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SUMMARY:Lunchtime Organ Recital: Benjamin Collyer (Manchester Cathedral)
DTSTART:20260610T121500Z
DTEND:20260610T124500Z
DTSTAMP:20260606T211410Z
UID:13354122026-06-10 12:15:00+00:00achurchnearyou
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DESCRIPTION:Marcel Dupré (1886-1971)\n\nSymphonie-Passion\, op 23\n\ni.	L
 e Monde dans l’attente du Sauveur\nii.	Nativité\niii.	Crucifixion\niv.	
 Résurrection\n\n\nBenjamin Collyer is Sub-Organist at Manchester Cathedra
 l. Prior to commencing his current role\, Ben was the Acting Assistant Dir
 ector of Music at St Alban's Cathedral\, the Assistant Director of Music a
 t St Michael's\, Cornhill and the very first Organ Fellow of Sinfonia Smit
 h Square\, London.\nBen was a student at Chetham's School of Music under C
 hristopher Stokes and Graham Caskie\, and then studied Music at the Univer
 sity of Oxford\, graduating in 2021.\nBen held organ scholarships at Chris
 t Church Cathedral\, Oxford and then at St Paul's Cathedral\, while he beg
 an studies for a Masters in Performance.\nIn 2023\, Ben graduated from the
  Royal College of Music with a distinction in Organ performance. \nOn top 
 of his cathedral work\, Ben enjoys a varied career as an orchestral organi
 st and pianist. He regularly performs with the BBC Daily Service Singers\,
  and works with professional orchestras including the BBC Philharmonic\, t
 he Liverpool Philharmonic and Manchester Baroque.\n\n\nThe Temple Church o
 rgan\nThe organ in the Temple church was built in 1924 for the Castle of G
 len Tanar\, Aberdeenshire\, and installed in 1954 in the rebuilt church (f
 ollowing war damage)\, the gift of Lord Glentanar. The organ case was desi
 gned by W. E. Godfrey and installed in 1966 and is modelled on drawings of
  the Temple’s Father Smith organ of 1688\, showing the crests of Inner a
 nd Middle Temple. The organ was rebuilt in 2013 by Harrison and Harrison o
 f Durham and has 66 stops over four manuals. \n\n\nFuture recitals – Wed
 nesdays at 1.15 pm\n17 June – George Inscoe (St Paul’s Cathedral) \n24
  June – Martin Ford (The Guards’ Chapel\, Westminster)\n1 July – Pin
 gping Chen (Royal College of Music)\n8 July – Gavin Phelps (Oundle Recit
 al Award)\n \nMarcel Dupré’s Symphonie-Passion			Programme notes by B
 en Collyer\n\nMarcel Dupré was a prominent French organist famed for his 
 incredible improvisatory skills. He performed over 2\,000 recitals in his 
 lifetime and was noted for his ability to perform hugely complex works fro
 m memory. He composed a large number of organ pieces\, which were often ba
 sed on his improvisations. The Symphonie-Passion (op 23) was born in just 
 this way\, as a series of improvisations during his 1921 tour of the US. E
 ach movement explores a different plainsong theme\; two of these are Chris
 tmas melodies (Jesu redemptor omnium – movement 1\, and Adeste fideles 
 – movement 2). The other two are Easter melodies (Stabat mater dolorosa 
 – movement 3\, and Adoro te devote – movement 4). \nThree years after 
 his tour\, he put pen to paper and published the Symphonie-Passion. This a
 mbitious work narrates the life of Jesus Christ over four movements.\n\n
 •	Movement 1 – ‘Le Monde dans l’attente du Sauveur’ The world aw
 aiting the Saviour\nThe piece begins with agitated chords in an unstable m
 eter – five quavers in each bar. The harmonies are very dark and ominous
 \, with huge swelling sections contrasted by quiet\, introspective moments
 . It conveys the despair and hopelessness of mankind before Jesus’ birth
 . We first catch a glimpse of the plainsong theme\, Jesu redemptor omnium 
 (Jesus\, redeemer of all) in the quiet middle section\, where the tune is 
 initially played on a solo oboe\, before being lost to chaos once more. Fi
 nally\, the theme explodes in a triumphant outburst of colour. The Saviour
  has arrived.\n\n•	Movement 2 – ‘Nativité’ \nThe second movement 
 takes us to the stable\, where Christ has just been born. The meditative o
 boe tune at the beginning is tinged with a sense of foreboding (at least\,
  that’s what I think!) almost foreshadowing what is to come. Halfway thr
 ough\, the mood completely changes and we hear a jolly new theme played by
  the 8’ and 4’ flutes. I’ve always imagined this section representin
 g the wise men plodding along the long path to the stable – perhaps gett
 ing gradually more annoyed with each other as they progress! Finally\, we 
 hear that all too famous tune Adeste fideles (O come\, all ye faithful) ar
 rive in the pedal part\, which is then explored in fragments. The movement
  finishes with a moment of stasis\; distant triads sound on the solo flute
 s\, almost like a call to battle. Christ’s fate is calling.\n\n•	Movem
 ent 3 – ‘Crucifixion’ \nThis movement is quite scary. The pedals giv
 e us a sinister descending motif\, surrounded by rich\, dark chords in the
  manuals. This motif is then explored over a huge crescendo which lasts un
 til almost the end of the piece. It really does get very loud towards the 
 end\, just as Jesus’ pain grew and grew while he was being tortured. The
  climax of this movement is reached when the organ screams a series of fra
 gmented\, dissonant chords\, surrounded by silence – Christ gives up the
  ghost. Before we move on to the final movement\, we hear a sparse\, mourn
 ful exploration of the plainsong theme Stabat mater dolorosa (The sorrowfu
 l mother stood). Mary is standing at the foot of the cross\, having seen h
 er son die. \n\n•	Movement 4 – ‘Résurrection’\nThe final movement
  of this Symphony is one gigantic crescendo\, starting with bubbling quave
 rs on the quiet foundation stops of the organ. The plainsong theme Adoro t
 e devote (I adore you devoutly) begins almost as a whisper\, gradually gro
 wing in intensity over the course of the movement. The theme turns into hu
 ge toccata\; an outpouring of love and devotion for Christ\, who has just 
 risen from the dead. Finally\, everything goes a bit bonkers. The last pag
 e of this piece is fiendish to play\, as there are so many different thing
 s going on! \n\nI do hope you enjoy this fantastic work as much as I do!
GEO:-0.1102647000000001;51.513280392280855
LOCATION:The Temple Church\, London
URL:https://www.templechurch.com/music/lunchtime-organ-recitals
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