Organ Concert (1/25/15)

Dr. Andrew E. Henderson presented a very well played concert at Temple Emanu-El on Sunday afternoon.

Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 65, Allegro moderato e serioso; Adagio; Andante, Recitativo; Allegro assai vivace – Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847)
Psalm Prelude, Set 1, No. 1, Op. 32 (1916) – Herbert Howells (1892–1983)
Rosh Hashanah (from Funf Fest-Praeludien, Op. 37 – Louis Lewandowski (1821/3–1894)
Shavat Vayinafash (1968) – Herman Berlinski (1910–2001)
The Burning Bush (1956) – BerlinskiFrom Ten Hebrew Folk Songs & Folk Dances, Op. 22;
A Song and Dance of the Feast, A Love Song, A Chasidic Religious Song, A Lullaby, A Merry Wedding Dance – Lazare Saminsky (1882–1959) (arr. Andrew Henderson)
From Symphonie No. 1, Op. 14; Final – Louis Vierne (1870–1937)

The first movement of the Sonata opened with a very full sound, without being overly aggressive. It made nice use of an echo effect from the pipes at the rear of the sanctuary, and afforded a workout on the pedal board. As an aside, the organ there has four keyboards (manuals) for the hands and a pedal board for the feet. The second movement had a slower and gentle opening, and the entire movement was sweet but in just the right way. The third had alternating quiet melodies against interruptions of chordal writing. It was nice to be able to see (on a broadcast screen—the organ console itself was out of sight) how the juxtapositions were achieved by moving to different manuals, back and forth. There was a segue right into the fourth movement, which was vibrant, with rapid finger work and a full organ sound.

The Howells was contemplative, with subdued harmonies that were both lush and romantic. Via various solo lines, the piece built in intensity and volume before receding back to the quietude of the opening. Rosh Hashanah, by Lewandowski, started with block chords as an introduction, leading to a contrasting melodic section, then back to full organ. The program notes said that the work was based on a well-known festival motif, but it was not familiar to me.

As he did in the previous concert I heard at Emanu-El, Dr. Henderson included works by composers who have a connection to the temple, and that included both Berlinski and Saminsky. The first Berlinski piece began with a solo line in the far upper range of the keyboard. The chords and solo lines that followed explored many of the varied stops on the organ. It was modern sounding without going overboard, and was very much a ‘mood’ piece. The Burning Bush was also modern sounding but darker and denser. It nicely conveyed a sense of drama—almost leading to chaos. It made strong use of a repetitive rhythm, though not in what would be considered the minimalist style.

The five brief Saminsky works were arrangements of movements from a piano suite. My notes include (i) sweet, with dance-like rhythmic themes; (ii) slightly mournful while still being very pretty; (iii) a bright and brassy theme followed by a folk/dance tune then alternating back to the first theme; (iv) gentle and sweet, as befits a lullaby; and (v) full sound with celebratory dance themes.

The Vierne Final is a piece that is well known to me; I’ve been a page turner for it many times in the distant past. It is one of those pieces that accurately describe the phrase ‘pull out all the stops.’ It’s a fun romp to watch and hear—I would never want to play it! And from memory, at that! It's opening theme is passed from keyboard to keyboard, including the pedal, then edited, expanded, expounded upon, broken up, put back together again (see ‘pull out all the stops’ above), and then brought back again for a rousing close. A great finish to a great concert—one that I truly enjoyed.

ConcertMeister