British Organist shakes things up in Museum Center concert

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http://communitypress.cincinnati.com/article/AB/20120214/ENT03/302140108/British-organist-shakes-things-up-Museum-Center-concert?odyssey=nav%7Chead

Written by
Janelle Gelfand

    * Filed Under

    * Entertainment
    * Music
    * Cincinnati Museum Center

Organist David Goode's performance of Wagner's Prelude to "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg" on the Grand E.M. Skinner Concert Pipe Organ literally shook the floor of the Cincinnati Museum Center on Monday night.

More than 450 people came out for the "Music in the Museum" series, now in its 10th season. Goode, a British organist who heads the keyboard department at Eton College, performed organ symphonic repertoire, including music by J.S. Bach, Cesar Franck, Maurice Duruflé and Louis Vierne. Elizabeth Freimuth, principal horn of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, joined in three selections for the rarely heard combination of horn and symphonic organ.

But more than the virtuosity of these soloists, to hear the power and glory of "the king of instruments" in the resonant space of the Museum Center's rotunda was an experience unlike any other in the world. For the audience, partly surrounded by more than 4,000 pipes in five specially-designed chambers behind the walls, it was the ultimate in "surround sound."

The majestic instrument has been a labor of love for retired physicist Harley Piltingsrud of Clifton, the organ's curator, who has donated more than 18,000 hours over the past 26 years to its restoration. The main 1929 organ was rescued from a church in Philadelphia. In addition, an antiphonal division (which echoes the main organ) consists of another 1929 E.M. Skinner organ – the "house organ" that was in the former home of Cincinnati entrepreneur Powel Crosley Jr.

For the concert, the console was rolled out from its glass case and centered in the Rotunda. To open, Goode put his hands and feet to work on the organ's four manuals and pedals in J.S. Bach's Contrapunctus No. 4 from "Art of the Fugue." The work was captivating for the spectrum of colors that Goode achieved. It was clear, though, that he struggled to keep the counterpoint clear in that vast and very resonant space.

More successful were two Bach chorales, "Wachet auf" and "Ach bleib bei uns" which the organist articulated smoothly and with warm tonal colors. Indeed, the sound could be compared to that of the great cathedrals of Europe.

For the music with French horn, Freimuth stood some distance from the organ against the rotunda's wall, while a conductor, Kelly Hale, led the two soloists from his seat behind the organ. Her gentle horn calls sounded radiantly against the organ's horn stop in Johann Krebs' Chorale Prelude on "Wachet auf."

Grazioli's "Adagio," which Freimuth played in memory of her teacher, Verne Reynolds, was lyrical, introspective and beautifully phrased. Goode was a sensitive partner, who seamlessly controlled dynamics and color, and never overpowered the horn.

Their third collaboration was French composer Francis Poulenc's "Elegie" (originally for piano and horn) written in memory of Dennis Brain, a young British horn virtuoso killed in a car crash. The players delivered a vivid, emotional performance of this music, which included crashing dissonances, mournful melodies and unearthly low tones in the organ.

After intermission, Goode soared through Franck's Choral No. 3 in A Minor, displaying the range of the organ in lush, romantic colors, orchestral-like buildups and gorgeous melodies. He offered in contrast Duruflé's evocative Scherzo and two charming folk pieces by British composer Percy Whitlock.

Goode concluded his program with an exuberant finale from Vierne's Symphony No. 6. He summoned the full symphonic spectrum of the instrument, and tackled repeated scale passages in both feet – demonstrating impressive virtuosity.

His encore was a performance of Edwin H. Lemare's transcription of Wagner's Prelude to "Die Meistersinger." He caught the grandeur, wit and energy of these noble themes from Wagner's opera about a guild of "master singers." For its finale, it seemed that every stop of the organ was pulled, and the effect was earth-shattering.

The next Music in the Museum concert on April 23 will feature French organist Frederic Champion, choirs from Xavier University and the Choir of Trinity Episcopal Church, Covington. Information: 513-287-7001;     http://www.cincymuseum.org/

Eric
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