Volume 25 Issue 6 - March 2020

characterized by cascading warmth often
spiked by the force of dramatic rhythms and
broad dissonances. All of this is heard in
these Piano Sonatas especially the last two –
No. 8 and No. 9.
Prokofiev’s work always demanded fingers
of flexible steel and those on Freddy Kempf’s
hands seem to embody this to perfection.
From the first dramatic rendering of the
Piano Sonata No. 3 in A Minor Kempf plays like a man possessed,
and his breathtaking variety of touch means that the less hard-driven
passages of No.8 and No.9 have an unparalleled degree of subtlety
and nuance. His muscular style is eminently suited to such tempestuous
music.
The Piano Sonata No.3 in A Minor is the shortest and from
Prokofiev’s earlier attempts at the form, while No.8 in B-flat Major
and No.9 in C Major are much longer and infinitely more intricate. Yet
all three live and breathe in sharply characterized music that demands
a sense of structure and momentum. Kempf embraces their wide
tonal range, sharply drawn contrasts and intricate detail with sublime
energy and a wonderful sense of occasion.
Raul da Gama
Canadian Organ Music on the Organ of Coventry Cathedral
Rachel Mahon
Delphian Records Ltd. DCD34234 (delphianrecords.co.uk)
!!
On the surface, this disc appears to be
an interesting international essay: Canadian
organ music played on an English cathedral
organ, performed by a Canadian organist
working in the UK. It seems straightforward
enough but, if one looks into the
historical relationship between Canada and
Coventry, a much deeper and meaningful
relationship is quickly uncovered. In 1940
the Coventry organ was destroyed by German air bombers, reducing
the entire medieval building to a pile of rubble. At the same time,
the (Royal) Canadian College of Organists was collecting donations
from its members to assist with the rebuilding of damaged English
instruments. In the end, the decision was made to dedicate the entire
amount of raised funds to Coventry, paying for a major part of their
new instrument. It is therefore no surprise that there is a large brass
maple leaf on the west-end floor of the Cathedral, commemorating
Canada’s generosity.
It is with this historical backdrop in mind that organist Rachel
Mahon selected her program. The first work, Healey Willan’s monumental
Introduction, Passacaglia and Fugue bridges both countries;
born in England, Willan later moved to Canada and eventually became
known as the “Dean of Canadian composers.” Mahon treats this
tripartite tome with the focus it requires, blending rhapsodic virtuosity
with careful attention towards the structure of the composition.
Gerald Bales’ Petite Suite and Ruth Watson Henderson’s Chromatic
Partita are smaller pieces, but no less satisfying to hear on this
magnificent organ, while Rachel Laurin’s Symphony No.1 is simply
breathtaking in its immensity and dramatic content.
This disc merits repeated listening for numerous reasons, both
historical and immediately practical. Mahon, recently appointed the
next director of music at Coventry, is a superb performer with a keen
ability to craft a satisfying program, and her debut recording is highly
recommended.
Matthew Whitfield
Aphorisms – Piano Music of Carl Vine
Lindsay Garritson
Independent (lindsaygarritson.com)
!!
The music of composer, pianist and
conductor Carl Vine so often evokes the
lucidity and sun of this artist’s home
country: Australia. The world premiere
recording of his Fourth Piano Sonata (2019)
is included on a new disc by American
pianist, Lindsay Garritson, a disc entirely
devoted to Vine’s varied piano catalogue.
Pianists tend to revel in performing Vine’s
music; it is idiomatic and expressive – Romantic at heart yet fresh
and buoyant, unmistakably of our time. (American composer Lowell
Liebermann’s aesthetic seems a close relative to Vine’s.)
Garritson throws herself headlong into the fulsome soundscape
of Vine’s newest piano sonata, in a whorl of an opener to the record,
demanding the listener’s attention. Her heart is clearly devoted to
every single note of this album, with a seemingly special affection
for The Anne Landa Preludes (2006). These programmatic, deeply
expressive pieces are aptly suited to Garritson’s musical sensibility
as she relishes their expansive resonating lines and tolling chords,
born of a personal mode of expression. After these (12) preludes, the
record returns to sonata form, in a rhapsodic performance of one of
Vine’s most popular works from his early period, the Piano Sonata
No.1 of 1990.
After five Bagatelles, including the haunting Threnody (for all of the
innocent victims), Garritson treats the listener to Vine’s Toccatissimo
(2011), a robust and thrilling finale to this attractive new album by a
self-assured young pianist, with a career on the rise.
Adam Sherkin
What we're listening to this month:
Suite Vincent
Greg Runions Big Band
Featuring Dave Barton, William
Carn, Tara Davidson, Mike Cassells,
Brian Dickinson, John MacLeod,
Brian O'Kane, Andrew Rathbun
and Artie Roth
Woven Dreams
Lara Driscoll
Lara Driscoll, Chicago based
French-American pianist with
“captivating style and uncluttered
finesse” and “magical touch...
musical solos” releases debut jazz
trio album Woven Dreams.
Latin Romance
Ensemble Vivant
Beautiful, joyful, interpretively
clairvoyant performances. A sparkling
tapestry of Brazilian/Argentinian/
Cuban/Latin inspired works including
the world premiere of John Burke’s
evocative Art Tango, La Despedida.
Something More
Lynne Harrison
Songs that delve deep into love, life
and the human spirit.
“I knew instantly Lynn was a
special artist.” (John Apice,
“Americana Highways”)
thewholenote.com March 2020 | 79