Organ recital

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32562, 23 March 1971, Page 11

Organ recital

j- A public recital of French 1 organ music from seven--feenth to the twentieth centuries is to be given byi . Dennis Smalley at St Mary’s ! ; Church, Merivale, at 230 xPun. on Sunday afternoon. This will be the first concert of the 1971 series by the Christchurch Society for Contemporary Music. . • Despite the wide historical • era covered, all the works :-wil! show very clearly the common stylistic traits of French music, notably sensitivity to colour, delicate textures and a tendency to subtle understatement Dennis Smalley, a music graduate from Canterbury and Victoria universities, is an outstanding young organist who has won acclaim from critics, especially for his performances of French i music, an area in which he has specialised. “Messe a I’usage ordinaire des Paroisses,” by Francois Couperin, is the first of two organ masses written in 1689 when the composer was only 21. In contrast to his renowned contemporary, Bach, Couperin was a sensitive and delicate miniaturist whose colourful use of the : organ, made his music immediately appealing. “Messe des Pauvres” is 1 one of Satie's most moving works. Written at the turn of this century, the work is in six sections. The final I movement which calls for the I addition of voices, will be performed by the University of Canterbury Singers, conducted by John Cousins.

Olivier Messiaen (b. 1908), one of France’s most celebrated contemporary composers, is also renowned as one of the finest organ writers since Bach. “La Nativite du Seigneur,” Messiaen’s greatest organ work, is the consummation of his early style, namely his highly colourful use of the organ, his rhythmic novelty inspired by Hindu rhythm, and his poetic portrayal of religious symbolism. The work consists of nine pieces written in honour of the Blessed Virgin’s motherhood.