Organ Recital 4/10/11

[mercia]

the exceptionally long final chord

I'd forgotten that, yes it was very long

[Peter Katin]

I never comment on organ concerts or Choral Evensongs in the UK on the basis that the performers may be known to me. I have not met Mr Marshall so feel less constrained in this instance.

I heard only 1) the Fugue from BWV 565 which I thought OK but could have done without the odd ending and the exceptionally long final chord, 2) the Vierne, which I thought was dreadful; far too fast and banged out in a rather mechanical fashion, and finally 3) the first part of the final improvisation. I'm sorry to say this, but I thought the part I heard before my groans caused Madame Voix-Céleste to turn the system off , was unstructured, unmusical and similar to a first-term improvisation student's effort.

I cannot understand why this particular event with its unremarkable programme was chosen for a live broadcast nor the reverence that the corporation seem to have for Wayne Marshall's organ playing. This will almost certainly be the only concert of its type broadcast for the forseeable future and it is a pity that the marginally interested listener probably had his or her negative feelings about the genre reinforced.

I happened to be in Birmingham on Monday and took my parents along to the Town Hall for Thomas Trotter's lunchtime concert. He too played the Finale from Vierne I and even though I know the piece inside out I still felt that real "chill and thrill" one can get only from a faultless performance on a wonderful instrument. There was none of that last night.

No, I didn't find anything special about it - mind you, I gave up during the Liszt, I thought the Bach was so tasteless. Perhaps I should track down the repeat.

[Simon]

Well, absolutely! How on earth can they possibly schedule such populist trash? Talk about dumbing down! All the stuff that the lumpen proles will know and nothing challenging at all. What a wasted opportunity.

I'm sorry for quoting myself, but I'm responding to an off-board email which points out that some have taken the above post seriously.

It wasn't: I would never post that sort of opinion. It was a sarcastic post, whcih may have failed, aimed at snobs who think that the repertoire chosen, however well or badly played, was too populist or some such drivel. In fact they are all great pieces in their own right.

[Mahlerei]

Played well - or otherwise - these are hackneyed pieces, and that's a fact. Given that organ recitals are so rare on the Beeb these days and that there is so much new and interesting repertoire out there, it's a matter of regret that the programme couldn't have been more inspired. Of course that's no guarantee it would have been well played, but then that's the serendipity of concerts, not knowing how they will turn out on the night.

It isn't snobbery but merely a desire to widen one's exposure to repertoire that deserves to be heard. In other genres we don't restrict ourselves to Mozart and Beethoven. Or perhaps some of us do....