David Briggs in concert last week on the recently reopened G.D.Harrison (1953) - E.M.Skinner (1911) organ of St John-the-Divine, New York, where he is Artist in Residence. Not all the stops are ready yet, notably the State Trumpets at the west end, but this famous organ is sounging glorious.
For those unconvinved by such organ transcriptions, Briggs says: 'I hope you’ll listen with a completely open mind - it’s not supposed to be a carbon copy of the orchestra, more of a recasting, but always based on the original spirit. Of course organs have developed colossally since 1877 when Brahms composed this magnum opus and we now have almost limitless control in terms of management of colour. My own sense is that the music has an equal emotional pull on the organ as with the original version, and especially in such an incredible acoustic as St John the Divine.'
I hope that even those not normally sold on organ recitals will give it a go, imagining that they are sitting in this huge building with the organ's colours amplified by the warm acoustic. Although only two-thirds completed, 'Big John' is the largest or second largest Anglican cathedral in the world.
More on the organ's revival: https://www.stjohndivine.org/music/cathedral-organs
), work unexpectedly well in his transcriptions alongside his evidently considerable performnce skills.
Comment