and an equally imposing hymn-like peroration.
Marcel Dupré’s fine Prelude and Fugue in F minor,
op.7 no.2 was a commemorative work written in memory of the blind organist
Augustin Barié who died in 1915. This is a quiet, retrospective piece that
clearly pays deep homage to his friend. Some listeners have noticed the shadow
of Claude Debussy over this music. In spite of its reticence, this Prelude
and Fugue is not despairing: there is a profound confidence and hope
in these pages.
The performance of William Mathias’s Variations
on a Hymn Tune op. 20 is outstanding. This large recital work was written
in 1962 and is based on the well-known Welsh hymn ‘Briant’. There
is a short introduction, followed by a statement of the hymn, then six variations
each exploring a phrase from the tune. A huge variety of timbres and musical
genres are heard here: this ranges from the string stops, to magical flutes
and the heavy reeds. The composer presents his variations in the form of ‘dances,
marches, elegies and fanfares’. There is always a good balance between
Mathias’s skipping figurations and his more intimate moments. The work
closes with massive four-part harmony on the tuba stop.
Jehan Alain’s Choral Cistercien pour une élévation
was composed in 1934. It was conceived with a liturgical function in mind:
the offering up of the Host during Mass. The score was discovered after his
death and is believed to have been written at the Cistercian Abbey in Valloires
in the Somme department of France, where the composer would go on retreat.
Alain’s life and career was cut short by a sniper’s bullet during
the Battle of Saumur in 1940.
The penultimate work on this CD is the Toccata on Nu la oss takke Gud
(Now thank we all our God) by the Norwegian composer Egil Hovland.
It was composed in 1973. The liner-notes suggests that his compositional style
is eclectic: his teachers included Aaron Copland and Luigi Dallapiccola. It
is a great example of an exuberant recessional piece of music. Hovland’s
virtuosic writing for the instrument includes cascades of sound, running scales,
rapidly alternating chords and clusters in the last bars.
The final work on this CD is Francis Pott’s Empyrean
which was envisioned during a performance of Berlioz’s Requiem Mass
in Ely Cathedral. The composer writes that the play of light in the Octagon
of the cathedral provided him with a metaphor of the human soul rising heavenward.
The piece begins quietly and concludes in ‘full blazing immediacy’.
It is a work that I enjoyed infinitely more than its inspiration.
Francesca Massey began her musical career as a pianist, singer and violinist.
She was a founder member of the City of Birmingham Symphony Youth Chorus.
Massey took the opportunity of a gap-year Organ Scholarship at St George’s
Windsor Chapel, before taking her music degree at Cambridge. During her studies,
Massey was Organ Scholar at Gonville and Caius College and later organist
at Great St Mary’s Church. Subsequent appointments have included Organ
Scholar at Manchester Cathedral, Assistant Director of Music at Peterborough
before taking up her current position as Sub-Organist at Durham Cathedral.
It is always a pleasure to hear the large four-manual Father Willis organ
in Durham Cathedral whether in recital, on CD or at Evensong. The organ was
originally installed in 1876 and was then ‘state-of-the-art’.
It was rebuilt between 1905 and 1934 by Harrison & Harrison, the long
delay being as a result of financial restraints. The instrument was again
rebuilt by the same organ-builder in 1970 when a new console was added and
other modifications which balanced contemporary aspirations with the historic
nature of the organ.
The liner notes are informative and quite detailed, however it would have
been helpful if the date of every piece had been given. These notes include
the all-essential specification as well as a brief history of the organ.
It is almost superfluous to praise the sound quality of this CD: it is exactly
as one expects from Priory. The listener can well imagine they are in the
nave of the cathedral. Everything is clear and the various timbres of the
stops are well-balanced and distinct.
This is a fine addition to the recorded collection of Great British Organs.
It presents a diverse and imaginative programme
that is superbly played and finely recorded. It will be a ‘must’
for all organ enthusiasts.
John France
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