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Track(s) taken from CDA67734

Grand Chœur 'Benedicamus Domino'

composer
1939

Christopher Herrick (organ)
Recording details: June 2008
Västerås Cathedral, Sweden
Produced by Paul Spicer
Engineered by Simon Eadon
Release date: May 2009
Total duration: 4 minutes 23 seconds

Cover artwork: Fireworks over Stockholm.
© Mikael Damkier, www.dreamstime.com
 

Reviews

‘Herrick's playing and imaginative use of the organ's resources are first rate, and he's backed up by a superb recording from Hyperion’ (Gramophone)

‘This instrument makes a pretty spectacular noise … with plenty of incendiary reeds and pyrotechnic instruments, it provides yet another ideal organ on which Christopher Herrick can light his blue touch paper and not retire but leap onto the pyre and set off as many fireworks as he can in the space of 78 minutes … he is a fluent and fiery champion of the repertoire … Herrick manages to persuade us that it is all worth hearing. He delivers it with enthusiasm and the communicative zeal which is the hallmark of just about everything this outstanding organist ever seems to put his hands and feet to … for lovers of fine organ sound and often spine-tingly virtuoso playing … this disc most certainly is not thirteenth time unlucky’ (International Record Review)
A native of Belgium, Guy Weitz (1883–1970) studied in Paris with Guilmant, Widor and Vincent d’Indy and went on to become Professor of Organ at Liège. In 1914 the outbreak of war caused him to move to England, and after a few years’ association with the music of Westminster Cathedral, in 1917 he became organist of the Jesuit Church, Farm Street in London’s Mayfair, a post he held for some fifty years. His Grand chœur ‘Benedicamus Domino’, written in 1939, is based on a fifth-mode melody. Fanfare-like chords are prominent in the opening section, and a brisk, one-in-a-bar fugue leads by way of a dominant pedal to the brilliant, toccata-like writing with which the work concludes.

from notes by Relf Clark © 2009

Le Belge Guy Weitz (1883–1970) étudia à Paris avec Guilmant, Widor et Vincent d’Indy avant d’enseigner l’orgue à Liège. En 1914, la guerre le fit partir en Angleterre où, après quelques années passées en liaison avec la cathédrale de Westminster, il fut nommé organiste de la Jesuit Church (Farm Street, dans le quartier londonien de Mayfair)—un poste qu’il occupa pendant une cinquantaine d’années à partir de 1917. Écrit en 1939, son Grand chœur «Benedicamus Domino» est fondé sur une mélodie en cinquième mode. Des accords façon fanfare dominent la section initiale et une fugue rapide mène, via une pédale de dominante, à la brillante écriture de type toccata qui conclut l’œuvre.

extrait des notes rédigées par Relf Clark © 2009
Français: Hypérion

Guy Weitz (1883–1970) ist in Belgien gebürtig, studierte in Paris bei Guilmant, Widor und Vincent d’Indy und sollte später Orgelprofessor in Lüttich werden. Bei Kriegsausbruch 1914 siedelte er nach England um, und nach einigen Jahren, in denen er mit der Musik an der Westminster Kathedrale assoziiert war, wurde er 1917 Organist der Jesuitenkirche in Farm Street im Londoner Mayfair. Sein 1939 geschriebener Grand chœur „Benedicamus Domino“ basiert auf einer Melodie im 5. Ton. Im Anfangsabschnitt treten fanfarenhafte Akkorde prominent hervor, und eine rasche Fuge in Eins führt über einen Orgelton auf der Dominante zum brillanten tokkatenhaften Satz, mit der das Werk schließt.

aus dem Begleittext von Relf Clark © 2009
Deutsch: Renate Wendel

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