The astonishingly prolific
Christopher Herrick has created a new
genre in his ‘Organ Dreams’ Series;
the 'organ mood music' CD. While this
fourth volume is sometimes characterised
by the slight lack of variety the genre
implies, you have to credit Herrick
for recording, as usual, interesting
unknown repertoire, in this instance
on an interesting organ.
Christopher Herrick
plays, as is usual with his 19th and
20th century literature, with an excellent
sense of panache, line, (listen to the
beautiful inflections in the tempo in
the outer sections of the Franck, despite
the relatively slow tempo) and structure.
Some of the music is predictably less
interesting, Harvey Grace in particular.
I've never rated the Guilmant piece
as being among his best. However the
highlight for me came from an unexpected
source, the virtually unknown Air,
Berceuse and Procession of Herbert
Sumsion. True, Sumsion's music isn't
generally noted for striking originality,
but listen to the sheer craft and harmonic
sweep of this writing, so (dangerously?)
close stylistically to the orchestral
music of Vaughan Williams. A nice surprise;
I hope somebody records this on a real
English organ soon! Elsewhere, I found
the Liszt not quite convincing. Despite
Herrick's very coherent performance,
this needs a bigger acoustic and a less
'smooth' organ. Hans van Nieuwkoop's
1997 recording in Alkmaar still sets
the standard here. He is less reliant
on constant changes of colour, and the
sheer dark beauty of the organ's individual
colours, has the effect of rendering
that falling bass line and the final
emergence of the chorale so much more
tellingly inevitable.
The organ is interesting
for a number of reasons. The Netherlands
is a country where progressively fewer
new organs are built all the time, mostly
because there are so many fine instruments
already here. Therefore, almost without
exception, the larger organ building
companies, who specialise more and more
in restoration, only get the chance
to flex their muscles with foreign contracts.
However, a significant new (2003) organ
from Pels and van Leeuwen raises eyebrows
as they are today almost unknown for
significant new instruments. In the
Netherlands they have a rather mixed
history, the result of restorations
and generally poor new organs built
around half a century or more ago, in
the first flush of the neo-baroque.
One would struggle to name a beautiful
Pels organ! This organ however reflects
nothing of their perhaps less distinguished
past. In Halmstad they have built a
genuinely modern, but still concept-led
organ; a miracle these days in mainland
Europe. It reflects closely a Cavaillé-Coll
specification with perhaps some Mutin
alterations; compasses are 61/32. There
are wide scale mutations on both Recit
and Positif, (Alain and Messiaen both
possible here). Two of the three manuals
are enclosed. Pels and van Leeuwen clearly
had a very firm idea of what they were
trying to create and on the basis of
this recording they have done it very
well. Perhaps tonally the organ is a
little neutral; its not as beautiful
as a Cavaillé-Coll, or even a
Schyven. To be honest it doesn't even
sound very French, but the fonds are
broad and the reeds blend well. I like
the woody Basson-Hautbois in the Franck!
The organ sounds very expressive and
never overbearing despite the dry acoustic;
is the church made of wood? It’s a shame
Hyperion couldn't find room for a photo.
An interesting release
this. Worth picking up to get to know
the Sumsion alone.
Chris Bragg
Christopher Herrick, organ 
