Organ Rcital by Ivan Linford

Ivan had chosen his programme very carefully to take full advantage of the characteristics of our organ, which he told us was very precise and easy to play, and the sound was so clear, He started with some familiar pieces from George Frederick Handel including the Hornpipe, which he told us was really intended for an orchestral band  but transferred very well to an organ, The Minuet from Bernice, a gentle  springtime dance which also went very nicely on the organ. The third piece was the Variations from Handel’s Organ Concerto No.1 which Ivan told us were often performed in the interval of his operas.

The next two pieces were by Samuel Wesley, son of Charles Wesley a notable hymnodist, and nephew of John Wesley who founded the Methodist Church. He started with two Voluntaries for Young Organists (Ivan had been studying and playing the organ for over 30 years) but being just in his 50ies still counted as young for us! These two pieces were followed by an Air and a Gavotte from Wesley’s Twelve short pieces – the Air a very gentle and light piece and the Gavotte which was a lively dance in 4-time and an opportunity to practice two different sounds, a bright sound on the lower keyboard and a softer sound on the top.

Next came music by Johann Pachelbel, the Chorale Partita -basically a hymn tune (Christ is my Life) followed by12 short  parts or variations based on that hymn tune. He’d chosen the pieces because the different sounds he could get out of our organ by mixing the different stops were quite extraordinary, and he’d had great fun trying it out in the morning before the recital. On the 4^th Partita Pachelbel brings in the pedals, but actually playing the tune in a higher pitch – sort of upside down for the organist (mind over matter, but his worry not ours!)

He finished the recital with Handel’s ‘Arrival of the Queen of Sheba’ . He frequently plays it at weddings for the arrival of the bride, but on one occasion for the married couple to go out, which seemed slightly bizarre given the title.

A really rewarding session for us all!