Gerald Hendrie: Complete Organ Music, Volume Two
The organ music of Gerald Hendrie – born in England in 1935 but resident in France since 1996 – encompasses a huge range of influences, among them the organist-composers who went before him (not least Franck, Dupré and Messiaen), dodecaphony, mediaeval plainchant and modality and jazz. The resulting works are as varied as the styles that fed into them, from grandiose to gentle, from severe to whimsical, from lyrical to lively. The mighty, 25-minute Sonata: In Praise of Reconciliation uses whimsical references to two cities bombed in the Second World War – the ‘Coventry Carol’ and the ‘Dresden Amen’ – to make a monumental plea for peace.
Tom Winpenny, organ of St. Albans Cathedral
Listen To This Recording:
Six Concert Studies (2020-23) (34:30)
- No. 1 Brillantemente (5:15)
- No. 2 Allegro deciso (5:44)
- No. 3 Allegro ritmico (6:27)
- No. 4 Allegro molto (6:06)
- No. 5 Allegramente (4:59)
- No. 6 Comodo (5:59)
Pastorale and Fughetta (2017/2023) (9:48)
- Pastorale (5:09)
- Fughetta (4:39)
Sonate en Trio (2005) (10:49)
- I. Allegro comodo (3:36)
- II. Pastorale (3:10)
- III. Moderato (4:03)
Sonata: In Praise of Reconciliation (1995-96) (24:46)
- I. Introduction (2:47)
- II. Fugue (9:15)
- III. Commemoration (6:01)
- IV. Exsultate (6:43)
First Recordings
British Music Society :
‘Hendrie’s deep and instinctive understanding of form and, a point made by the performer, his gift for dramatic pacing, ensures that the seemingly arbitrary inclusion of musical elements achieves genuine cohesion and becomes what the composer intended, which is an astonishingly powerful plea for peace.
Tom Winpenny must be commended, not merely for his ability to master both the technical and interpretive challenges of this highly wrought music, but for ensuring that it is the music that always takes centre stage, and not his own extraordinary virtuosity. A magnificent achievement.’
—Martyn Strachan, British Music Society