Eighty people gathered in Worcester Cathedral on the 15th of March 2018 to hear Steve Bowey give a lunchtime organ recital. The enthusiastic audience included members of Worcestershire Organists’ Association and Newbury & District Organists’ Association, as well as a large group of excited friends and supporters from a number of Newbury churches and choirs.
It was a beautiful sunny day in Worcester contrary to the forecast, and the famous stained glass windows glowed jewel bright as the rousing opening chords of the Proulx Fanfare echoed around us in the sumptuously decorated Quire. This was followed by Sweelinck’s Mein Junges Leben hat ein end with its meditative descending phrases reminding us of the fleeting brevity of life.
The programme proceeded to call to mind the Lenten season, with three choral preludes by Bach. Steve’s confident touch on the expressive Tickell instrument brought Bach’s richly textured Lenten hymns to life, the music fitting perfectly with our ornate surroundings.
The highlight of the recital for me was Mendelssohn’s Prelude and Fugue in C minor. Steve’s vibrant energy met Mendelssohn’s fiery music to produce a fizzing, sparkling world of sound. The fluidity and grandeur of the Prelude gave way to a playful abandonment in the Fugue, phrases floating upwards to burst like bubbles against the painted ceiling.
By contrast the Vierne Berceuse was imbued with a lyrical, dreamy, almost lullaby-like character, transporting us in a moment to the banks of the Seine on a rainy day in Paris.
The recital ended with the Toccata and Fugue by Peeters. Steve’s virtuoso brilliance brought a diamond-hard clarity to this dramatic piece, facets glinting one by one into crystalline focus before a shiningly triumphal ending.
My only regret was that, in typical fashion, the performer himself was completely invisible to the audience - as the console is positioned some distance above the Quire and hidden behind a red velvet curtain and a beautiful gilt lacework screen. So, the only ones to view this magnificent performance were the carved angels on the ranks of organ pipes high above. I am sure they would have applauded just as loudly as we did, if only they could.
It was a beautiful sunny day in Worcester contrary to the forecast, and the famous stained glass windows glowed jewel bright as the rousing opening chords of the Proulx Fanfare echoed around us in the sumptuously decorated Quire. This was followed by Sweelinck’s Mein Junges Leben hat ein end with its meditative descending phrases reminding us of the fleeting brevity of life.
The programme proceeded to call to mind the Lenten season, with three choral preludes by Bach. Steve’s confident touch on the expressive Tickell instrument brought Bach’s richly textured Lenten hymns to life, the music fitting perfectly with our ornate surroundings.
The highlight of the recital for me was Mendelssohn’s Prelude and Fugue in C minor. Steve’s vibrant energy met Mendelssohn’s fiery music to produce a fizzing, sparkling world of sound. The fluidity and grandeur of the Prelude gave way to a playful abandonment in the Fugue, phrases floating upwards to burst like bubbles against the painted ceiling.
By contrast the Vierne Berceuse was imbued with a lyrical, dreamy, almost lullaby-like character, transporting us in a moment to the banks of the Seine on a rainy day in Paris.
The recital ended with the Toccata and Fugue by Peeters. Steve’s virtuoso brilliance brought a diamond-hard clarity to this dramatic piece, facets glinting one by one into crystalline focus before a shiningly triumphal ending.
My only regret was that, in typical fashion, the performer himself was completely invisible to the audience - as the console is positioned some distance above the Quire and hidden behind a red velvet curtain and a beautiful gilt lacework screen. So, the only ones to view this magnificent performance were the carved angels on the ranks of organ pipes high above. I am sure they would have applauded just as loudly as we did, if only they could.
Steve Bowey at the console of the Tickell organ in Worcester Cathedral on the eve of his recital
Photo: Rachel Bowey
Photo: Rachel Bowey
