Organists and Conductor
Press Notices
If
an organ recital is held in
Robert Coleman, The
Tribune (
…Cleobury’s playing was distinguished
throughout by an attention to clarity.
At the same time, the music felt astonishingly alive…. Human emotions came enhanced through this
aliveness… one needed no title to hear sadness, even grieving in the music, and
thoughtfulness and helpfulness as well, through Cleobury’s
interpretation. Bach’s Prelude and
Fugue in C… was an essay in heartfelt joy and overflowing happiness. Majesty, smoothness, sonorousness
and depth made their appearance, too – qualities one expects from a great organ
– but Cleobury often achieved them without resorting
to the loudest stops on the instrument.
He did, though, use the softest, and it was amazing to hear this huge
organ sounding so gently, floating the tone.
The sound of one of the lowest stops on the organ opening Rheinberger’s Introduction and Passacaglia… could
have been a bear stirring from sleep.
The soft, furry, deep notes of the phrase continued, then
repeated themselves in endless permutations as the harmonies built up in a
fabulous structure overhead, all made clear for the listener to follow and
understand. This is at least part of Cleobury’s art. He
elucidated the music for us.
Philippa Kiraly,
The first
Rathcol,
As the series of celebrity organ recitals gets underway – this latest
by Stephen Cleobury... – more and more facets of this
fine instrument are revealed. … from the very first notes, the all-enveloping directness and
power of the new organ was immediately apparent. ... Kenneth Leighton’s Prelude
Scherzo and Passacaglia... felt just right.
…Jongen’s Sonata Eroïca. A real virtuoso showstopper
whose ever-present theme is subjected to increasingly extravagant variations. Just when you think that the organ simply
can’t get louder, it does, producing sounds that go
straight to the backbone and make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up
on end.
The Scotsman, 25/6/92, St
Giles’ Cathedral
The present season of organ recitals reached a splendid climax last
night when Stephen Cleobury, Director of Music at
King’s College,
Rathcol, Belfast
Telegraph, Saturday 26 June, 1993 (after recital in Belfast Cathedral)
Never one to miss an opportunity to hear two of my favourite artists,
Stephen Cleobury, organist of King’s College,
Cambridge, and the Jaques Loussier
Plays Bach Trio, even if performed simultaneously, the problem was solved by
first hearing the former on the Ulster Hall’s Mulholland
Organ and then migrating to the Opera House in time to take in the second part
of the Loussier programme. Cleobury’s
excellent programme embraced both popular and lesser played works, with a
common denominator with Loussier in the presence of a
major work by Bach, in this case the Prelude and Fugue in G, a
performance that displayed both music and player to best possible advantage. Gigout’s Toccata in B minor demands brilliant
treatment and this was a stirring performance. There was a suitably relaxed
contrast in Jongen’s charming Chant de Mai,
while the dissonance of Messiaen’s La banquet célèste
brought us cleverly into this century with a subtle use of tone colours. An old friend, Mendelssohn’s sixth sonata,
displayed the organ’s resources in a very happy light in a fine performance,
while the recitalist’s splendid technique, and
rock-like stability of rhythm, allied to the organ’s brilliant resources… all
made Mulet’s Carillon-Sortie a tour de force.
…played with a blazing technique which confirmed what the listener knew
from the beginning of the programme:
Stephen Cleobury is a first-class artist.
On Sunday evening, his [SC’s] finely-balanced
programme was the more vivid for the exceptional clarity of every feature. The
wholesome vigour of a Prelude and Fugue in G minor by Buxtehude was
followed by the subtle energies of the Kyrie from the “Messe
pour les Paroisses” by Couperin. Hindemith’s Sonata no. 1 was an
exhilarating contrast in purpose and style. Liszt’s Variations on ‘Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen’ drew wide expressiveness from Mr Cleobury.
..Bach’s Fantasia and Fugue in G minor [was] lucid and magnificently
delivered.
The
Stephen Cleobury plays a recital at King’s
College Chapel,
Church Music Quarterly on ‘The
Splendour of King’s’
Stephen Cleobury’s playing of Elgar’s two
organ sonatas…brings out the majesty of the music and conjures most beautiful
effects from the organ which sound entirely appropriate.
The Gramophone (Critic’s
Choice)
An irresistible golden opulence pervades this recording, the centrally
placed organ pouring forth nobilimente for all
it’s worth. [In] the second movement of
the G major Sonata…Stephen Cleobury dips his
fingers into the orchestral magic. … Elgar certainly sounds good at King’s and Cleobury leans into the broad phrasing, coaxing rather than
driving. …There are lot of melting moments too.
Listen to the solo flutes spilling liquid joy in the cadenza…. The
almost unbearable nostalgia of the Imperial March… depends as much on
the ebb of swift fades as it does on vivid crescendos. These are done so well
that one might think Elgar wrote the work for organ. And Harris and Cleobury between them manage to make the organ weep in Nimrod
with manlier tears than any orchestra would permit. … An
indispensable indulgence for those whose throats tighten when Elgar speaks at
his most direct – and for those who can’t get enough of the sound of this
instrument in its heavenly environment.
Gordon Reynolds in The
Gramophone, on Elgar disc (Nimrod arr. by Harris)
…this [new recording] is certainly the finest to come in my direction
not only musically, but also technically.
…it doesn’t sound like a recording!
There is a feeling of presence that captures the King’s acoustic in a
quite uncanny way…. It is the overall structure of the piece [the G major
Sonata] that emerges most strongly in Cleobury’s
playing, enhanced by skilful changes of registration and imaginative phrasing.
In many performances the central movements sound too similar with little
distinction between their moods. Cleobury allows the
2nd movement to flow forward at a swiftish
pace, much to its advantage, contrasting it with a serious view of the 3rd. The ppp tranquillo section is breathtaking, the whole a portent of
slow movements to come. For me organ transcriptions of orchestral works remain
expedients rather than preferred versions but I have to admit that Cleobury’s account of Nimrod has a striking eloquence and
makes a deep impression.
Michael Woodward, Elgar
Society Journal
This is one of the outstanding organ records of the year.
The Organist’s Review
His sensitive and intelligent reading of the Franck Grande Pièce Symphonique is a model of well-rounded phrasing while Duruflé’s Suite’s inbuilt contrasts between
introspection and almost savage brilliance give further scope for performance
of a high order.
Musical Opinion
I’m so pleased that the “Great European Organs” series on the Priory
label has King’s College,
Gordon Reynolds in The Gramophone
A brief note now of the only organ record for
inclusion in this quarter (and considering its very high standard, perhaps
deservedly so). In the
“Great European Organs” series, Priory have released on CD Stephen Cleobury’s recital on the organ of King’s College,
John Garmonsway,
Church Music Quarterly
Cleobury’s vaguely dispassionate
approach, letting the music speak for itself – not to mention his absolute
faithfulness to the letter of the score and his adept handling of this lovely
instrument – pays handsome dividends in remarkably compelling performances of
what can so often sound like mere mood music.
A first-rate start to Priory’s projected series.
Gramophone Review on Howells CD
The Westminster Abbey organ is ideal for ceremonial music and Cleobury plays these stirring pieces with panache as well as
an assured sense of style, making this a highly enjoyable record.
Music and Musicians on album of
Wedding Music