Friday, October 19, 9.30 pm
Church of São João Evangelista (Colégio)
Johann Sebastian Bach
Matthias Havinga, organ
Since Bach wrote most of his organ repertoire for organ with pedals, I chose a harpsichord piece to be played on the choir organ. The English Suite in G minor was written during Bach’s Weimar years, when he was serving the Duke of Sachsen-Weimar as organist. The Duke was very enthusiastic about the modern Italian concerto style of Vivaldi, Marcello and similar composers. The Prelude to the suite refers to this lively style. The Gavotte is a dance in duple time in moderato tempo, with a very clear structure. This one is interrupted by a Musette, a very simple pastoral dance based on the sound of a French bagpipe. It is clearly recognisable by its steady bourdon.
The Prelude in C major, BWV 545 is a short, majestic organ work with a theme that descends the very lowest register of the pedals in great leaps. The fugue moves in stepwise motion and continues in the grand atmosphere of the prelude.
Bach’s trio sonatas are the peak of baroque organ virtuosity, and the level of pedal playing needed to perform them is unparalleled in Bach’s time. Three completely independent voices interact in a very polyphonic way. The first movement is striking for its many different ideas – regular semiquavers, sextuplets, and a quick dotted motive, which are convincingly woven into one piece. In the second movement two main ideas are played off against each other. A very galant opening theme provides the light side, while a more serious chromatic theme (that is, in semitones) provides a counterweight.
The choral prelude to Nun danket alle Gott is set up in the traditional way of a German choral prelude, with accompanying voices anticipating the melody, followed by the powerful entrance of the cantus firmus, which stands out without any ornamentation. Another choral prelude Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr follows the same pattern of anticipation, but with a very richly decorated melody. The accompaniment contains many French ornaments in a lombardic rhythm (short-long), creating a very serious and introvert emotional atmosphere. The surprising and dramatic way in which this choral ends is another testimony to Bach’s greatness as a composer.
Finally, one of Bach greatest achievements for the organ, his great Prelude and Fugue in E flat major. In this piece Bach brings together many different elements, and it is said to refer to the Holy Trinity in many ways. In the Prelude, the dotted rhythm of a French overture would represent God the Father, and the galant staccato chords the Son; a fiery fugue in the style of an Italian concerto represents the Holy Spirit. The same is true for the Fugue, which starts with a broad, five-voice theme (Father), followed by a lively flowing theme (Son) and concludes with a happily bouncing tripartite theme (Spirit), under which the first theme (God the Father) returns at the end, thus further symbolizing the unity of the three elements.
Matthias Havinga
CHOIR ORGAN
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
¬ English Suite nr. 3 BWV 808
› Prelude
› Gavotte
GREAT ORGAN
Johann Sebastian Bach
¬ Prelude and fugue in C major BWV 545
¬ Sonata III in d minor BWV 527
› Andante
› Adagio e dolce
› Vivace
¬ Chorale Prelude
«Nun danket alle Gott» BWV 657
(a 2 Clav. et Ped, Canto fermo in soprano)
¬ Chorale Prelude
«Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr» BWV 662
(a 2 Clav. e Ped, Canto fermo in soprano, Adagio)
¬ Prelude and fugue in E flat major BWV 552
Participants
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Matthias Havinga is a concert organist and pianist. He acquired his Master of Music degree summa cum laude at the Amsterdam Conservatoire, as a student of Jacques van Oortmerssen, graduating in piano from the same institution as a pupil of Marcel Baudet. At the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague he studied church music under Jos van der Kooy. He is Professor of Organ at the Amsterdam Conservatoire. He has been awarded several prizes at international organ competitions and he enjoys an international concert career, performing at prestigious venues across Europe, Russia, the USA and South America. He has also performed as soloist with renowned choirs and orchestras, such as the Nederlands Kamerkoor and the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra. His CDs, J. S. Bach, Italian Concertos, Passacaglia and Dutch Delight, released on the Brilliant Classics label, have been received with widespread acclaim. He is titular organist of the 1830 Bätz-organ at the Koepelkerk in Amsterdam, and liturgical organist of the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam, playing the Vater/Müller organ (1726/1738) and the Ahrend organ (1965). With recorder player Hester Groenleer he established a duo that creates challenging programmes for this combination of instruments. |
Matthias HavingaNotes about the organ
Church of São João Evangelista (Colégio), Funchal
This instrument, with 1586 sounding pipes, is situated in a religious space with certain particularities. As a church typical of those belonging to Jesuit colleges, with a broad nave and quite a gentle acoustic, the organ had to be specially conceived, especially with regard to the measurements of the pipes. Thus all the pipework of the instrument has been specifically tailored to produce a full sound, and each stop produces a timbre with an individual personality, forming part of a harmonic ensemble based more on the sound of fundamentals and less on harmonics. It was also felt to be essential to give the instrument a certain ‘latin’ sonority that would favour performance of ancient music of the Italian, Spanish and Portuguese schools of the 17th and 18th centuries.
Another aspect to be taken into consideration was the need to complement the current range of organs available locally: the new organ responds in an ideal fashion to the performance of works of periods and of technical and artistic requirements that none of the 24 historic instruments of Madeira cater adequately for. It also enhances the range of organs that constitute the island’s heritage by being present in this particular religious space, as well as by existing side by side with other historical instruments. In the decision to build it for this church, not only were the issues of acoustic, aesthetic and liturgical space taken into account, but also the presence there of an important historic instrument which is currently on the list of instruments undergoing restoration.
I Manual - Órgão Principal (C-g’’’)
Flautado aberto de 12 palmos (8’)
Flautado tapado de 12 palmos (8’)
Oitava real (4’)
Tapado de 6 palmos (4’)
Quinzena (2’)
Dezanovena e 22ª
Mistura III
Corneta IV
Trompa de batalha* (bass)
Clarim* (treble)
Fagote* (bass)
Clarineta* (treble)
II Manual - Órgão Positivo (C-g’’’)
Flautado aberto de 12 palmos (8’)
Tapado de 12 palmos (8’)
Flautado aberto de 6 palmos (4’)
Dozena (2 2/3’)
Quinzena (2’)
Dezassetena (1 3/5’)
Dezanovena (1 1/3)
Címbala III
Trompa real (8’)
Pedal (C-f’)
Tapado de 24 palmos (16’)
Bordão de 12 palmos (8’)
Flautado de 6 palmos (4’)
Contrafagote de 24 palmos (16’)
Trompa de 12 palmos (8’)
Couplers
II/I
I/Pedal
II/Pedal
* horizontal reeds