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ALFRED HOLLINS ORGAN WORKS Concert Overture in C major (1889) Delphian DCD34044 [80 mins] We put this CD onto the player with little expectation - turn of the century British organ music is not one of our regular interests - but we were immediately captivated, and pleasure continued. The reasons seem to be twofold. The Dundee organ, which the world famous blind organist Alfred Hollins (1865-1942) designed and inaugurated in 1923, was fully restored in 1992. It is "one of the finest examples of British inter-war organ building" and "the original pneumatic action is exceptionally prompt and responsive". Byram-Wigfield seems to benefit from that immediacy of response to his fingers, and conveys a natural musicianship that takes away all thoughts of a complex machine which can easily sound "stodgy" and cumbersome. Hollins was a canny recitalist who balanced "items that would educate with those which would entertain", and this programme does just that. His music, we are told, is ripe for rennaissance, as fashions change. Jeremy Cull, in his lengthy and interesting essay, characterises Hollins' compositional trademarks as "lithe, acrobatic keyboard textures - - and a Sullivan-esque penchant for counterpoint, often superimposing themes with great ingenuity and wit". The Dundee organ is vividly recorded and the CD produced to the standards we have come to expect from Delphian. Peter Grahame Woolf |
