On Thursday July 30th 145 I.A.O. members and friends attended the Annual Organ Congress, held this year in north-west England. Yet again I was the only representative from Bournemouth, although three came from the Dorset Association. The proceedings began that evening with a recital by Professor Ian Tracey at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral. He presented an interesting and varied programme, marred only by the opening piece "Improvisation on the 'Te Deum'" by Tournemire/Durufle being played far too loudly; many of us had our fingers in our ears by the end! Otherwise it was an enjoyable performance, demonstrating the majesty of the mighty Father Willis III in the huge reverberant space of Britain's largest cathedral.
The following morning it was back to Liverpool and St. George's Hall, where Ian Tracey was again in action. To my mind the highlight of this recital was a hugely evocative piece by Nikolaus Lemmens called "The Storm". The afternoon venue was Emmanuel Church at Southport, whose organ (Harrison, rebuilt by Rushworth and Dreaper) was superbly played by the effervescent Cathy Lamb, the assistant organist of Lichfield Cathedral. This instrument has a preponderance of 8-foot tone, with a consequent lack of brightness but there was no shortage of power.
Saturday morning took us back to Liverpool for a third time, firstly to Mossley Hill church, which houses a superb Willis organ, rebuilt by Reeves in 1980/81 and excellently played by David Dunnett, the organist of Norwich Cathedral. Then it was the first of two visits to the Metropolitan Cathedral, whose organ slightly disappointed me. Some of the pedal stops lacked definition, suggesting the need for a good clean, and the fanfare trumpet was too brash and unrefined for my tastes. However, these blemishes did not detract from the quality of the recital by the cathedral's organ scholar, Sam Austin, while the one by their Director of Music Timothy Noon, the following afternoon was equally fine. That morning we attended Choral Matins at Chester Cathedral. For me the choral highlight was a flawless performance of John Rutter's Winchester setting of the "Te Deum" while Dupre's brilliant "Prelude and Fugue in B major" rounded off the service in a blaze of glory. A welcome sequel was a performance of the Percy Whitlock Sonata by Philip Rushforth, the cathedral's Director of Music. The final day took us to Christ Church, Port Sunlight, where Philip Scriven, the Director of Music at Lichfield Cathedral, opened with the first movement of the Elgar Sonata in G and finished with Liszt's mighty peroration "Ad nos ad salutarem undam". This organ is notable for being the only surviving 4-manual instrument by Henry Willis II which is still in its original form apart from a modern blower; the action is Willis floating lever. Lastly it was into Wales and St Asaph Cathedral. Here we were treated to a delightful programme of duets by David Hill on the organ and renowned trumpeter Crispian Hill-Perkins. The annual dinner that evening brought Congress to a close. The Guest Speaker, Gordon Stewart, was his usual ebullient self and kept us well entertained.
Thus ended another very full week. It is always a happy occasion, meeting up with like-minded friends and hearing great music superbly played, thus giving me the chance to hear how an organ should be played! Next year the Congress roadshow moves to Brighton. Why not give it a try - I would welcome some company from Bournemouth for a change!
In late July I made my annual pilgrimage to Congress. As usual I was the only representative from Bournemouth but that did not detract from my enjoyment of what is one of the highlights of my year. Four very full days and one evening took us to several fine and interesting chapels and instruments in Cambridge, together with the cathedrals of Peterborough and Ely and the parish church of St.Neots, which is famous for its magnificent 15th-century tower. The latter venue opened the proceedings with a scintillating recital by Francesca Massey, the brilliant young assistant organist of Peterborough Cathedral. For me the highlight was a recently discovered little gem by Messaien called "Offrande au Saint Sacrament", which was composed in the 1930s. Unsurprisingly, Messaien's music featured prominently at this Congress, 2008 being the centenary year of the composer's birth.
The next two days were spent in Cambridge with a whistlestop tour encompassing six chapels plus Little St. Mary's Church, Emmanuel United Reformed Church and the Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady of English Martyrs. The latter is most beautiful, with superb acoustics, and houses a fine three-manual Abbott and Smith organ, renovated by Nicholson. It matches the building perfectly and was designed by C.V.Stanford, who obviously knew what he was doing. Other highlights were the magnificent new three-manual Orgues Letourneaux organ at Selwyn College Chapel, played expertly by Colin Walsh, and of course the world-famous Harrison instrument in Kings College Chapel, where Stephen Cleobury played an interesting and varied programme. St. Johns Chapel followed, where their choir, augmented by some members of the local Bach choir, conducted by David Hill, performed works by Vaughan Williams and Faures Requiem with great panache. For the stirring encore, David Hill sprinted up to the organ loft to accompany the choir on "Blest Pair of Sirens"; they had obviously been well drilled! The only disappointment was Emmanuel College. The three-manual Kenneth Jones organ is good in itself but sounds muffled due to most of the pipes pressing almost on to the ceiling and the building is acoustically dead.
Day Three took us to Peterborough Cathedral for Sung Eucharist, followed by a recital by their organist Andrew Reid. Then it was on to Ely Cathedral for Evensong plus a David Hill recital which rounded off the day most satisfactorily.
The following morning it was back to Cambridge. Daniel Hyde performed a varied programme of music by Bach, Hollins, Leighton, Ireland and Mulet on the superb new three-manual Kuhn organ at Jesus College Chapel, where he is Director of Music. Following the Annual General Meeting, John Rutter delivered an engaging and at times amusing talk entitled "Confessions of a Composer". Then we returned to the hotel for the Annual Dinner, which brought Congress to a close. The Guest Speaker was Catherine Ennis, who was in great form; how lovely it was to see her looking so well after her recent serious illness.
As you can see, a packed week. It is always a happy event, providing the chance to meet old friends and make new ones, as well as to hear great music brilliantly performed. Next year the Congress roadshow moves to north-west England, which it last visited in 2000. Why not give it a try?
The I.A.O. (Incorporated Associations of Organists) Congress has always been one of the highlights of my year and Rhineland 2006, held from July 24th-28th, proved no exception. Four full days and an evening encompassed all of the main churches and organs of Cologne, together with some at destinations farther afield. The 186 delegates were treated to brilliant performances throughout the week by a host of celebrated recitalists. With one exception, Mendelssohn featured in every programme on a great range of instruments.
The first-night recital, at St. Kunibert, was on an organ (by Kuhn of Switzerland) on which 21 of the 37 manual speaking stops were 8-foot pitches. Consequently it lacked brightness, which was exacerbated by the seven-second acoustic, but there was no shortage of power. It contrasted with the brilliance and sparkle of the Ursuline Church instrument, and the stupendous twin organs of the cathedral. One is located in the north-east corner and the other hangs from the nave roof on four mighty steel rods and as only accessible via the builders' lift! The Tuesday night recital there, by Winifred Bonig, was a public event, very well attended, and concluded with several encores.
Wednesday took us to the Beethoven museum in Bonn, where we had an interesting tour. Following a recital by Catherine Ennis, our present I.A.O. President, and soprano Elisabeth Friday, in the Nemen-Jesu-Kirche, we were treated to an hours cruise on the Rhine, where William McVicker delivered the R.C.O.Lecture entitled" Continental Organs - the Empire strikes back." After that it was off to the Klais organ works in Bonn, where we toured the factory and subsequently enjoyed another, more informal concert by Catherine and Elisabeth.
The last two days took us farther afield, through lovely country, to Scheiden, Steinfeld, Neiderche, Sayn and Maria Laach. The recital at Sayn on Friday was interesting for consisting of duets by Wesley by Daniel Hyde and Michael Gassman. The final concert was at the two organs of Maria Laach Abbey, which was followed by an evening of wine-tasting that brought Congress to a close.
Next year the Congress roadshow moves to Glasgow, which it last visited in 1985. Why not give it a try?
From July 22nd to 26th I attended the I.A.O. (Incorporated Associations of Organists) Congress, held this year in the interesting city of Nottingham. The delegates were treated to another heady mixture of classy recitals, an informative master class, together with interesting and challenging lectures and seminars, all of which were of the usual high standard. On Saturday afternoon there was an optional trip to the Critch tramway museum for those who wanted a change from music. Contemporaneous with that event, others assembled in Derby Cathedral for a recording of hymns to be broadcast on Radio Two's "Sunday Half Hour" slot around the New Year period. Another highlight was a performance in the cathedral of Dr. Francis Jackson's musical setting of "A Time Of Fire", which chronicled the events of the life of William Tyndale. It was sung by the St. Peter's Singers, directed by Dr. Simon Lindley (of Leeds Parish Church) in the presence of the composer, who was warmly applauded at the end.
The first-night recital, at the Roman Catholic Cathedral, by Philip McCann on cornet and Dr. Lindley on organ, was especially interesting for the use of an Echo Cornet, which has an extra piston to enable the sound to come out of a second, smaller bell located under the main one. However, perhaps the most outstanding event was the organ and piano concert (a rarely heard combination) by the Scott brothers Jonathan (organ) and Tom (piano). Here were two exceptional musicians whose programme included major works by Peeters ("Concerto for Organ and Piano" Opus 74) and Dupre ("Variations on Two Themes" Opus 35) and Guilmant's delightful "Pastorale" Opus 26, which stole the show for me. The festival concluded with a master class featuring two young organists, whose initial performances of works by J.S.Bach, Elgar and Eric Thiman were enhanced by Dr. Lindley's skilful and gentle guidance. He dexterously "thinned out" an initial registration of the Bach E Minor Little Prelude and Fugue to accentuate the top line, added a more positive registration by the addition of an Oboe and Double Trumpet to Elgar's "Imperial March", with transforming results.
He also suggested a more rubato approach to Thiman's "A Simple Air" to give a more romantic flavour. Then came the final concert, consisting of solo vocal items by Sophie Wellings, an outstanding teenage soprano, and Philip Martin, a fine young tenor, accompanied with discreet panache by Dr. Lindley, which rounded off the proceedings most satisfactorily. Next year the Congress Roadshow moves to Cologne, which promises to be an exciting prospect!