St Mary’s Church, Welwyn Organ Recital - Linden Innes-Hopkins Saturday 12 June at 11.15 am

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Paean
Kenneth Leighton (1929 - 1988)
A paean is a ‘song of praise or triumph’. Leighton’s Paean opens with a series of cascading fourths reminiscent of bells, which also ring in fourths. A melody punctuated by energetic chords leads to a rhythmic central section before a variation of the earlier melody returns. This gives way to a reprise of the clanging bells heard at the start. Although Leighton spent much of his working life at the University of Edinburgh, he was born in Wakefield.
Fantasia in C
William Byrd (1543 - 1623)
Byrd was one of the foremost composers of the Tudor years and could be regarded as the Houdini among them, for he managed to evade imprisonment or worse during the reign of Elizabeth I despite remaining a Catholic. He was widely respected and admired: ‘for music...as well as for the honour of our nation as the merit of the man...I know not any equal’ (Henry Peacham). His compositions for keyboard are ‘enriched with artful syncopations, lofty fugues and original cadences’, all combining to form a ‘majestic and devout’ style. The Fantasia in C offers a fine example of these attributes. It appeared in both the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book and My Ladye Nevell’s Booke. Organs during Byrd’s lifetime were very different from today’s instruments: they had a limited number of stops - perhaps five - no pedals and a quiet tone.
Chaconne from ‘King Arthur’
Henry Purcell (1659 - 1695), arr. Bryan Hesford
The death, in 1685, of Charles II meant that both Henry Purcell (possibly England’s greatest composer) and John Dryden (famous poet) lost their royal patronage - and associated income - and were casting around for other ways to earn a living. Then, as now, the London stage was a big attraction and so they teamed up as freelancers to write the entertainment that became King Arthur. It focuses on the battles of Arthur, but is probably also reflecting the contemporary political arguments that were raging about the succession to the throne. Was it to be James, the Catholic brother to King Charles (supported by the Tories and represented in the opera as Britons), or the king’s illegitimate son, the Duke of Monmouth, a Protestant (supported by the Whigs and represented as Saxons in the opera)? Eventually, this ‘hot topic’ resulted in the still current law which prevents a Catholic from acceding to the throne. A chaconne is a piece of music offering numerous (in this case 16) variations over a repeated bassline.
Concerto in F major
George Frideric Handel (1685 - 1759), arr. Marcel Dupré 1. Larghetto
2. Allegro
3. Alla siciliana (arr. S de Lange) 4. Presto (Giga)
Handel was, of course, born in Germany but came over to England when the Elector of Hanover became King George I of England. He lived in London, undertook charitable work in London
and was simply the best musician in town. Handel has become, in a way, an honorary English composer. He composed the organ concertos to be used as interludes in the oratorios, hence, ‘Esther with organ concerto’, for example. The concerto was usually placed either in the middle or immediately before the final chorus. Dupré’s edition incorporates both the orchestral parts and the solo organ part, making it possible for the concertos to be played by one player at the organ.
Postlude in Eb major
Henry Smart (1813 - 1879)
Andante lento - Allegro
Smart was born in London. After a short spell at Blackburn Parish Church (now Blackburn Cathedral), he returned to London, where he held a number of different posts as organist. The last of these was at St Pancras New Church. As well as being an organist and composer, he was a skilled mechanic and designed organs. His music, of which there is a great deal, is now rarely played - it has been damned with faint praise as being, ‘effective and melodious, if not strikingly original’.
3 movements from ‘Dance Suite for Organ’ (1997)
Noel Rawsthorne (1929 - 2019)
1. Danse des Papillons
2. Waltz
3. Line Dance
Rawsthorne’s Dance Suite was a response to a commission to write an organ work suitable for a Gala Concert celebrating the restoration of the organ in Huddersfield Town Hall. Much organ music is either solemn or solemn-ish or based on the requirements of church liturgy. The composer clearly saw the possibilities inherent in the commission to compose something which showed that organ music can be fun! The Danse des Papillons provides a musical picture of butterflies busily fluttering from flower to flower. The Waltz is definitely moody - perhaps reminiscent of Kurt Weill’s 1930’s style. Line Dance takes its inspiration from such shows as Riverdance; just as the dancers weave in and out, so some well-known tunes (in some cases somewhat disguised) weave their way in and out of the the music. One of these tunes is Greensleeves but I can’t help but be reminded, too, of Lily the Pink!