Nightingale
Nov 8, 2008
NIGHTINGALE
Director
PAUL WRIGHT
Pipe Organ
DOMINIC PERISSINOTTO
The Juniper Chamber Orchestra
GEORG PHILLIP TELEMANN
Sinfonia Spirituosa in D, TWV 44:1
CARL PHILIPP EMANUEL BACH
Concerto in G for Organ and Orchestra, Wq 34 / H 444
REMO GIAZOTTO
after TOMASO ALBINONI
Adagio in G minor for Organ and Strings
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART
Fantasia in F minor for Organ, K. 608
GEORG FREDRICH HÄNDEL
Concerto in F "The Cuckoo and the Nightingale" for Organ and Orchestra, HWV 295
ARCANGELO CORELLI
Concerto Grosso in D for Strings and Basso Continuo, Op. 6 No. 4
REMO GIAZOTTO
after TOMASO ALBINONI
Adagio in G minor for Organ and Strings (encore)
The Basilica of St Patrick, Fremantle
After jo_ee's wonderful birthday barbecue in King's Park, I made my way over to Fremantle to catch Dominic Perissinotto's performance on the Grand Organ of St Patrick's Basilica together with the Juniper Chamber Orchestra.
Before attending this concert, I was under the impression that the basilica's organ was just another cathedral organ, like the one in St George's Cathedral which I had recently heard. But when I entered and looked up at the West Gallery, I knew that there was something different about this one. For one, it was huge! The large diapason pipes flanked both sides of the organ above the entrance, and I later found out that this was actually the largest parish church organ in Australasia.
The 1988 ?-pipe 109-stop Bellsham Grand Organ above the papal crest
Unfortunately for me, because the concert was conducted together with the Juniper Chamber Orchestra, most of the organ pieces were played on the 21-stop (I think) transept organ; I personally prefer the sound of grand organs compared to teeny-weeny transept/choir organs. :P
I had never heard the Telemann nor the CPE Bach pieces before, so that was a new experience for me and I can't really comment on them except that they were rather nice, heh. The next two pieces were what I went to listen to. First up was the Giazotto Adagio for Organ and Strings, and as expected it was a very moving piece performed flawlessly by both organist and orchestra. A good thing about the concert too was that they had set up this video screen showing the organ console, so you could actually see his fingers moving, with every pull of a stop and every push of a tab. This was very interesting from a technical aspect since we could also hear the difference when he moved from manual to manual, and what happened when a stop or tab was selected.
After the Adagio was an interval where free coffee and cupcakes were served in the basilica's courtyard (another first!) I took this opportunity to look around the right of the altar for the umbraculum but didn't see it anywhere. The next time I go there I will certainly ask where it is.
TRIVIA: One of the privileges granted to a church when it is elevated to the status of Basilica is the right of the umbraculum (also called the conopaeum) and tintinnabulum, which are the papal umbrella and bell which are carried side by side in procession at the head of the clergy on state occasions. The umbraculum is placed prominently at the right of the basilica's main altar. It is shaped as a Baldachin-type canopy with broad alternating gold and red stripes, the traditional colours of the pontificate, and whenever the Pope visits a basilica, its umbraculum is opened.
Following the interval, Dominic Perissinotto went up to the West Gallery and started on the pièce de résistance: the Mozart Fantasia. Now this piece has a special significance for me, because years ago, when I first looked at the VCH pipe organ during my first concert and wondered what that instrument would sound like, I had been wanting to hear it played, and in 1996 (I think) I got my first opportunity at an SSO concert. On the evening itself, they announced a change in the programme and the first piece would be replaced by something else. I couldn't catch what that something else was, but the next thing I knew, instead of the orchestra entering the hall, the seats were left empty and this little man (who was the world-renowned Simon Preston) came in, clambered up the steps that led to the console, bowed, sat down, and played the first chord. It was the first time I'd ever heard a pipe organ being played live, and the vibrations from the pedal diapasons shook the entire hall. It totally bowled me over, and even though I didn't know what the name of that piece was, it left a deep enough impression on me that I recognised it the moment I heard it again. And of course, it was the Mozart K608 Fantasia.
While Perissinotto wasn't Simon Preston, he did perform a commendable effort on this notoriously difficult piece, and at the end, there was this amusing moment when the piece was finished but the audience didn't realise it for some reason, and Perissinotto had to turn to the camera and signal "that's it!" before the thunderous applause came.
After that was Händel's amusing The Cuckoo And The Nightingale concerto, which was an enjoyable change from the regal and majestic Fantasia (where I heard the organ chirp literally like a cuckoo), and then it was a strings-only piece, the concerto grosso (where I finally understood what the concept of a concerto grosso was). At the end, the applause led the orchestra out for an encore performance of the Giazotto Adagio.
I was quite impressed with the music and the only grouse I had was that the grand organ was only played for one piece! Granted that the other pieces were played together with the orchestra so it made more sense to use the transept organ for synchronisation and to avoid drowning out the strings, I want to hear the grand organ played at its full power and potential. That is what a pipe organ is for! :D
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