For longer than I have
been alive, my Nan has lived in the
village of Doddinghurst, about four
miles from Brentwood. I have never been
to Brentwood Cathedral, but having heard
this disc I will make the effort to
catch an organ recital there next time
I visit. If the recital program is as
well varied as that presented here,
and the organist as skilful as James
Devor, I will be well pleased.
There are three groups
of people who will be interested in
this disc. Firstly, there are those
who are curious to hear the instrument.
This is the premiere recording of the
organ of Brentwood Cathedral, an instrument
of Victorian vintage which was initially
installed in the Church of St Mary-at-the-Walls
in Colchester. On the evidence here,
it is a fine instrument, with clear
upper pipes, a bass that resists the
tendency of so many organs to rumble
around the pitch, and only a little
congestion of sound when the stops are
out. The instrument's newly-installed
trumpet stop shows its worth in Clarke's
Trumpet Voluntary and the Cathedral's
reverberant acoustic helps more than
it hinders.
Secondly, there will
be those interested in the organist.
James Devor is only beginning his career,
but seems very much the master of his
instrument. His playing is sensitive
throughout, and each piece presented
is played with its context in mind.
I especially liked Devor's ruminative
treatment of the works of Howells and
Messiaen, as well as his thoughtful
rendition of the album's title track.
His playing elsewhere is good without
being outstanding. You will, for example,
find better versions of Bach's Prelude
and Fugue in C Minor BWV 549. He
also loses some of his clarity and rhythmic
assurance in a boisterous performance
of the opening Widor. There is a lot
of promise here, though, and his career
will be one to watch.
The third group of
people is perhaps the most important.
Those who know some organ music – perhaps
some of the more famous works by Bach
– like it, but do not really know where
to go from there - will be won over
by this disc. James Devor has put together
a recital that will fire the imagination
of organ novices and leave them wanting
more. It would be all too easy for a
young organist, given the chance to
record a recital to indulge him or herself
in the music of a favourite composer.
Devor has instead assembled a program
of contrasts. His recital covers a period
from the early 17th Century
to the present day, showcasing a broad
array of styles in organ composition,
from the charming Frescobaldi Aria
detto Balletto to the transcendental
Dieu parmi nous (La nativité
du Seigneur) of Messiaen. Devor
also juxtaposes big, bold pieces with
more contemplative fare. The opening
tracks are a case in point. After the
stops-out triumph of the Widor, we pull
back to more contemplative territory,
with Devor's sensitive playing creating
a time-stopping effect in the Langlais.
Finally, Devor is careful to mix the
well known with the unknown. He opens
his recital with the finale to Widor's
Organ Symphonie VI, a refreshing
acknowledgement that Widor wrote more
than the ubiquitous Toccata from
his Organ Symphonie V. There
are old chestnuts (the Clarke), arrangements
of famous works (a wonderfully inward
Adagio for Strings), and more
obscure pieces (the Wright was new to
me), the combination of which makes
this recital so rewarding. That Devor
understands all of these pieces is communicated
musically by his playing and verbally
in his witty and informative liner notes.
A worthy release indeed.
Tim Perry
James Devor (organ) 
