Organ recital

Press, 22 October 1987, Page 4

Organ recital

Peter Herford, organist, at Christchurch Cathedral, Wednesday, October », at I p.m. Reviewed by Roger Flury. Billed as "England’s master organist," Peter Hurford gave a masterly display of organ playing at the Cathedral last evening. It has been several years since his previous recital in Christchurch, and on that occasion he played on the organ of St Alban’s Methodist Church. To counteract the rather less intimate atmosphere of Christchurch Cathedral, Mr Hurford provided amusing and informative spoken introductions to each half of the programme. Without doubt these added to the enjoyment of the recital, and were much appreciated by the fair-sized audience.

The recital opened with the famous Fantasia and Fugue in G minor, by Bach, which was notable for the fearlessly fast tempo for the fugal section. Not only did Mr Hurford maintain the pace but he carried the work through to a brilliant conclusion. There was inevitably some loss of clarity at times, partly because of the nature of the instrument which, the artist acknowledged, was really more suited to the repertoire of the nineteenth century. Cesar Franck’s Chorale No. 1 did achieve that clarity, and was played without sentimentality. Added to this were a subtle use of rubato, and some colourful stops, so that the piece seemed to evolve to its triumphant end quite

naturally. Mr Hurford’s comments about Mendelssohn’s Sonata No, 3 enabled us to appreciate the contrast between the strong wedding march and the more contemplative fugal section. The choice

of stops In the latter, with their leas* confident timbre, cleverly evoked Mendelssohn’s own musings on mortality. Perhaps the least demanding Item In the concert was Flor Peeters "Suite Modale." It came across as light and entertaining stuff and there were some good ideas, particularly In the Scherzo, and the beautifully lyrical Adagio. The Toccata has all the potential of some of its more famous counterparts, but just lacks a strong theme to make It memorable.

The second half of the programme was devoted to two major works by Bach. It was not suThe second half of the programme was devoted to two major works by Bach. It was not surprising that these provided the finest moments of the concert, given that Mr Burford has made much acclaimed recordings of the complete organ works. The Trio Sonata No. 5 began with some finely sprung rhythms maintained throughout, in spite of a few uncharacteristic slips. The Passacaglla and Fugue in C minor bore the same stamp of auth plete organ works. The Trio Sonata No. 5 began with some finely sprung rhythms maintained throughout, in spite of a few uncharacteristic slips. The Passacaglla and Fumade much acclaimed recordings of the complete organ works. The Trio Sonata No. 5 began gical sound world.

Listening to Peter Burford, as with all great artists, one forgets about the fine techniques and the sheer mechanics of the performance. We seem almost to be directly In touch with the music, because Mr Burford does not just play Bach — he re-creates him.