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August 12, 2008

Organ recital

Had to introduce an organ recital today given by Dr Anthony Gritten, a renowned organist. I have met Anthony several times and always enjoy his programmes, but today had to be different. You see he asked me to "turn the pages" for him as he played. Whoa! For a start I am next to musically illiterate! I can read the Bass line - just - a legacy of having played the trombone some forty four years ago at school and sung - badly - in choirs since. But read a score for the organ? You're joking ....

He wasn't, so for the next fifty minutes I was perched alongside one of the UK's leading organists and desperately trying to follow the pedal line so that I could turn the page at the appropriate moment. Talk about nerves ....

The first piece was Louis-James-Alfred Lefebure-Wely's Sortie in G Minor. Most people will know his more famous Sortie in B Flat, but this one is, if anything even more fun, especially played by a master on an organ as magnificent as the Milton. And here's another tip - the organ sounds remarkable different when you are perched inside it! I managed to follow that piece reasonably well - though Anthony's nod helped, mainly because the pedal line is fairly distinct. The next item was apiece by Richard Francis who was present for the performance. The Prelude, Aria and Passacaglia was wonderful - and I only had one bad moment when the page refused to fold properly!

That was followed by eleven short movements by Guy Bovet, the Suite Pour Souvigny. This is the first time I have heard this piece and it was wonderful - but murder to follow correctly as the pedal line is incidental, but very, very distinctive. Fortunately it all worked out, I turned the pages as signalled and even managed to follow what was happening among all those notes. I was very relieved to find I had coped with this little challenge. Maybe I should now learn to read music properly - but on the other hand, I don't think I'll volunteer too often for this task.

Posted by The Gray Monk at August 12, 2008 04:15 PM

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