Review Details
MUSIC IN THE UNIVERSITY ALTERNATIM! 9 KYLE McCALLUM Organ THE FRIDAY SCHOLA
Alan Cooper
27 November 2009
King's College Chapel
The penultimate concert in the Alternatim series concluded our revelatory guided tour through one of the finest examples of this special format with the Sanctus and Agnus Dei from François Couperin’s Messe pour les Couvents. Our guest organist for this leg of the journey was Kyle McCallum who opened with a majestic account of the first announcement of “Sanctus” on full organ. I note that all the sectional openings of the Mass shine forth with these august sounds though otherwise they contrast powerfully with one another.
A joyful dance-like section with the trumpet to the fore celebrated the words Pleni sunt coeli et terra… Then, the most extensive part of Kyle’s splendid recital was the organ discourse on Benedictus. Over a gentle soft background of flutes soared a richly ornamented aria to which Kyle McCallum added colour changes such as the addition of a tremulant making this a forerunner of the more orchestral style of writing which later French organists were to make their own.
Another splendidly regal voicing gave us the opening of the Agnus Dei. Its continuation on organ had the reed stops predominating and marvellous imitative counterpoint leading to a rich warm conclusion. The Friday Schola on tip top form this week led us to the final noble oration from the Aubertin in plein jeu. This is indeed a splendid work and I hope that in the future we will have a chance to hear the three sections from the Alternatim series joined together in a single concert.
Next week Frauke Jurgensen promises to delight us with a seasonal programme of Nöels.