It’s difficult to know who this DVD is aimed at because it falls
between a number of stools. Its title is a bit deceptive because
there is almost no “history” here. There is a reference to earlier
volumes each treating music of composers from the same period,
but there is little attempt to place them into any historical
context, and there is certainly no sense of charting an evolving
musical style. Three composers are explored very briefly in a
way that wouldn’t please the admirers of any of them, and we are
shown two different instruments, but briefly and with barely any
analysis whatsoever. While there are some brief insights into
the organ-builder’s craft, they are very brief, and they certainly
don’t seem to be the central focus of the disc. So while this
DVD ticks lots of boxes, it doesn’t deal satisfactorily with any
of them and the viewer is left feeling a bit underwhelmed by the
whole experience.
The format is a bit puzzling too. The narrator
takes us to two very different churches where we’re given a
brief history of the building and its acoustic, then the organist
plays a couple of pieces with very little explanation. The
little comment given is rather teacher-ish without bringing
much by way of insight. In between, we are shown the inside
of an organ-builder’s workshop in the south of France. They guide us through the process of making pipes and bellows,
but this episode feels disjointed and it looks like a cut-and-paste
job rather than working towards a coherent programme.
The music should be the main component of
this DVD. The playing, when we get round to it, is certainly
very fine. The stereo sound is good, though it makes you regret
that there is no surround option for this of all instruments.
It’s pretty dull to watch, though. We get shots of the organist’s
hands, occasionally his feet on the pedals, and various views
of the pipes, but there’s little else to look at. It’s interesting
to see the effect that takes place when the particular organist
activates certain stops, but with organ music of this period
such effects are few and far between.
A bit of a damp squib, then. I’d far rather
listen to a CD of this music, recorded in a good acoustic, with
nothing to distract me from what I hear. The booklet notes have
no bearing whatsoever on the content of the disc.
Simon Thompson
