SATB and Organ

Bold, tuneful and cheerful, this anthem would be very welcome on at Eastertide.  It would also go well as a piece for united choirs in a festival or district service.

Organ

This is a compositional tour de force.  The tune is very familiar from its use for the hymn New every morning is the love, and here it is put through various hoops in the style of well-known organ works by Bach, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Flor Peeters, Karg-Elert,  Dupré, Rheinberger and Boëllman.  The result is a charming and affectionate tribute to these former masters written with deep understanding of the role models.

As the composer remarks, ‘This work exploits the red-blooded English Romantic idiom as epitomised by the Sonatas of Edward Bairstow and Basil Harwood’. This new four-movement work is a piece which has been deeply considered and worked out with scrupulous care;  it demonstrates that, even today, there is still more to say in this style.

Tony Read’s meticulous craftsmanship is much in evidence here, as he ruminates or exults in the characteristic moods evoked by these tunes.

Like all Tony’s music these pieces are finely crafted.  The first two are full of an ‘English’ sort of atmosphere that is instantly recognisable and held in deep affection by its devotees.  The third piece is a whimsical scherzo, undeniably tricky - you won’t sight-read this - but mastering it would be a step towards coping with Bach’s Trio Sonatas.

This is a most pleasing and lyrical work that will found entirely suitable as an introductory voluntary, or for a quieter moment in a recital.

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Last updated: 03 March 2024