Antonio
Soler:
Concertos for Two Organs
Gareth
Price - organ
Graham Howell - organ
Playing time:
61 mins.
£11.99
* / $18.50
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The Organ, Spring 2000
The limited catalogue of music for two organs would be virtually non-existent if it weren't for these Six Concertos by Antonio Soler. Soler was born in 1729, and joined a choir school in Montserrat. At the age of twenty-one he joined a community of monks and he soon become known for his exceptional organ skills, and he was quickly appointed maestro da capilla. His opus list is huge, with over a hundred Sonatas for harpsichord and nine Masses, five Requiems and thirteen Magnificats. His compositional style is reminiscent of Scarlatti (with whom he studied), with the typical Spanish energy and spontaneity, and his music invariably exudes joy and happiness.
The Six Concertos were written for one of Soler's pupils, the Infante don Gabriel de Borbon. The Prince's palace, built within the monastery grounds, was one of the few places that could boast a pair of organs sufficiently close to allow good contact between the organists. The Concertos (with one exception) are all in two movements, the second being a minuet with variations, and in all the airy questions and answers are thrown between the two organs. Given the obvious connection to Spanish instruments boasting immense batteries of fiery horizontal reeds and stark choruses, the choice of instruments for this recording may seem strange. Douai Abbey, just south of Reading, has recently had a three manual instrument built by Kenneth Tickell, tonally very English, which complements the 1978 Tamburini organ containing just a single manual with seven stops, housed in the Choir. The two instruments are situated almost directly opposite each other and so are ideally disposed for this limited genre of music. The tonal qualities of the two are quite different, the Tickell being refined and solid, the Tamburini freer, brighter and (despite being Italian) considerably more Iberian. However, the clean choruses of both instruments are ideal for the fast moving pieces, and the flutes are consistently sumptuous. Even the reeds, aided by a close recording, have a directional quality about them that suggests eighteenth century Spanish Clarins and Batallas. The two organs are thrown around with great gusto by Price and Howells, who obviously revel in the music. Their playing is excellent, and their tempi are always sensible without ever tying the music down.
The
recording quality is exceptional, and is one of the most natural that
I have heard in many years, and captures the tones of the two instruments
so successfully I could easily imagine myself in the building.
Simon FitzGerald.