This disc showcases
the organ music of the Sydney-based
composer Robert Allworth and is issued
by Jade Records. Jade is Allworth’s
own company. It has issued a remarkable
number of discs dedicated to the music
of contemporary Australian composers.
Allworth says that he draws much inspiration
in his composition from the sacred aspects
of Roman Catholicism. This is evident
in the pieces on the disc.
The first piece, ‘Visions
of Mary Immaculate’ consists of four
movements which are titled ‘Meditations
of Saint Catherine Laboure of the Miraculous
Medal’, ‘Hymn to our Lady of Walsingham’,
‘Hymn to the Immaculate Conception of
the Blessed Virgin Mary’ and ‘Vision
of Lourdes (the Appearing of the Blessed
Virgin Mary Immaculate)’. All four pieces
are quietly meditative with slow-moving
held chords supporting plainchant-like
melodic structures. With the organ’s
registration emphasising the reeds,
the sound-world is rather French and
evokes Messiaen at times. Only in the
final item do we hear anything approaching
the full organ.
The ‘Hymn to our Lady
of Fatima – Salvation of the World and
Saint Therese of Lisieux’ is in a similar
meditative style.
The next item is something
of a curiosity: a recording, made in
1979 of the plainchant St. John Passion
with the Victoria Turbae. Recorded live
on Good Friday in Christ Church Saint
Laurence, Sydney, the recorded sound
is poor and there is a great deal of
background noise. Charles Dale’s mellifluous
Evangelist manages to transcend the
poor recording and the choir sings Victoria’s
choruses vigorously. This track is for
specialists only, I am afraid.
The Passion is followed
by a group of six voluntaries by Allworth,
written in honour of Saint Catherine
Laboure and the Immaculate Conception
of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Again, Allworth
uses a very effective mixture of slow,
held chords against plainchant-like
themes. Here the registration is less
distinctive; think flutes and diapasons
rather than reeds. However, in the later
voluntaries the fuller tonal palate
of the organ comes into play.
The voluntaries are
followed by another curiosity, an organ
piece written for the Gospel procession.
This is arranged from an extract from
Saint-Saëns’ 3rd Symphony.
This tuneful extract has had the misfortune
to be catchy enough to be taken out
of context for various purposes, even
for a pop song. Here it forms a lively
preamble to Dom Gregory Murray’s quiet
‘Interlude XXI’.
Eric Gross’s ‘Prelude
to Paradise’ is his 100th
opus. It is an organ prelude written
for a memorial service for his niece.
The music is intended to convey her
serene and contented personality and
is a pleasant neo-romantic piece in
the English pastoral manner.
The final piece on
the disc is Allworth’s ‘Miracle in the
Rain’, the title taken from a 1954 Hollywood
film. It is Allworth’s most dissonant
piece on the disc and forms a fitting
conclusion to the recital.
Robert Allworth’s organ
preludes are attractive and effectively
written; they are surely of sterling
use at services. I am not sure that
it was wise to record so many slow meditative
numbers. This is especially highlighted
by the decision to include the poor
quality live recording of the plainchant
Passion, rather than taking the opportunity
of displaying Allworth’s talents at
greater depth.
Robert Hugill
Using PayPal you may purchase this discs through
MusicWeb
for £10 which includes post and
packaging world-wide.
The
disc will be despatched immediately from Revolve
in Australia.You
may prefer to pay by Sterling cheque to avoid
PayPal charges. Contact Len.Mullenger@nospamzen.co.uk
for details
(remove
nospam from the address)
JADE JADECD1099 [66.16]