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Kent is back at the organ, here playing the Largo e spiccato from the Bach/Vivaldi Concerto in D Minor, BWV 596. Unfortunately, the cinematographer, something called iPhone, didn't bring its best game - apologies for the angle that doesn't get all of Kent's head!
Kent says: "This week I want to share a video made by my friend and Artist in Residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, NYC, David Briggs. He’s an astonishing artist, and has captured the interior of the Cathedral accompanied by one of his amazing improvisations. I hope you’ll enjoy this!!"
David Briggs says: "St John the Divine is the kind of building which brings to mind the enormous scale of God's creation, but also has a warmth and intimacy, despite its size, which proves that we are all loved, down to the very last hair on our forehead. Quite often, at the beginning of a rehearsal, I'll take 5 or 6 minutes to perambulate the complete length of the building (601ft - the length of two football pitches) - this takes about 5 or 6 minutes. I still find it almost impossible to adequately comprehend the scale.
"A couple of weeks ago, I filmed this journey, from the west doors to the High Altar, and subsequently improvised a musical accompaniment, in the form of a huge, inexorable, quasi-Mahlerian crescendo. Sadly I don't yet own a moving tripod, so I'm afraid the iPhone visuals are a bit wobbly at times. Nevertheless I hope you will enjoy this synthesis of the visual and the aural, and that you'll get a palpable sense of the sheer scale of St John the Divine, both architecturally and acoustically."
Improvisation: 'West to East' at St John the Divine 😊
www.youtube.com
Improvisation: 'West to East' at St John the Divine 😊 St John the Divine is the kind of building which brings to mind the enormous scale of God's creation, b...After last week’s post of Kent playing the first movement of Bach’s Organ Concerto in A Minor, BWV 593, after Vivaldi, here he is playing the second and third movements of the piece.
As he says: "This week we hear the rest of the story! There is nothing like a Vivaldi slow movement - the repose, the melody and the pathos. This you hear first; following is the brilliant third movement, which typically is an allegro (which actually means ‘happy’, not necessarily ‘fast’!). Here is the concerto form, displayed as I move between the two keyboards. The lower keyboard represents the fuller orchestral ensemble, while the upper keyboard represents either the smaller group of soloists, or accompaniment to a solo voice played on the lower keyboard. The opening few bars are known as a ‘ritornello’ (literally, returning theme) - this figure returns in various forms between the sections for soloists (again, the upper keyboard usually). Enjoy!!"
Kent is a main source for this article about great pipe organs in @atlasobscura -
Understanding the Majesty and Complexity of Great Organs
www.atlasobscura.com
Notre Dame's famed instrument is being dismantled and restored following the 2019 fire.Here is Kent back at the organ of Christ the King Episcopal Church in Stone Ridge, NY, playing the first movement of Bach's Organ Concerto in A Minor, BWV 593 - transcribed by Bach from Vivaldi's Concerto for Two Violins in A Minor.