It was very bold of the BBC to bring Cameron Carpenter to the console of the Royal Albert Hall organ for not one but two concerts over the same weekend. It was obvious from the start that his approach to Bach would divide organ enthusiasts. If I was thrown by his approach to the F major Toccata and Fugue, his playing later in the programme convinced me that, whatever we heard, it was on the basis of clear understanding of the originals and a phenomenal technique.
At the heart of his first programme he played the A major Prelude & Fugue BWV536. In interview he said he did not find this a profound work, but more a highly enjoyable one. What he gave us was both as here was highly sensitive playing, wonderful musicality and a profound joy in the music itself. His approach to Nun freunt euch, lieben Christen BWV 734 was staggeringly fast, based as it was on Busoni’s piano transcription which requires endless arpeggios to keep the music moving. His right hand and feet did not stop for a second.
He followed this with an improvisation on BACH. Having sat through too many numbing performances of both the Liszt and Reger BACHs I was prepared for the worst but found myself caught up in an American musical overture, somewhere between Gershwin and Bernstein. Not a gloomy note in sight, and yet the BACH motive was there throughout. What a joy to hear improvisation which so easily appealed to a far wider range of listeners than that which we too often encounter.
He concluded the afternoon with a reading of the D minor Toccata and Fugue BWV565 which took into account both Henry Wood’s and Busoni’s arrangements. If there were distinct hints of Fantasia here we have to recall that Stokowsky was himself wishing to expand the audience for serious music. Carpenter’s registration was about as wide as I can every recall on the RAH Willis, sometimes almost shockingly so. Almost obtusely, he started the Fugue at pp with great delicacy, but built it to a shattering climax.
His encore was an improvisation for the Jubilee and the Olympics, mixing God Save the Queen with London Pride, Rule Brittania and Chariots of Fire. It delighted the packed audience and sent us all out wanting more.
Where, over the years, too many organ recitals at the proms have been worthy but dull, this was as exciting as they come and musically satisfying. And that opening Toccata & Fugue in F major? I was dumbfounded. I had never heard Bach played this way before. It took some getting used to as he attacked the organ to make it work for him. If any reader does not like his approach, then, like Shakespeare, we have the benefit that Bach is always there and will have as many interpreters as there are musicians to perform him. A breath of fresh air may feel like a tornado to some, but we should welcome the challenge.
My colleague Stephen Page went to the second concert. BH
Having listened on the radio to Cameron Carpenter’s earlier prom I was unsure how much I would enjoy this further performance. I have to admit to liking Bach organ performances of the “no frills” variety but I am also very fond of good theatre / concert organ arrangements of almost any variety. I need not have worried. From the opening notes of the Fantasia & Fugue in G minor (BWV 542) – begun almost as soon as CC was in position at the console – I was entranced.
Cameron’s performances were masterful examples of how to present music on the organ. He obviously knows the original material in depth and has a phenomenal technique enabling him to exploit the full resources of the Royal Albert Hall organ in a way I have not heard before.
Some may criticise such a performer as being showy but for me he proved to be highly successful in presenting music using the organ, as he said in his brief conversation with Christopher Cook, as a vehicle, not an end in itself.
The performance of his own Etude-Fantasy for Pedals on the Prelude from Bach’s Cello Suite No 1 in G major, BWV 1007 left no-one in the audience in any doubt about his virtuosic pedal technique. It went much further than that, however, highlighting his ability as an arranger and composer to draw on a number of influences including those from the worlds of popular and jazz music to create a piece that was true to the original, highly creative and satisfying as a whole.
He then demonstrated in a very engaging way the art of the improviser. His Improvisation on the Bouree from Bach’s Cello Suite No 3 in C major, BWV 1009 showed clearly how he can use a well-known Bach excerpt as the springboard for something that is fresh and exciting, travelling through a number of different styles and treatments incorporating the light and the virtuosic, the “straight” and the less so! A beautifully brief and cheeky re-statement of the original theme brought the improvisation to its conclusion.
The longest item in the programme was the performer’s own Syncretic Prelude & Fugue in D major, a pairing of arrangements of Bach’s Chaconne from the Solo Violin Partita No 2 in D minor, BWV 1004 and the last movement of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony. As in the previous day’s recital Cameron Carpenter drew on Busoni’s own re-working of the Bach. This was a tour de force. I just enjoyed it as a piece in its own right, luxuriating in the highly skilled, musical employment of the orchestra of the organ. Cameron’s ability to play with the colours in such a controlled way was phenomenal. I marvelled at the frequency of stop changes and was very interested to observe the way that he played up and down the combinations to achieve very smooth and effective crescendos and diminuendos. We heard wonderful solo stops playing against each other as well as magnificent choruses.
The large audience was very appreciative and Cameron responded with a well received encore.
This was music to appeal to lovers of organ music but also to those who just like good music, whatever the vehicle. I would love to see a CD of Cameron Carpenter at the RAH organ in the future.SP