The Organ in the Church of the Holy Rude, Stirling
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Tintoy DCD34064 Organ at Holy Rude
The Organ in the Church of the Holy Rude, Stirling – John Kitchen
1 Grand Choeur in D (alla Handel) Op. 18/1 [7.13]
Alexandre Guilmant (1837–1911)
2 Méditation pour orgue
Maurice Duruflé (1902–1986)
Symphony No. 4, Op. 13
Charles-Marie Widor (1844–1937)
3 Toccata [3.39] – 4 Fugue – [3.23] 5 Andante cantabile [4.14]
6 Scherzo [5.54] – 7 Adagio [5.34] – 8 Finale [4.47]
7 Fantasie over de Avondzang “ ‘k wil U o God mijn dank betalen” [7.35]
Feike Asma (1912–1984)
Three hymn tune preludes
8 St Columba Op. 101
Charles Villiers Stanford (1852–1924)
9 St Columba Op. 14 (1928)
Robin Milford (1903–1959)
10 Croft’s 136th
Charles Hubert Hastings Parry (1848–1918)
11 Benedictus (1931) [4.11]
Alec Rowley (1892–1958)
12 Pomp and Circumstance March no. 1 in D Op. 39/1 [6.55]
Edward Elgar (1857–1934)
13 Variations on a Dutch song ‘Merck toch hoe sterck’ [11.51]
Cor Kee (1900–1997)
Total playing time [78.32]
Recorded in the Church of the Holy Rude, Stirling on 31 October & 1 November, 2007 with kind permission of the Kirk Session.
Producer & engineer: Paul Baxter Page turner: Ivor Norridge
24-Bit digital editing: Adam Binks
24-Bit digital mastering: Paul Baxter
Design: Drew Padrutt
Photography: Dr Raymond Parks
Delphian Records Ltd – Edinburgh – UK
www.delphianrecords.co.uk
© 2008 Delphian Records 2008 Delphian Records Organ tuned and maintained by Forth Pipe Organs Ltd. With thanks to David Page, Jim
Alfred Hollins Organ Work
Timothy Byram-Wigfield (DCD34044)
Designed by the blind organist Alfred Hollins, the Caird Hall instrument is one of the finest recital organs in the UK – as ideal a vehicle for Hollins’ music as Byram-Wigfield is an exponent of it. Hollins effortlessly combines keyboard pyrotechnics with a quasi-orchestral approach to sonority. These works bristle with vigour, their swaggering confidence complemented by their ingenuity and wit.
‘it is impossible to praise the choice of instrument or the performances on this CD too highly ... : I enjoyed this disc very much. It is made more valuable by being sonically one of the best recordings of an organ I have heard for some time.’ - International Record Review, March 2007
Olivier Messiaen: Organ Works
Michael Bonaventure (DCD34016)
Nourished by Messiaen’s beloved birdsong and Hindu rhythms, the Méditations bring alive the deepest mysteries of Catholicism and are here performed with a visceral intensity by Michael Bonaventure. This powerfully idiosyncratic composer’s music has been realised on an organ of immense range and apocalyptic power.
‘Two things make this latest release essential listening: the brilliance of the wonderful Rieger organ in St Giles’ Cathedral with its deliciously pungent tone and clarity of attack; and the virile and imaginative playing of Edinburgh-born organist Michael Bonaventure. The combination is electrifying in the two significant works that make up this absorbing double disc’ - The Scotsman, February 2008
Tintoy DCD34064
Organ at Holy Rude
Organ music on Delphian
The Usher Hall Organ
John Kitchen (DCD34022)
John Kitchen, Edinburgh’s City Organist, presents a wide-ranging eclectic programme of music brilliantly brought to life on the Usher Hall’s newly-refurbished monumental Norman and Beard concert organ: never before heard on disc.
‘a source of endless delight’
- Gramophone, September 2004
The Kelvingrove Organ
Timothy Byram-Wigfield (DCD34004)
Timothy Byram-Wigfield, master of music at St George’s, Windsor, plays a variety of Edwardian transcriptions on one of the world’s finest concert organs: the Lewis organ in Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.
Byram-Wigfield’s performances are superb; there’s none of the shallow, showy musicianship one hears from a few international recitalists, but instead, carefully crafted interpretations played with consummate skill.’
- Gramophone, March 2004
The central Scotland city of Stirling is clustered around a medieval old-town in which the historic Stirling Castle shares a hilltop position with the Church of the Holy Rude. Known as the mither kirk of the city, the church was largely built in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and is of cathedral proportions. It has been centre of many historic occasions: although Mary Queen of Scots was crowned in the castle in 1543, the coronation of her infant son James VI in 1567 was in the church; the great reformer John Knox was the preacher.
Ecclesiastical arguments led to the erection of a dividing wall in 1656 between nave and choir, so that two separate congregations met in the same building. The full scale of the church could not be appreciated until the congregations were united and the wall taken down in 1935. It was clear that the organ in the choir would not do justice to the now 207ft sanctuary, and thus the north transept was prepared for a new instrument. The Scottish distillery owner John Risk provided £9,000 for the large new organ (three of Scotland’s six largest organs have been built on the proceeds of drink) on condition that Dr William Baird Ross, then organist of the church, was in charge.
By the 1930s, the Liverpool organ-building firm of Rushworth & Dreaper Ltd (fl. 1822-2005) had to some extent usurped Harrison & Harrison as the British organ builder of choice for iconic instruments. At their Romantic
zenith, Rushworth & Dreaper had established a reputation for building splendid instruments full of colour, grandeur and every modern convenience, as evidenced in the impressive organs of Christ’s Hospital, Horsham (1931) and the Reid Memorial Church, Edinburgh (1933).
Rushworth & Dreaper were duly commissioned to build the new Holy Rude instrument, a four-manual organ with 82 speaking stops and 4289 pipes. The instrument was installed in a dignified Gothic style case and inaugurated in April 1940. It was then, and remains, the largest organ in Scotland.
The tonal palette is remarkably complete. Rushworth & Dreaper were masters of reed voicing at the time, and the vivid flutes and string stops are accompanied by a battery of orchestral reeds, voiced to a very high standard. The chorus reeds have a welcome edge that gives life to the ensemble, while the solo reeds are particularly fine. There is endless colour and variety available to the player. Baird Ross was keen that the chorus pipework should be influenced by the style of Edmund Schulze, renowned for his bold voicing style. As such, the upperwork of the Holy Rude organ is perhaps surprisingly clear and bright for an organ from the period. The bright chorus voicing ensures a melody is carried clear above the huge weight of full organ.
42 Geigen Diapason 16
43 Lieblich Bourdon 16
44 Open Diapason I 8
45 Open Diapason II 8
46 Open Diapason III 8
47 Harmonic Claribel Flute 8
48 Stopped Diapason 8
49 Octave 4
50 Principal 4
51
Burmese
Full
Organ at Holy Rude
Rushworth & Dreaper, Liverpool, 1939, 1992-94
Pedal
1 Double Open Wood (from 3) 32
2 Sub Bass (quint from 43) 32
3 Open Wood 16
4 Open Diapason 16
5 Double Bass (from 42) 16
6 Bourdon 16
7 Violone (from 57) 16
8 Dulciana (from 23) 16
9 Octave Wood (from 3) 8
10 Principal (from 4) 8
11 Violoncello (from 7) 8
12 Bass Flute (from 6) 8
13 Super Octave (from 4) 4
14 Octave Flute (from 6) 4 15 Mixture (12:15:17:19:22) V
The original Great and Swell mixture compositions featured seventeenths and flat twenty-firsts; in the manner of the time these were replaced in the 1970s, and it is hoped that these might one day be returned. Some stops on the Choir organ made way for a small Positive division. Happily, one musical mystery from Baird Ross’ original specification remains: the Burmese Gong (used on this recording!)
The Holy Rude organ was restored by the original builders in 1992-1994 and is now an important example of the late Romantic period of British organ building.
© 2008 Andrew Caskie Andrew Caskie is organist of Palmerston Place Church in Edinburgh, and is active as an organ recitalist, writer and adviser.
Grand Choeur in D (alla Handel) Op. 18/1
Alexandre Guilmant (1837–1911)
Guilmant was organist at La Trinité in Paris for 30 years, but resigned when he returned to Paris after a concert tour to find that the clergy had instigated a rebuilding scheme for the organ without his knowledge — a most unusual occurrence! Although much of his prolific compositional output was for liturgical use, Guilmant really made his name as a travelling recitalist, giving concert tours in England and the USA, and writing showpieces for these recitals. He was also a distinguished editor and teacher whose pupils included Marcel Dupré and Nadia Boulanger. The Grand Choeur in D is one of his best-known works, appropriate both as a sortie after Mass, or as a recital piece.
Méditation pour orgue
Maurice Duruflé (1902–1986)
This piece appeared in print only in 2001, but the music is familiar from the Agnus Dei of the Messe ‘Cum Jubilo’ of 1966, a liturgical masssetting for baritone voices and organ. According to its editor Frédéric Blanc, the Méditation dates from 1964; he tells us that Duruflé was in the habit of playing this piece in the context of the liturgy. But it is not really clear which work came first; it could be that the Méditation began as an improvisation on ideas taken from the Messe. At all events, it is a restrained and effective movement, demonstrating well the composer’s lush and distinctive harmonic idiom.
Symphony No. 4, Op. 13
Charles-Marie Widor (1844–1937)
It is well-known that Widor was for many years — 64 to be precise — organist of the fashionable church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris; he retired from this post on 31 December 1933 at the age of 89. Perhaps it is because of the longevity of his career that we tend to forget how comparatively early some of his organ works are in the history of the French Romantic school. For example, the first four organ symphonies, Op. 13, were published in 1872, eighteen years before the appearance of Franck’s Three Chorals. The Op. 13 pieces are less ‘symphonic’, less integrated than the later symphonies; they give the impression, rather, of suites of movements originally written separately for use in services and recitals. Widor was an inveterate reviser of his work (presumably to the despair of his publishers) and various editions of the symphonies appeared. Some of these changes were undoubtedly improvements, but others look like unnecessary tinkerings. The fourth symphony underwent several revisions, and there at least three versions of the finale, as well as changes in the fugue.
Like the other early symphonies, no. 4 contains great stylistic diversity. The imposing opening Toccata owes something to the Baroque French overture style, and sounds nothing like a classic French organ toccata; one can imagine it played
Organ at Holy Rude
John KitchenJohn Kitchen is a Senior Lecturer in Music and University Organist in the University of Edinburgh. He also directs the Edinburgh University Singers, is Director of Music of Old Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church and Edinburgh City Organist with duties at the Usher Hall. He gives many solo recitals both in the UK and further afield and also plays regularly with several ensembles, covering a wide range of musical styles. In addition, he is much in demand as a continuo player, accompanist, lecturer, writer and reviewer. John has recorded extensively for both Priory and for the Edinburgh-based label, Delphian Records. Forthcoming recording projects include a triple album of the complete organ voluntaries of William Russell (1777–1813) on the organ of St James’, Bermondsey (DCD34062), and recording of nine keyboard instruments from the recently bequeathed Roger Mirrey Collection at the University of Edinburgh (DCD34057).
at the Solemn Entrance at the beginning of High Mass. The fugue is well-wrought but rather sombre, contrasting with the celebrated Andante cantabile which consists of a folk-like theme with two variations. The Scherzo is witty and effervescent, providing a model for later scherzos such as Vierne’s. The introspective Adagio, featuring the voix humaine stop, at first seems naively simple, but reveals its beauties gradually. The Finale is a rousing rondo which develops a potentially mundane idea in an effective way — the sort of thing that no doubt did, and still does, sound thrilling after High Mass on Sunday morning.
Fantasie over de Avondzang “
‘k wil U o God mijn dank betalen”
Feike Asma (1912–1984)
Feike Asma was a distinguished Dutch organist in his day, holding appointments successively in Leiden, The Hague, and Maasluis near Rotterdam. Most of his published works are based on hymn tunes, such as the Fantasie over de Avondzang “ ‘k wil U o God mijn dank betalen’ which translates as ‘Fantasy on the evening hymn “I will, o God, give [pay] you my thanks”‘. This may have begun life as an improvisation, later to be written down for publication. Enigmatically, it begins with a different theme, but gradually the hymn tune proper emerges, and in the central section is heard as a cantus firmus in long notes. Asma specifies the cornet stop for this solo, but as the cornet combination on the choir division
at the Holy Rude is of small scale and not at all like a big Dutch cornet, it is here played on the solo French horn. In the final section, Asma makes much of a particular rising motif derived from the tune. As the harmonies grow increasingly sumptuous, the music builds to a huge climax, finishing with the hymn tune triumphantly singing out on full organ (here including the tuba).
Three hymn tune preludes
St Columba Op. 101
Charles Villiers Stanford (1852–1924)
St Columba Op. 14 (1928)
Robin Milford (1903–1959)
Croft’s 136th
Charles Hubert Hastings Parry (1848–1918)
The first two preludes are based on the wellknown tune from the Petrie Collection of Irish Melody, generally known in hymn books as ‘St Columba’, and often sung to the paraphrase of Psalm 23, ‘The King of Love my shepherd is’. Stanford’s gentle setting was published in 1907 as part of his Op. 101 set of Six Short Preludes and Postludes. Less well-known is Robin Milford’s imaginative setting which places the melody on a 4-foot stop in the pedal, and embellishes it with beautifully-wrought melodies, harmonies and textures. Parry’s stirring setting of Croft’s 136th is from his second set of Seven Chorale Preludes of 1916. The well-known hymn tune permeates the busy texture and appears as a cantus firmus; a grand peroration brings the movement to a fine conclusion.
Tintoy DCD34064 Organ at Holy Rude
Benedictus (1931)
Alec Rowley (1892–1958)
Rowley was for many years professor of piano and composition at Trinity College, London, and was a highly-regarded and dedicated teacher; he left much choral and organ music. In his monumental A Directory of Composers for the Organ (2005), John Henderson rates Rowley’s organ music as ‘of variable quality, from the delightful and graceful to the rather dull’. The Benedictus surely falls into the former category: while forging no original path, its pleasing arch-shape and rich harmonies make it a most attractive miniature, and allow the player to demonstrate a wide range of organ colour and dynamic.
Pomp and Circumstance March no. 1 in D Op.39/1
Edward Elgar (1857–1934)
This celebrated piece needs no introduction, and its transcription is well-served by the ample resources of the Holy Rude organ. Elgar wrote it in 1901 since when it has been a firm favourite, mainly because of its ‘big tune’ which the composer claimed would “knock ‘em flat” and which he said was “a tune…that comes once in a lifetime”. It is indeed one of the great tunes of all time. The work is in four main sections, of which the ‘big tune’ forms the second and fourth. Elgar’s plan of first introducing it in the subdominant (G major) of the home key means that when it returns in the tonic of D major it is all the more uplifting. No
wonder Proms audiences enjoy singing it every year. The oft-criticised words were of course a later addition; but it is the tune that people enjoy. The basis of this organ transcription is that by Edwin Lemare, which John Kitchen has adapted by thinning out the texture in places.
Variations on a Dutch song
‘Merck toch hoe sterck’
Cor Kee (1900–1997)
Cor(nelis) Kee, father of the renowned Dutch organist Piet Kee, had an extraordinarily long and distinguished career as a writer, teacher, organist and composer. The early seventeenthcentury Netherlandish song, Merck toch hoe sterck, refers to resisting Spanish invasion, and standing firm against the enemy. (“See how strong they are as they fight to set us free from the Spaniards…”) Cor Kee’s variations on this fine melody are straightforward but highly inventive, exploiting a wide range of imaginative textures and figurations. The tripartite form of the tune, with each section repeated, offers the player many opportunities for varied registrations. The theme is followed by seven variations; particularly striking are the alla marcia and the luscious adagio. The final movement begins as a fugue, but soon becomes freer and rhapsodic in style, leading to the final climax of the andante maestoso.
© 2008 John Kitchen