Wednesdays at Christ Church
Wednesday 18th September 2013 - 12.30 Lunchtime Concert
Anthony Cairns, organ
ProgrammeJohann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) Allabreve in D major, BWV 589 Johann Gottfried Walther (1684-1748) Herr Jesu Christ [ii] Herr Jesu Christ [i] Théodore Dubois (1837-1934) Toccata in G (1886) Louis Vierne (1870-1937) Pastorale (1913) Flor Peeters (1903-1986) Aria (1946) William Mathias (1934-1992) Postlude (1962) Andrew Fletcher (b1950) Integritas (1984) Louis James Alfred Lefébure-Wély (1817-1870) Sortie in E flat(1858) 
The Hill Norman & Beard organ at Christ Church (United Reformed), Leatherhead
|
Anthony Cairns, MA, BMus, ARCM, has been organist and choirmaster at Christ Church since 1965, and was consultant for organ rebuilds in 1970 and 1995. He briefly studied piano teaching, cello, and choir training at the Royal College of Music and holds degrees in law (Cambridge, 1961) and music (London, 1977). Anthony taught class music in Surrey secondary schools, becoming Head of Music at Esher College in 1977. He taught academic music and keyboard harmony at the Purcell School 1987-97. He was conductor of Leatherhead Choral Society 1991-2000, and formed the Leatherhead chamber choir AntiphoniA in 2007. As an organist Anthony is largely self-taught, and particularly admires Peter Hurford and Olivier Latry. The Christ Church organ was built by Hill Norman & Beard in 1970 with 16 stops, using some pipes from previous organs plus some neo-baroque sounds typical of the 1960's and '70's (Chimney Flute and Fifteenth on open-foot voicing, like the Royal Festival Hall organ). In 1995, HNB moved some loud stops from the Great to a new double case in the nave, 6 stops were added, and the tone was refined. |
Programme Notes by Anthony Cairns
"Allabreve" indicates the steady two-in-a-bar rhythm of this old-fashioned piece, probably from Bach’s twenties or early thirties. It is contrapuntal, but not a fugue, as the main subject is accompanied on its first appearance. In nearly 200 bars (more than 6 minutes), the initial theme occurs over 20 times, while other themes are derived from it to create a rich tapestry of sound.
Bach’s cousin Walther, a master of chorale-preludes, was described by Mattheson as "a second Pachelbel". Here are two preludes on a chorale also set by Bach. The first has the chorale on a high-pitched stop on the pedals, each phrase being introduced by an attractive three-voice treatment of the first three notes of the tune and its inversion. The second places the chorale in the left hand, surrounded by a jig-like melody in the right hand and a bass line on the pedals.
Théodore Dubois was organist in Paris at St Clotilde, and later at the Madeleine as successor to Saint-Saëns. The Toccata in G is the most popular of his 88 published organ pieces.
Louis Vierne was Widor’s assistant at St Sulpice in Paris, becoming organist of Notre-Dame at the age of 30. His teachers included Franck and Widor. His many organ compositions are often densely chromatic and cover a wide range of moods, perhaps reflecting his struggles with blindness, and demonstrating his resourcefulness as a great improviser. In contrast to the 24 Pièces de Fantaisie and the six Symphonies for large west-end organ, his 24 Pieces in Free Style (1913) were designed to be playable on either organ or harmonium.
The Belgian organist of Malines Cathedral, Flor Peeters, was a pupil of Dupré and Tournemire in Paris, and became director of Antwerp Conservatory. Among over 200 organ works, this solemn but attractive Aria appeared in the same year arranged as a cello solo. His style is traditional, with a strongly modal character and a fondness for interesting parallel harmonies in his final cadences.
Welsh composer William Mathias brought a lively sense of fun to church music between 1960 and 1990, and was commissioned to write the anthem for Prince Charles’s first marriage.
Andrew Fletcher, organist to the University of Birmingham, regularly contributes perceptive reviews of new organ music to the quarterly magazine Organists’ Review. He is also a capable composer, and this gentle voluntary reveals a quirky individuality, particularly at the return from B flat in the middle section to the G major opening.
Possibly the most brilliant organist of his time, Lefébure-Wély published the most flamboyant organ music of all, and this justly acclaimed Sortie is his best-known piece.
Bach’s cousin Walther, a master of chorale-preludes, was described by Mattheson as "a second Pachelbel". Here are two preludes on a chorale also set by Bach. The first has the chorale on a high-pitched stop on the pedals, each phrase being introduced by an attractive three-voice treatment of the first three notes of the tune and its inversion. The second places the chorale in the left hand, surrounded by a jig-like melody in the right hand and a bass line on the pedals.
Théodore Dubois was organist in Paris at St Clotilde, and later at the Madeleine as successor to Saint-Saëns. The Toccata in G is the most popular of his 88 published organ pieces.
Louis Vierne was Widor’s assistant at St Sulpice in Paris, becoming organist of Notre-Dame at the age of 30. His teachers included Franck and Widor. His many organ compositions are often densely chromatic and cover a wide range of moods, perhaps reflecting his struggles with blindness, and demonstrating his resourcefulness as a great improviser. In contrast to the 24 Pièces de Fantaisie and the six Symphonies for large west-end organ, his 24 Pieces in Free Style (1913) were designed to be playable on either organ or harmonium.
The Belgian organist of Malines Cathedral, Flor Peeters, was a pupil of Dupré and Tournemire in Paris, and became director of Antwerp Conservatory. Among over 200 organ works, this solemn but attractive Aria appeared in the same year arranged as a cello solo. His style is traditional, with a strongly modal character and a fondness for interesting parallel harmonies in his final cadences.
Welsh composer William Mathias brought a lively sense of fun to church music between 1960 and 1990, and was commissioned to write the anthem for Prince Charles’s first marriage.
Andrew Fletcher, organist to the University of Birmingham, regularly contributes perceptive reviews of new organ music to the quarterly magazine Organists’ Review. He is also a capable composer, and this gentle voluntary reveals a quirky individuality, particularly at the return from B flat in the middle section to the G major opening.
Possibly the most brilliant organist of his time, Lefébure-Wély published the most flamboyant organ music of all, and this justly acclaimed Sortie is his best-known piece.
Leatherhead
|
Christ Church has a Collection Point for Leatherhead Harvests Spectacles - the town's month-long harvesting of unwanted spectacles for Vision Aid Overseas.
Please bring any spare specs, sunglasses, cases, or frames you no longer use. |
