This DVD is a real treat, living up to Priory’s
exceptionally high standards and pretty much exemplifying what
a music DVD should be. John Robinson has organised a programme
of organ music for Canterbury based around the idea of travelling:
after all, Canterbury was the spot in which Christianity is
said to have arrived in England and for centuries pilgrims travelled
there to visit the shrine of Thomas Becket. He chooses organ
pieces that revolve around the device of structured movement,
most notably the passacaglia, chaconne and ground bass. It’s
highly effective as a concept and they’re all very well
played, from the raw, hoary grandeur of Shostakovich’s
Passacaglia, used in Lady Macbeth, to the gentler, more
familiar tones of Pachelbel’s Canon, here working
very well in Robinson’s own transcription. Other pieces
like Mussorgsky’s Promenade and Debussy’s
Footprints follow up the theme in a less formal manner.
Each piece is played with consummate skill and a complete lack
of showiness, and it’s even more impressive that Robinson
plays from memory. What really sets this DVD out as special,
however, is the overall approach to the production. This isn’t
just a concert that was taped: from start to finish it has been
sensitively constructed as a complete experience for home viewing.
The accompanying visuals are expertly chosen and act as a guided
tour of the Cathedral that complements the music very well indeed.
During Bach’s great Passacaglia and Fugue, for
example, the camera homes in on the architectural detail of
the vaulting and tower to emphasise architecture of Bach’s
work; every section of the cathedral gets similar treatment
as the DVD progresses. The disc isn’t limited just to
this, either: at different moments we get lovely shots of the
Kent countryside and surrounding area; the tourist board would
be proud. During Ridout’s Path in the Wood, for
example, we are taken through the local woodland, while Hollins’
Song of Sunshine - a delightful piece, incidentally -
is accompanied by shots of Kent bathed in summer brightness;
apparently Kent is the English county that gets the most hours
of sunshine per annum. Every track has a special pictorial partnership
that works very well and is never hackneyed: it goes without
saying that the shots of the organ itself are subtle and well
chosen, always leading the eye where the ear says it should
be.
The quality of sound on the DVD is exemplary, each of the six
speakers being used expertly to create a perfect sense of space,
and the two documentaries are also excellent: Robinson talks
intelligently about the choices he made in putting together
the programme (9 minutes) and we are given a well managed tour
of the organ itself in another extra (20 minutes). The quality
of sound on the accompanying CD is bright and crystal clear,
but the excellence of approach on the DVD makes this an immeasurably
richer experience than the CD. This will give tremendous pleasure
to any discerning music-lover, and it’s one that should
be watched by music producers to show them how a music DVD should
be done.
Simon Thompson
John Robinson (organ) 
[78:06] 
