Review: Roger Williams, organ recital
ROGER WILLIAMS, ORGAN RECITAL
KING'S COLLEGE CHAPEL Tuesday, 6 November 2012
Alan Cooper writes...
Roger Williams has been a regular contributor to the sound Festival over several years and his recitals combining early organ music with contemporary works have reached a level of accomplishment that makes them, for me anyway, one of the most eagerly anticipated sound events. Tuesday’s recital was the best yet, not just with reference to the level of performance but to the imaginative and scrupulous choice and placing of pieces in the programme. The broad range of contemporary works demonstrated the amazing variety of styles and methods adopted by today’s composers when writing for the organ and Roger had set these alongside pieces by earlier composers which had illuminating parallels with their modern equivalents. That was not all either; the contemporary pieces were placed in such an order as to expose both the similarities of method and texture as well as the stark contrasts between them. Three of the composers were present in the Chapel to hear their works performed or to take part in the performances themselves in the case of the electro-acoustic works: they were Claire Singer, Ross White and John McLeod.
Roger opened his recital with Tiento del Quinto tono by the Spanish renaissance composer and organist Antonio de Cabezón. The use of trumpet stops gave the piece its celebratory fanfare-like impact. It was followed by Wild Mossy Mountains (1982) by Judith Weir. The shaping of the music echoed the contours of its subject while its harmonies and timbres conjured the atmosphere of the mountains but it also included toccata-like interjections which linked it firmly to classical organ tradition.
Claire Singer’s piece for organ, electronics and visuals, also had connections with the Scottish mountains if the visuals were anything to go by. It was one continuous chordal sound texture which mutated and grew in colour and shape like a living organism. The input of the organ was fully digested into the pre-existing electronic content so that it was difficult to tell them apart. New sonorities kept arising from within the ever-changing swirling sound cloud, sometimes deep and sepulchral, sometimes high and piercing, some of them like the softer tones of the organ others with the edgy intensity of the reed stops. The sounds of a child crying or the drones of bagpipes could be imagined within the cloud of sound. For part of the performance Roger had to get down on hands and knees in order I suppose to control the pedals with greater delicacy than would be possible with the feet.
Louis Couperin’s three-movement Suite preceded a specially commissioned work from the English composer Robert Saxton, his Little Suite which was receiving its world premiere on Tuesday. The first movement is marked Prelude non mesuré which linked it perfectly to the Prelude in particular of the Couperin Suite. Actually, it was only in the Chaconne of this work that Couperin’s off-centre rhythms began to gel into a delightfully mannered dance movement. I wonder how many people I would have to bribe to keep quiet if I were to score out Couperin’s name and replace it with my own before submitting this work as a contemporary composition. It sounded startlingly up to date.
Robert Saxton’s Little Suite was a masterful work linking modernism with a noble tradition. It must surely become a classic of the modern organ repertoire. I particularly enjoyed the celebratory carillon of organ sound that was his Toccata.
“A Return” by Ross Whyte on the surface used the same basic compositional materials as Claire Singer and yet the result was totally different. Here the organ was overlaid on the electronic backing and was easily distinguishable from it. The minimalist melodic material was immediately attractive and this piece would surely appeal to even the most traditionalist tastes.
Frescobaldi was the founder of so much that was to follow in composition for organ. His Canzona Quinta, tono nono a marvellous example of its genre was followed by a remarkably fine example of the contemporary re-imagining of one of Frescobaldi’s most celebrated musical forms, the toccata. The King’s Toccata by John McLeod was rich in grandeur and glorious organ colour. This work above all the others was the one where having the television screen at the front of the Chapel really paid off. We could see how the changes in sonorities were achieved as Roger moved from one manual to the next including the pedals to bring out the full orchestral impact of this work.
From start to finish, this was a thrilling virtuoso performance from Roger Williams tackling some very challenging music. It leaves only one problem. How on earth is he going to top this performance next year?
© Alan Cooper 2012
