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The Organ of Rochdale Town Hall: Organ Transcriptions Volume 2

Timothy Byram-Wigfield (organ)

Byram-Wigfield takes all in his unflappable stride, the opening carefully layered, the control scrupulous throughout, though almost to a fault when the sheer lucidity refuses to surrender to...

The Organ of Rochdale Town Hall: Organ Transcriptions Volume 2

Timothy Byram-Wigfield (organ)

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Byram-Wigfield takes all in his unflappable stride, the opening carefully layered, the control scrupulous throughout, though almost to a fault when the sheer lucidity refuses to surrender to...

About

Built in an extravagant Gothic style, Rochdale Town Hall is one of the most impressive examples of the civic pride of the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Positioned within is J.J. Binns’ fine organ, proudly displayed in three beautifully crafted wooden cases. At its high point, the British town hall organ tradition represented something entirely new and extraordinary, in social, mechanical, aesthetic and commercial terms; and the transcriptions made for these colossal instruments demonstrate remarkable syntheses of ingenuity, skill and ambition on the part of both organ-builders and musical arrangers. Here, following up on his celebrated 2004 exploration of orchestral overtures at the organ of the Kelvingrove Gallery in Glasgow, Timothy Byram-Wigfield offers another recital of overture transcriptions, and an ideal combination of player, music and instrument.

Contents and tracklist

Overture (Arr. E.H. Lemare for Organ)
Track length9:48
Overture (Arr. W.T. Best for Organ)
Track length9:11
Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott (Arr. H. Grace for Organ)
Track length5:33
Overture (Arr. C.S. Lang for Organ)
Track length4:39
Prelude (Arr. T. Byram-Wigfield for Organ)
Track length4:05
Overture (Arr. A.L. Peace for Organ)
Track length10:39

Awards and reviews

April 2016

Byram-Wigfield takes all in his unflappable stride, the opening carefully layered, the control scrupulous throughout, though almost to a fault when the sheer lucidity refuses to surrender to the heat of the moment…deftly characterised, well recorded and with lively liner notes by Byram-Wigfield himself, this is altogether a tantalising testament to the transcriber's art.

March 2016

An entire disc of overtures is a bit like enjoying a 7-course tasting menu, and here the results are well worth savouring... a tour de force.

April 2016

What makes this recital particularly appealing is the clarity of texture with which the Rochdale organ is captured…[the instrument] offers all the orchestral colours and dynamics you could wish for in this repertoire, no details of which are lost…apart from Byram-Wigfield's virtuosity and fluent registrations, there are the further bonuses of his own transcription of the Prelude to Act 1 of La traviata…and the rarity of Spohr's Overture to his 1823 opera Jessonda

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