26 August 2013
Gordon Stewart returned, as he has done every year since the series started, to play the final concert. His reputation, and the continuing quality of performances under Marion Lovell’s splendid guidance, guarantee a splendid evening – and they did not disappoint.
He knows the Willis organ well and opened with a richly registered account of Handel’s overture to an Occasional Oratorio, followed by two works by Bach. There was fine solo work in the Chorale Prelude Liebster Jesu and impressive articulation in the Fugue alla Gigue. The action of the Willis is known to be very heavy which may account for the unexpectedly relaxed quality of Bach’s arrangement of Vivaldi’s A minor concerto for two violins. Moving back to Britain we heard A Little Tune by W Felton, a contemporary of Handel but not in his class melodically. J Bonnet’s Variations de Concert concluded the first half with panache.
The Willis can produce some fine French sounds when needed but was not quite up to the first movement of Widor’s Sixth Symphony, even with some strong pedal work. Rawsthorne’s Waltz and Danse de Papillons were much more in keeping with both the occasion and the instrument, before we heard Franck’s Third Chorale. The opening and closing sections worked well but the romantic central section seemed a little rushed. J Bervieller’s Mouvement was the only really modern piece in the programme and proved to be both exciting and challenging, which brought us to the final piece of the published programme. I did not know A Renaud’s Toccata in D minor but it is a fine piece which sits very well on the Willis and is somewhere between Boellmann and Franck in its tonal palette.
Of course there was an encore – Rawsthorne’s Celtic Lament – a gentle warmth to send us on our way until we return on 7 July 2014 for the 26th season. BH
Marion was presented with a 25th anniversary cake which was shared by us all during the interval – and many thanks to Ann for providing this!