Organ and harpsichord recitals: an eclectic mix

Abstract

With instruments ranging from Restoration to Revival, it is difficult to find common ground in this varied batch of organ and harpsichord recitals, and all the more so for the competing philosophies at play: the different treatment of performance practice principles, for instance, either as scripture or with scorn; the diverse repertory, spanning about five centuries; or the instruments, ranging from a 1565 Italian organ to harpsichords built in the last five years. Despite this, the courage of each performer’s convictions determine the success of these efforts, as accurate playing of no musical consequence is needless and readily available, while even the wildest ideas can be sold well with the proper poise. Byrd to Blow: The English Baroque organ (Herald havpcd363, rec 2011, 73′) showcases the 1660s organ of St Giles-in-the-Fields, London. The 2007 restoration did not remove the 19th-century pipework or swell shades, but applied the fifth-comma meantone of the Hamburg Jakobikirche. The organ is thus capable of a wider repertory than played here, but is also somewhat late for Byrd, Bull and Gibbons, though Robin Walker’s restriction of registration to the earliest pipework is effective. Walker and several others reviewed here list registrations used in their booklets, an ever-welcome gesture with antique instruments. Tomkins and Purcell complete the roster, with the latter’s tremendously strange Voluntary for Double Organ a highlight, showcasing the instrument’s stentorian cornet and pompous blowhard of a trumpet. The instrument is tart and direct, Walker’s playing clean and agreeable, though the more French inflected phrases and ornaments often lack intention; and recent scholarship by John Harley suggests that Byrd was born in 1540, not the stated 1543.