Romance for Violin & Organ

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Music reviews of Romance for Violin & Organ

Music Review: Unusual and engrossing repertoire
Rating: 5 Stars

Except for three works, this programme consists entirely of world premiere recordings. Two of those three - the ever-popular "Meditation" from "Thais" by Massenet and "Vocalise" by Rachmaninov - are transcriptions that are served quite well by the flexible organ sounds. The first track, a "Romance" by the late Romantic Scandinavian composer Otto Olsson, gives an immediate flavour of music written specially for violin and organ, with long sweeping phrases on the one instrument and soft, "cushion"-like accompaniments on the other. The same is true of "Benedictus" by William Lloyd-Webber (father of Andrew and Julian) and of Saint-Saens' "Priere," which was originally scored for 'cello and organ and is particularly delightful. The name of Eleuthere Lovreglio seems to me to be virtually unknown, but he may be a composer worth investigating, if his dreamily melancholic "Arioso" is anything to go by. Jean Langlais' "Cinq Pieces" are real gems - he was a string player as well as an organist - that show off his modal style at its most lyrical; these pieces were originally love songs and may also be played on flute. Meanwhile, Kenneth Leighton's "Fantasy on a chorale" is a large-scale movement with some extremely gritty writing that makes a startling contrast to the other works in the programme. The organist is also permitted to show the fiery side of his instrument here - the violin appears to balance out with it, although I suspect the sound engineers may have had a helping hand in ensuring that! The sequence ends with a recent work by a living composer, the "Pavane" by Swiss composer Carl Rutti, described as a "meeting with death" that builds in excitement and evokes an entire spectrum of moods, from fear and uncertainty to ecstacy and joy, all bound together in mystic harmonies and quirky rhythms.

These two players are wonderful: there is real emotion in their handling of this music; Rupert Gough's accompaniments are discreet and tasteful where it is required (he is helped by the fine organ of Christchurch Priory in Dorset and by his experience as Assistant Organist at Wells Cathedral) and his wife knows what to do with a good melody to make her violin 'sing.'

I am sure that this combination will win many hearts, both amongst lovers of chamber music and amongst organists (many of whom sometimes seem to be fighting against the belief by the wider musical public that organ music is strictly for organists). An hour of rewarding listening may be discovered here. Richly recommended!

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