The Annual

 Glebe Music Festival

In conjunction with The Glebe Society Inc

Organ Recital
St John's Church, Bishopthorpe
Sunday 12 November 1995 at 1530hrs

The restoration of the Forster and Andrew's organ was completed in 1994.
Organists
Herbert Woodhouse, St John's organist (1, 5, 6)
David McIntosh (2, 3, 4)

1. Toccata and Fugue in the Dorian Mode J.S. Bach (1685-1750)

Bach wrote the bulk of his organ works when he was a church organist in Weimar from 1708 to 1717. "This is a master-piece in his third style - a return to the early virtuosity now raised to a higher power and dignity. This is one of the few pieces we possess in which he records (probably for a pupil) his own ideas of colouring. Few modern organs however approximate either in scheme or tone at all closely to those used by Bach." (A. Eaglefield Hull).
"This fugue is conveniently always mis-called the "Dorian", but it has no contact with the Dorian mode except the note D. The manuscript looks Dorian, B flat appearing as an accidental - not in the key signature, but the sound is utterly D minor." (A.E.F. Dickinson of Durham University in his book "Bach's Fugal Works" )

This fugue consists of 222 bars - the longest of the master-works for organ or keyboard. Because of the respective lengths and number of repetitions of the subject and counter-subject, Prof. Karl Hochreither of Berlin advocates legato playing for the former and a rhythmical accentuation of the drop of a fifth at the end of the second.

2. Vesper Voluntaries for the Organ Op. 14 (1891) Edward Elgar ( 1857-1934 )
V Introduction and Andante
VI Allegretto pensoso
VII Poco Allegro in D Major

3. Seven Sketches for Organ (on verses from the Psalms) Percy Whitlock (1903-1946 )
V Preambule Ps XXIII.2

4. Six Sonatas for Organ. Op. 65 No. 4 Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy ( 1809-1847)
Allegro maestoso e vivace

5. Sonata No. 1 in C minor. Second Movement Herbert Howells (1892-1983)
Molto quieto, ma non troppo lento

Herbert Howells was articled to Sir Herbert Brewer, Organist of Gloucester Cathedral, in 1909 at the age of 17. Among Brewer's other articled pupils was Ivor Davies, better known as Ivor Novello. It was during this time that Howells wrote his first organ sonata but therafter it became lost until only 7 years ago when Robin Wells and Graham Matthews painstakingly produced this edition and Matthews recorded it on CD. It had its first performance here on the organ of St John's Church, Bishopthorpe, in July 1992. A year later it was played in St Andrew's Cathedral.

6. Tuba Tune Norman Cocker (1889-1953)

Norman Cocker spent his entire career in Manchester where in his very retiring way he happily played in the Cathedral and also in a local cinema. He is remembered for this piece alone but who could forget him when he modulates from two sharps to six and back in 24 bars! Our "tuba stop" for today must perforce consist of most of the Great stops in combination.

Back to Calendar of Events 1995