Okay, let me get the apology out of the way right at the outset: sorry for the appalling pun in the title. But, hey, come on, I have to be allowed a pun at least once in while!
I love good organ music, and it's not always easy to catch on the fly -- organ recitals are not often as well publicized as other forms of public music performance. So I was very excited when this year's Festival programme included a concert at St. James Church, featuring the organ. The church's organist and music director, William "Bill" McArton, played the key role in the proceedings, whether as solo organist or as provider of accompaniment or continuo bass to other artists.
There are several key composers whose works provide the foundation stones of any organist's recital repertoire, and McArton opened and closed this concert with two of them while touching on another in the middle. J. S. Bach's Prelude and Fugue in G Major, BWV550 began the programme with a stately reading of the prelude, and a suitably flowing reading of the following fugue, which worked up to an entirely appropriate climactic cadence at the end.
Suzanne Shulman, flute, and John Lowry, violin, next came forward to present a Trio Sonata in E Minor, TWV 42:e6 by Telemann, with McArton and cellist Beth Root Sandvoss providing the basso continuo. This work began solemnly, but the fourth movement brought it to a much lighter end.
Next was a Flute Sonata in E Minor, Op. 2 No. 1 by Jean-Marie Leclair. As rarely heard as the Telemann, this work proved to be just as delightful with McArton and Sandvoss again playing the continuo.
By this time, a serious thunderstorm was rattling the church at regular intervals, and there was an unfortunate power outage when McArton was only 20 bars or so into Mendelssohn's Organ Sonata in D Minor No. 6, Op. 65. The power came back on, the organ was restarted, and McArton resumed from the phrase where he was interrupted. Like Mendelssohn's other organ sonatas, this one clearly displays the structural influence of Bach mingled with some of the freer harmonic practises of the nineteenth century. In this case, the work began unusually with a chorale theme and variations of great variety, played by McArton with considerable drama; this was followed by a more severe fugue based on the chorale theme, with a gentler, lyrical andante movement to close.
Lowry then joined McArton for two movements of a Suite for Violin and Organ, Op. 166 by Josef Rheinberger. The Praeludium was the one place where I felt McArton overplayed his hand, since his choice of stops was a bit heavy for Lowry to compete with. However, the succeeding Moto perpetuo was gentler, and since Lowry was having to do almost all the moto with his endless chains of triplets his audibility certainly wasn't an issue here. A charming piece, but a rather odd combination of incompatible instruments, for my money.
McArton then closed a memorable programme with a powerful performance of the Choral (sic) No.3, FWV40 by César Franck. The Trois chorals were the last works Franck completed before his death, and sealed his reputation as the greatest organ composer since Bach. Compared to the chorale preludes of Bach, this is a much more improvisatory piece in character, but eventually a clear structure emerges as the music progresses. The technical challenges of this work are formidable, and McArton surmounted them with ease, giving a reading of combined majesty and edginess which fully caught the character of the music.
All in all, a rewarding programme to bring the second week of the Festival to its close. I'm going on hiatus for a few days to catch up on sleep, and will return next Tuesday to resume my daily reports on the Festival's final week.
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