The other works on the disc are an earlier unpublished Suite (1948), a Chorale Prelude which probably dates from Lutyens’ student years, Nativity for soprano and organ, Sinfonia Op.32 (1955) and incidental music to A Sleep of Prisoners (1966).
Toccata Classics describe Lutyens’ organ music as presenting ‘a meeting of contrasts: it can at the same time be both angular and lyrical, and it spans an enormous dynamic range, from intimate delicacy to sheer, raw, hieratic power.’ Many of the pieces are being recorded here for the first time and Toccata refer to the ‘range of colour and narrative instinct’ of a large number of them. Tom Winpenny says in his comprehensive Toccata blog about the CD that he has been ‘guided by the principles of orchestral colour, which, alongside her mastery of textural control, is a central tenet of Lutyens’ music, and for which she had an acute sensitivity.’ Winpenny writes that Lutyens’ organ music is almost exclusively secular in origin, being composed for concert performance.
Music Web International‘s reviewer David McDade writes: ‘As the organist Tom Winpenny points out in his immensely helpful notes, Lutyens’ music was always suffused with lyricism. More than that, the best pieces in this collection have a grandeur and an otherworldly sense of mystery that I found hypnotic. Few composers have made as musical an argument for serial techniques as Lutyens.
‘Winpenny is clearly a passionate advocate and, in his hands, seemingly esoteric matters such as registration become crucial in illuminating the many colours in Lutyens’ scores. That they are demanding works doesn’t for a second mean they are drab. In my review of Martin Jones’ recording of the piano music I mentioned that he played those pieces as though they were Debussy and Winpenny seems on a similar mission to show us the emotional and sensual range in them.
‘The programme opens boldly with Lutyens’ 1968 setting of Spenser’s Epithalamion, in its version for soprano and organ. This is like music etched on glass, crystalline and bold. It is devoid of romantic cliché yet has a thrilling directness. Philippa Boyle sings fearlessly, attacking the soaring vocal line like a modern day Sibyl. This opening announces that we are in for an hour of music with blood coursing through its veins for all its strangeness and originality.’
McDade refers to the Trois Pièces Brèves, explaining how they are re-working of music written for the stage and how the effect is ‘serenely strange’, as with Lutyens’ late piano works. He writes: ‘Winpenny again conjures up a rich, almost sensual variety of colours. Not the usual palette but a beguiling one nonetheless.’
McDade goes on to say that Temenos, together with Plenum IV, represents the ‘most substantial element of the programme’. He continues: ‘Winpenny in his notes is spot on when he points out the rather orchestral character of the music. I found myself thinking of the Milky Way wheeling overhead in a cold, winter sky. It is music full of great grandeur and epic scope. Despite its palindromic structure, to listen to it feels like the patient gathering together of stray, esoteric phrases into an emphatic unity before they break apart into space. Full marks to Toccata Classics for capturing the St Albans organ in such alarmingly forceful sound! This is Lutyens at her finest.’
In McDade’s opinion, this CD should be compulsory listening for organists. He concludes by saying ‘… and I hope it represents another significant step in the restoration of the reputation of one of the finest English composers of the second half of the twentieth century. Bravo to all involved!’
The complete review may be read at MusicWebInternational.
The CD has also been reviewed favourably in the August 2022 edition of BBC Music Magazine. John Allison, the reviewer, writes: 'Tom Winpenny is a compelling advocate for this music, both in these performances at St. Albans Cathedral and in his detailed notes.' Allison also says: 'Winpenny makes strong sense of Temenos, a major work, and is joined by Dewi Rees for the duet Plenum IV and by the soprano Philippa Boyle in two pieces (Epithalamion and Nativity) that further underscore Lutyens's range.'
The CD Elisabeth LUTYENS ORGAN MUSIC may be purchased from Toccata Classics.