Toccata, Adagio And Fugue in C BWV564 - Bach
Andante In F K616 - Mozart
Sonata No 8 In E Minor Op 132 - Rheinberger
Prelude And Fugue In G Minor Op 7 No 3 - DuprΘ
Toccata (In D Minus) - Simon Preston
Sarah Baldock, who gave Sunday's recital, is assistant organist at Winchester Cathedral, in England, where she is also director of the girls' choir. Her programme showed her to be an ambitious colourist, not afraid to take risks.
The opening of Bach's Toccata, Adagio And Fugue, BWV564, was piccolo-bright, and the passacaglia of Rheinberger's Eighth Sonata (preceding that of Brahms's Fourth Symphony by three years, and in the same key!) opened with pedal statement so hoarse that the rhythmic trajectory one associates with passacaglia movements was severely compromised; the sonata in general, however, was bathed in radiant warmth.
The problem in the Rheinberger may have been to do with the choice of a particular stop, but issues of rhythmic concern surfaced in other pieces as well, the Bach toccata sounding flighty, the fugue a little heavy-handed. The pinpoint sureness of articulation that is essential on the organ, with its limitations of dynamic control, did not seem to be a high priority in Baldock's style.
The music was well chosen to provide contrasts, however, and the playing was secure and intelligent. The closing item, Simon Preston's Toccata (In D Minus), using material from Bach's Toccata And Fugue In D Minor, but without the D, got a spoken introduction that enhanced the clear and effective performance.
