GEORGE NEWS - The city of George is fortunate to boast two imaginative organists, Dr Gerrit Jordaan and Hyran Motha, who direct the music in the NG Moederkerk and St Mark’s Cathedral respectively. It was Gerrit’s idea to bring organists from other regions in the country to George to partake in a 'fantasy series' of organ music, with Adriaan Louw as Production Manager for three recitals which were well advertised in George and Sedgefield.
And so it was that on Thursday 24 May we were privileged to hear Louna Stofberg at the organ of the NG Moederkerk. Louna studied organ with Dr Mario Nell in Stellenbosch and is presently the organist at the Dutch Reformed Church in Hermanus.
Louna
Louna’s programme covered works by JS Bach, Mendelssohn, Joseph Bonner, Dubois, Albert Troskie and Martin Mans. Particularly impressive was the fourth variation in Joseph Bonner’s Concert Variations Op. 1. This was a dramatic performance using only the pedals with the theme thundering out and leading into the brilliant finale fully justifying a hearty round of applause.
Théodore Dubois lived in Paris at the same time as Charles-Marie Widor so it was not surprising that his Toccata for Organ had the same relentless left-hand rhythm that runs through Widor’s toccata in his 5th symphony. Albert Troskie’s theme and variations are based on the Dutch song 'Op berge en in dale' which also sounds like 'Why was he born so beautiful'.
This concert ended with Martin Mans' Toccata and Chorale (based on Handel’s 'Sound the Trumpet' from his oratorio Judas Maccabaeus), that again makes full use of the pedals in the Toccata and ends in a typical Dutch style chorale played on full organ that resounded round the cupola for several seconds.
Although the audience was small they showed their appreciation in the usual way and went home happy.
Zorada
In the second recital in the series on 31 May Zorada Temmingh presented a 'lecture-recital' and she was joined by the soprano, Alma Oosthuizen. Zorada delights in improvising at the organ and throughout the evening she explained what she was about to play and what we should listen for, which, apart from being helpful was fascinating as well. The programme opened with 'Joy to the World' arranged as a Toccata with frenetic finger-work.
The second half of the evening was dedicated to Afro-American Spirituals opening with a fantasia based around 'My Lord, what a Morning'. Alma Oosthuizen sang the spiritual and then Temmingh launched into the Fantasia. This work contained snippets from Greig’s 'Morning' from the Peer Gynt Suite and ended with the opening passage from Richard Strauss’ Also spracht Zarathustra.
Beautiful voice
The evening ended with a marvellous combination of 'Joshua fit the Battle of Jericho' and 'Go Down Moses' sung by Oosthuizen who has a beautiful, clear and strong voice and clearly loves singing this type of music. The improvisation of the Battle of Jericho was magnificent. The marching Israelites depicted with trumpets, drums and bells brought the walls of Jericho tumbling down in a cascade of sound that faded away and we were left to listen to the dust settling over the ruins.
Skilful
Zorada Temmingh is a true performer on the 'Biggest Instrument' and her improvisations are both imaginative and skilful, designed to show off all the aspects of the instrument. This was a most enjoyable evening and the larger audience rewarded it with a healthy round of applause.
Triumph
The final recital on 7 June was performed at St Mark’s Cathedral by Mario Nell and Winand Grundling playing duets on its much clearer sounding instrument. The programme was all Mozart who, in 1791, was commissioned to write music to be played on the mechanical organ belonging to Count Joseph Deym von Strzitez. This curious instrument was powered by a clockwork mechanism. The music is a trifle simplistic and reflects Mozart’s irritation with the project as he was already writing his Requiem Mass and viewed this as an unnecessary interruption. Nell and Grundling worked their way neatly through two Fantasias and an Andante, all in the key of F.
Their next offering was a Fugue in G minor that was originally written for two pianos. All these pieces gave one the feeling of being boxed in with little to show the organ’s potential. However, the final piece was a tour de force transcription of the 'Jupiter' Symphony. Here, all aspects of the organ were utilized for a robust performance of this work which was fully appreciated by the audience.
Overall this 'Organ Fantasy Series' was a great idea and we were privileged to hear four fine organists in three totally different recitals; we look forward to more in the future.
Article: Sue Rijsdijk
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