Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
PRELUDE & FUGUE in G, BWV 541
One of Bach’s most cheerful and open-hearted concert pieces, the optimistic mood reflects the happiest period in Bach’s life – from 1717 to 1723 – when he was working at Cöthen. The work is usually dated at the end of this time. An opening cadenza leads into a vigorous prelude with a clear three-part structure, forward-looking for its time. The repeated note fugue subject is rather unusual and is more characteristic of string writing. The fugue is in four parts with some splendid stretti and a triumphant quinta vox at the end.

Gabriel Pierné (1863-1937)
TROIS PIÈCES, Op.29
Prélude – Cantilène – Scherzando
Pierné was a student of Franck and Massenet, and was Franck’s successor at St Clotilde in Paris. He was also a well-known conductor, planning and producing 48 programmes a year for 24 years for the Colonne Concerts. This work dates from 1893. The opening Prélude is somewhat reminiscent of Saint-Saën’s ‘classical’ mood as heard in his G minor piano concerto, Bach with a 19th-century flavour, as it were. The Cantilène is sentimental but elegantly crafted for all that; the use of the trumpet stop with the tremulant follows the composer’s instructions. The final Scherzando is an exciting toccata with a lyrical central section; it is subtitled ‘de Concert’, and can be used on its own.

Andrew Carter (b. 1939)
ARIA
This short but exceptionally beautiful work was inspired by the von Beckerath organ in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and was designed to showcase the instrument’s Sesquialtera and English Horn. It is written in a baroque arioso style, rather reminiscent of Bach’s Air on a G string.

Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992)
LE BANQUET CÉLESTE
Messiaen was, without any doubt, one of the 20th-century’s most influential composers. Unlike Bartók or Stravinsky, however, he left us a sizeable amount of fine organ music which attracted its share of controversy when it appeared.This piece was composed in 1926 and is the first in a list of masterpieces which appeared from then until 1984. It displays one of Messiaen’s most interesting characteristics: stillness. With magical harmonies, Messiaen’s own recording of these 25 bars lasts over seven minutes, although today I will take a slightly jauntier pace. Use the time for relaxation or meditation. As a devout Catholic, Messiaen had the courage to challenge his audiences to think about the spiritual dimension and countless listeners have agreed with him ever since.

Alfred Hollins (1865-1942)
CONCERT OVERTURE No.2
The ‘blind organist of Edinburgh’ was actually born in England but held the organist’s post at the Free St George’s Church, Edinburgh, from 1897 until his death. Diagnosed with perfect pitch at the age of two, he studied with Hans von Bülow and toured as a concert pianist when he was 18. An exceptional improviser, most of his compositions were, nevertheless, written down separately. He learnt his music by having his wife play each part through to him. His autobiography A Blind Musician Looks Back was published in 1936.The Overture dates from 1899 - a time of confidence and a stable Empire. A Beethovenian introduction leads to a vigorous main subject. Hollins follows a classical sonata form here, with an unashamedly sentimental second subject. The writing is always well-constructed and clear – easy but satisfying listening.

I N T E R V A L

John Wells (b. 1948)
FIFTH SUITE
Fanfare – Fugue – Forlana interrotta – Fantasia – Finale
The suite was commissioned in 2005 for a railway enthusiast. Horns and sirens for trains, ships etc are tuned to a variety of intervals, but that of the augmented fourth is quite common. This, therefore, features at the very opening of the work and at various points throughout the five movements. The titles of the movements are mostly self-explanatory – the forlane, heard in the third movement, came originally from Northern Italy and was a gay dance in triple metre by the time of Bach. In this version, the model comes from Gerald Finzi, who (probably incorrectly) depicted it in a gently rocking 6/8 metre. It is ‘interrupted’ by a section in a brisk 2/4.The work was also specifically designed to be played on an organ tuned in meantone.

Naji Hakim (b. 1955)
VARIATIONS ON TWO THEMES
Hakim was born in Beirut and studied under Langlais and others, winning a string of prestigious prizes at the Paris Conservatoire and overseas. He was organist at the Basilica of Sacré-Coeur, Paris and then succeeded Messiaen at La Trinité in 1993. His many compositions have won great acclaim.The Variations is firmly in the satirical tradition of Satie, Poulenc &c, poking robust fun at several organ genres and skipping nimbly from mood to mood. The two themes – the hymn Old Hundredth and a French folksong Donne Secours – are treated alternately in six pairs; the 12th and final variation runs into a Coda in which both melodies are combined. The work was commissioned by the First Presbyterian Church in Evansville, Indiana for the inauguration of a new organ.