JMSCD11 - Organ Works by Alec Rowley
Price GBP £16-00
This two-CD set is the most extensive recording project ever devoted to the music of Alec Rowley (1892-1958). It includes a selection of his organ works played by Herman Jordaan on the organ of Albion Church, Ashton-u-Lyne – a four-manual instrument by T. C. Lewis of 1895 which remains tonally unchanged. The profusely illustrated twenty-page booklet includes a specification and history of the organ and notes by Herman Jordaan on the composer and the music.
Herman Jordaan at the organ of
Albion Church, Ashton-under-Lyne
Track Listing - JMSCD11A | ||
Heroic Suite (1921) | ||
| 1. | I Heroic Postlude | 4:52 |
| 2. | II Lament | 4:06 |
| 3. | III Mood Fantasy | 4:27 |
| 4. | IV Triumph Song | 5:26 |
| 5. | Choral Prelude on HOLLINGSIDE (1951) | 3:12 |
Sonata in A Minor (1958) | ||
| 6. | I Allegro | 8:21 |
| 7. | II Andante quasi moderato | 5:09 |
| 8. | III Scherzando | 2:56 |
| 9. | IV Moderato – Allegro ma non troppo | 6:57 |
| 10. | Benedictus (1931) | 5:01 |
| 11. | Toccata – Moto Perpetuo (1951) | 4:11 |
Total | 54:43 | |
Track Listing - JMSCD11B | ||
The Four Winds (1925) | ||
| 1. | North Wind | 3:08 |
| 2. | South Wind | 3:48 |
3. | East Wind | 3:50 |
| 4. | West Wind | 2:39 |
3 Scenes from the Boyhood of Christ (1953) | ||
| 5. | I Mary’s Song | 3:11 |
| 6. | II Jesus, Playmate | 2:04 |
| 7. | III The Little Prayers | 3:19 |
| 8. | Choral Prelude on RICHMOND (1952) | 2:19 |
Symphony No. 2 in B (1959) | ||
| 9. | I [Andante con moto] | 6:56 |
| 10. | II Chaconne | 7:15 |
| 11. | III Finale | 5:28 |
Three Quiet Preludes (1937)* | ||
| 12. | I Modal | 2:33 |
| 13. | II Chromatic | 3:38 |
| 14: | III Diatonic | 2:53 |
| *Recorded at St Albans Cathedral, April 2007 | ||
Total | 53:06 | |
Audio Samples
Excerpt from Triumph Song (1' 09")
Excerpt from Jesus, Playmate (0' 58")
Reviews
Herman's playing is first class – elegant and expressive – and all the performances are very fine. The organ certainly suits the music extremely well.
Tom Winpenny, Assistant Organist, St Albans Cathedral
…this two-CD set is a revelation… The Lewis Albion…is in fine form and presents a wide range of colours and dynamics. Herman Jordaan is a sensitive interpreter and well able to handle the music’s requirements in terms of registration and use of the instrument. Highly recommended.
David Baker (Organists’ Review)
The January / February 2024 issue printed a disparaging review by Rupert Gough. He alleged that the organ was not properly tuned; disliked the perspective from which it was recorded (too close); and said that although Herman’s playing was ‘confident’ much of the music ‘falls rather flat’. He therefore accorded the CDs only two stars. Since no one else has made such damning comments, I sought from the editor of Choir and Organ the right of reply, but this was denied. My emails to her were not even acknowledged, a treatment which I consider discourteous.
Potential customers should be aware that
- The organ was tuned two days before the sessions. No-one but Rupert Gough has suggested that it was out of tune.
- The close recording was a deliberate choice. Like Rupert Gough, Paul Spicer, an experienced producer of recordings and one of my customers, would have preferred a recording with more ambience but thought that the two-star rating was by no means a fair reflection of the merits of the CDs.
- Neil Collier, the owner of Priory Records, has probably recorded more organs than anyone else in the world. He thinks that all involved in this project did a very good job.