LEIGHTON Complete Organ Works
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Kenneth Leighton
Genre:
Instrumental
Label: Resonus Classics
Magazine Review Date: 04/2017
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 208
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: RES10178
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
(6) Fantasies on Hymn Tunes |
Kenneth Leighton, Composer
Kenneth Leighton, Composer Stephen Farr, Organ |
Martyrs (Dialogues on a Scottish psalm-tune) |
Kenneth Leighton, Composer
John Butt, Organ Kenneth Leighton, Composer Stephen Farr, Organ |
Improvisation in Memoriam Maurice de Sausmarez |
Kenneth Leighton, Composer
Kenneth Leighton, Composer Stephen Farr, Organ |
Missa de Gloria |
Kenneth Leighton, Composer
Kenneth Leighton, Composer Stephen Farr, Organ |
Festival Fanfare |
Kenneth Leighton, Composer
Kenneth Leighton, Composer Stephen Farr, Organ |
Et resurrexit |
Kenneth Leighton, Composer
Kenneth Leighton, Composer Stephen Farr, Organ |
These are thy Wonders (A Song of Renewal) |
Kenneth Leighton, Composer
Kenneth Leighton, Composer Nicky Spence, Tenor Stephen Farr, Organ |
Veni creator spiritus |
Kenneth Leighton, Composer
Kenneth Leighton, Composer Stephen Farr, Organ |
Prelude, Scherzo and Passacaglia |
Kenneth Leighton, Composer
Kenneth Leighton, Composer Stephen Farr, Organ |
Paean |
Kenneth Leighton, Composer
Kenneth Leighton, Composer Stephen Farr, Organ |
Elegy |
Kenneth Leighton, Composer
Kenneth Leighton, Composer Stephen Farr, Organ |
Ode |
Kenneth Leighton, Composer
Kenneth Leighton, Composer Stephen Farr, Organ |
Fantasy on a chorale, 'Es ist genug' |
Kenneth Leighton, Composer
Chloë Hanslip, Violin Kenneth Leighton, Composer Stephen Farr, Organ |
Rockingham |
Kenneth Leighton, Composer
Kenneth Leighton, Composer Stephen Farr, Organ |
Fanfare |
Kenneth Leighton, Composer
Kenneth Leighton, Composer Stephen Farr, Organ |
Veni Redemptor - A Celebration |
Kenneth Leighton, Composer
Kenneth Leighton, Composer Stephen Farr, Organ |
Improvisations 'De Profundis' |
Kenneth Leighton, Composer
Kenneth Leighton, Composer Stephen Farr, Organ |
Author: Marc Rochester
Stephen Farr presents a particularly fine performance of Leighton’s earliest organ work, the Prelude, Scherzo and Passacaglia, and a tremendously compelling account of Et resurrexit. These are included on the second disc, which was recorded on another remarkably bright-toned instrument, the Klais of Symphony Hall, Birmingham. Here, again, the recordings are exceptional both for the clarity of detail and for the immediacy of the sound.
The set goes a little beyond its brief in including three intriguing ensemble works which involve the organ. Martyrs finds Farr and John Butt joining forces in an organ duet, while Nicky Spence partners Farr for These Are Thy Wonders, a rare work for tenor voice and organ (off the top of my head the only other one I know is Flor Peeters’s Ubi caritas). Spence’s bright, clear, almost bell-like tenor is so well matched to the Birmingham Klais that it sounds almost like another organ stop.
The third ensemble piece continues a fine tradition of music for organ and violin (think Rheinberger, Karg-Elert and Dupré). The deeply sensuous tone of Chloë Hanslip combined with the warm and luscious sound of the Willis in St Paul’s, Knightsbridge, is so captivating that one wonders why the Fantasy on Es ist genug has not established a firmer foothold in the repertory.
The only disappointments are the six short Improvisations for harpsichord. Adam Binks in his outstanding booklet-note suggests that these were written when the composer was experiencing a period of ‘stress and upheaval’. It makes for some uncomfortable listening, not helped by a rather harsh-sounding instrument. It might have pushed timing to the limit but how welcome a new recording of the Organ Concerto would have been instead. Splendid as the John Scott/Richard Hickox performance is (Chandos, 7/08), there is always room for one more, especially from so perceptive an interpreter of Leighton’s music as Stephen Farr reveals himself to be.
Discover the world's largest classical music catalogue with Presto Music.
Gramophone Digital Club
- Digital Edition
- Digital Archive
- Reviews Database
- Full website access
From £8.75 / month
SubscribeGramophone Full Club
- Print Edition
- Digital Edition
- Digital Archive
- Reviews Database
- Full website access
From £11.00 / month
Subscribe
If you are a library, university or other organisation that would be interested in an institutional subscription to Gramophone please click here for further information.