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A.HOLLINS Concert Overture in C minor
Temple Music, Fleet Street, London 13 July 2011 Thomas Trotter, with projection screens at both left and right for us to watch his hands and feet, gave a farewell recital before the famous Temple Church organ (installed by Harrison & Harrison Ltd, in 1954) was about to be removed for thorough renovation, which will take 18 months. He put this fine instrument through its paces in an enjoyable programme which ranged over the history of English organ recitals from the Hollins concert overture [enjoy it with Jeremy Filsell at Alexanda Palace] to a piece by the young Judith Weir which had been premiered by Michael Bonaventure. His scheduled programme ended with two of the popular transcriptions through which many Victorians got to know orchestral music which otherwise would not have reached them. He ended with a favourite piece of Thalben-Ball's - he had held the post of Temple Church organist for nearly sixty years and was famous for early organ recordings, including the Ernest Lough O for the wings of a dove. To finish (before hospitality at Middle Temple Hall) we had a demonstration of an ageing flue pipe and a reed pipe, and their condition needing attention, by H & H's engineer. Having fairly recently enjoyed the Monteverdi Vespers at Temple Church, it was something of a revelation to hear the organ on its own in this acoustically ideal setting, that probably depending on the Gothic sectioning of the roof. The sound was magically clear in pianissimo and never became confused o painful in thunderous fortissimo .A splendid evening, leaving us keen to hopefully make it back for the next recital on that organ at Temple Church in 2013... Peter Grahame Woolf |
