textura

Paul Jacobs: Organ Concertos
Naxos

Recordings of organ concertos are such a relative rarity that any release featuring them is special; that the parties involved are Grammy-winning organist Paul Jacobs and the Giancarlo Guerrero-conducted Nashville Symphony Orchestra makes it all the more exciting. A long-time ambassador for his instrument and a fervent advocate for the creation of new organ repertoire, Jacobs has dedicated incredible effort to expanding the symphonic literature for the organ. He studied at the Curtis Institute of Music and Yale University and after joining the faculty of The Juilliard School in 2003 was named chair of the organ department a year later.

Of the four works presented, Wayne Oquin's Resilience (2015) and Christopher Rouse's Organ Concerto (2014) were dedicated to and premiered by Jacobs and were captured live in February 2023 at Nashville's Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Rounding out the set are Charles Ives's Variations on “America” (1891-92), a setting for solo organ, and the Organ Concerto in E flat minor, Op. 55 (1901–02) by Ives's teacher Horatio Parker. That two composers dedicated their works to Jacobs says much about the esteem with which he's held in the organ community. He's in excellent company with Guerrero and the Nashville Symphony, given that the two have received multiple Grammy nominations and in the case of the orchestra twenty-seven nominations and fourteen awards.

The album begins with Parker's three-movement Organ Concerto, premiered in 1902 by the Boston Symphony and the composer's largest orchestral work. Interestingly, woodwinds are eschewed, making for a panoramic soundscape of organ, brass, timpani, harp, and strings. Even though Parker was doing his part to help develop an American classical music that would distance itself from European influence, the opening movement does follow a dramatic Dvorák-like melodic figure with the kind of turbulent Sturm und Drang one associates with German Romanticism. Regardless, the interweaving of organ and orchestra proves arresting, as does their frequent call-and-response. The pairing of Jacobs' thick chords and the ensemble makes for a huge sound, but there are passages of comparative quietude too. Marked “Allegro moderato—Andante,” the movement gradually segues from its stormy start into a delicate episode of peaceful, pastoral-like splendour featuring organ, violin, harp, and French horn before resolving in an entrancing conclusion. The delightful “Allegretto, ma ben moderato” that follows is playfully scherzo-like and suave, after which drama returns for the mighty “Allegro moderato, molto risoluto” finale with its towering horns and majestic organ fugue.

In keeping with its title, Oquin's Resilience was designed to mirror the human capacity for perseverance, tenacity, and strength of will. At twelve minutes, the single-movement work is a mini-concerto that engages in to-and-fro between the soloist and orchestra. After dynamic horn flourishes set the scene, which Jacobs responds to with emphatic replies, the activity level eases for a brief lyrical interlude before the action again intensifies. During its most aggressive parts, passages unspool with the kind of urgency one encounters in an action film soundtrack, as surging percussion and towering brass spar with organ for dominance.

Like Parker's, Rouse's concerto is in three movements—two fast ones and a slow one at the centre—and, at twenty minutes, of comparable length. It's also but one concerto of more than a dozen Rouse created for soloists, including trombone, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, violin, cello, percussion, piano, harp, guitar, and, of course, organ. By the composer's own admission, the Organ Concerto is “intended to show off what the organ—and, of course, the soloist—are capable of.” From its agitated opening allegro it's a wild and tumultuous ride, with Rouse working blustery horns, bold dissonances, and organ-and-ensemble collisions into the devilish design. Without pause, the work moves into a “Lento” that's alternately tender, portentous, and foreboding and then succeeds its church hymn-like ending with a clamorous “Presto” that's as rousing as it is macabre.

Created when the composer was still in his teens and a virtuoso on the organ, Ives's Variations on “America” was premiered by him at a Fourth of July concert in 1892 and exemplifies his characteristic humility, sincerity, and irreverence. Nine parts squeeze into an eight-minute frame in Jacobs' rendering, which progresses from an intro and earnest thematic statement to playfully adventurous riffs and two blink-and-you'll-miss-‘em interludes. Not yet twenty, Ives already shows signs in this early work of the maverick sensibility that would distinguish so much of the work for which he's become known. As much as Organ Concertos is designed with the organ enthusiast in mind, its appeal extends far beyond that one group. It's a valuable addition to the organ concerto repertoire but rewards for inspired performances by Jacobs and the Nashville Symphony Orchestra too.

September 2024


	Paul Jacobs: Organ Concertos Naxos Recordings of organ concertos are such a relative rarity that any release featuring them is special; that the parties involved are Grammy-winning organist Paul Jacobs and the Giancarlo Guerrero-conducted Nashville Symphony Orchestra makes it all the more exciting. A long-time ambassador for his instrument and a fervent advocate for the creation of new organ repertoire, Jacobs has dedicated incredible effort to expanding the symphonic literature for the organ. He studied at the Curtis Institute of Music and Yale University and after joining the faculty of The Juilliard School in 2003 was named chair of the organ department a year later. Of the four works presented, Wayne Oquin's Resilience (2015) and Christopher Rouse's Organ Concerto (2014) were dedicated to and premiered by Jacobs and were captured live in February 2023 at Nashville's Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Rounding out the set are Charles Ives's Variations on “America” (1891-92), a setting for solo organ, and the Organ Concerto in E flat minor, Op. 55 (1901–02) by Ives's teacher Horatio Parker. That two composers dedicated their works to Jacobs says much about the esteem with which he's held in the organ community. He's in excellent company with Guerrero and the Nashville Symphony, given that the two have received multiple Grammy nominations and in the case of the orchestra twenty-seven nominations and fourteen awards. The album begins with Parker's three-movement Organ Concerto, premiered in 1902 by the Boston Symphony and the composer's largest orchestral work. Interestingly, woodwinds are eschewed, making for a panoramic soundscape of organ, brass, timpani, harp, and strings. Even though Parker was doing his part to help develop an American classical music that would distance itself from European influence, the opening movement does follow a dramatic Dvorák-like melodic figure with the kind of turbulent Sturm und Drang one associates with German Romanticism. Regardless, the interweaving of organ and orchestra proves arresting, as does their frequent call-and-response. The pairing of Jacobs' thick chords and the ensemble makes for a huge sound, but there are passages of comparative quietude too. Marked “Allegro moderato—Andante,” the movement gradually segues from its stormy start into a delicate episode of peaceful, pastoral-like splendour featuring organ, violin, harp, and French horn before resolving in an entrancing conclusion. The delightful “Allegretto, ma ben moderato” that follows is playfully scherzo-like and suave, after which drama returns for the mighty “Allegro moderato, molto risoluto” finale with its towering horns and majestic organ fugue. In keeping with its title, Oquin's Resilience was designed to mirror the human capacity for perseverance, tenacity, and strength of will. At twelve minutes, the single-movement work is a mini-concerto that engages in to-and-fro between the soloist and orchestra. After dynamic horn flourishes set the scene, which Jacobs responds to with emphatic replies, the activity level eases for a brief lyrical interlude before the action again intensifies. During its most aggressive parts, passages unspool with the kind of urgency one encounters in an action film soundtrack, as surging percussion and towering brass spar with organ for dominance. Like Parker's, Rouse's concerto is in three movements—two fast ones and a slow one at the centre—and, at twenty minutes, of comparable length. It's also but one concerto of more than a dozen Rouse created for soloists, including trombone, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, violin, cello, percussion, piano, harp, guitar, and, of course, organ. By the composer's own admission, the Organ Concerto is “intended to show off what the organ—and, of course, the soloist—are capable of.” From its agitated opening allegro it's a wild and tumultuous ride, with Rouse working blustery horns, bold dissonances, and organ-and-ensemble collisions into the devilish design. Without pause, the work moves into a “Lento” that's alternately tender, portentous, and foreboding and then succeeds its church hymn-like ending with a clamorous “Presto” that's as rousing as it is macabre. Created when the composer was still in his teens and a virtuoso on the organ, Ives's Variations on “America” was premiered by him at a Fourth of July concert in 1892 and exemplifies his characteristic humility, sincerity, and irreverence. Nine parts squeeze into an eight-minute frame in Jacobs' rendering, which progresses from an intro and earnest thematic statement to playfully adventurous riffs and two blink-and-you'll-miss-‘em interludes. Not yet twenty, Ives already shows signs in this early work of the maverick sensibility that would distinguish so much of the work for which he's become known. As much as Organ Concertos is designed with the organ enthusiast in mind, its appeal extends far beyond that one group. It's a valuable addition to the organ concerto repertoire but rewards for inspired performances by Jacobs and the Nashville Symphony Orchestra too. September 2024