With 'PHILLIP COOKE Organ Music' Regent Records delivers a breathtaking CD that will deeply touch both audiophiles and liturgy enthusiasts.
The British label Regent Records is no random label; it is a common thread that has accompanied my musical experience since my youth. The fact that the company is still run by the couple that founded it says everything about their passion. They are world-renowned for their sharp focus on English choral and organ music, but equally for their excellent recording quality. And that is a bullseye here as well. The recording of the organ at Blackburn Cathedral is so excellently done that it feels as if you are sitting right in the middle of it. I put this to the test: first listened through good equipment and also through a simple Bose speaker. And I can tell you: even with that Bose speaker, the recording remains equally impressive. The instrument itself, built in 1969 by J.W. Walker and expanded and rebuilt in 2002 by Wood of Huddersfield under the direction of the legendary David Briggs, sounds in the exceptional acoustics of the cathedral truly like the world class organ that it is.
On the cd, organist Ed Jones presents a comprehensive 73-minute overview of compositions by Phillip Cooke (°1980). This yields a very nice historical document. The danger of a cd that is entirely built from the work of one composer is that it becomes monotonous or that there is only one color on the record. But to be honest: that is absolutely not the case here. The pieces were written over a period of two decades, so you get a whole evolution in Cooke's work.
Phillip Cooke grew up in the enchanting surroundings of the Lake District, an atmosphere that he consciously tries to convey in various pieces. He studied composition at the universities of Durham and Manchester and obtained his PhD under Anthony Powers in Cardiff. Through positions at Oxford and Eton College, he was appointed in 2022 as Professor of Composition at the University of Aberdeen. His works are performed by top choirs such as the BBC Singers and The Sixteen, but as a musicologist he also wrote leading books on, among others, James MacMillan and Herbert Howells. And that influence of Howells? You can hear it shine through here and there very clearly.
If I have to describe the music and performance in two words, I use accessible and practical. Accessible, because it is a cd that you can listen to without interruption, both intensively and in the background. And practical, because you can easily see a lot of these compositions being played during a church service.
This has to do with the strong link with the sung word and the liturgy. Several pieces are based on Gregorian themes, such as the three Meditations and the two Recessionals. It is always wonderful and certainly not easy to convert Gregorian chants into organ work in a clear, recognizable way without it becoming boring. And I must say that Cooke has succeeded very well here, with the exuberant O Lux Beata Trinitas as a fine example.
The program is very well put together and switches smoothly between different atmospheres. From the powerful Fantasia (based on his motet Veni Sancte Spiritus) to a pastoral arrangement of the Easter vigil Exultet, and even a short, witty Prelude for Organ Pedals, a piece that is played exclusively on the pedals, ideal for scoring big on the concert stage.
Two compositions made a particularly deep impression. First, the Elegy. When listening, it came across as a very slow movement: meditative, dark, gloomy... and then at the very last moment there is a cry for help or an affirmation of hope. Only when I consulted the booklet did I understand it completely: Cooke wrote this piece for the funeral of a close friend in 2003. This is music that brings you to your core and shows the essence of what sounds can do to a human being. And with the Epitaph I also consulted the booklet, and I was pleased that my feeling was correct: I heard a glimpse of John Tavener in it, and indeed, the piece turned out to be dedicated to him.
That all these brilliant colors shine through so well is of course solely the merit of organist Ed Jones. Ed has had an extremely interesting career: he graduated cum laude from the University of Aberdeen, obtained his PhD in choral composition under the guidance of Paul Mealor and Phillip Cooke himself, teacher and student here together on one cd! He trained as a countertenor and organist in St Andrew's Cathedral and subsequently held various cathedral positions throughout the United Kingdom.
A magnificent organ like that at Blackburn can greatly inspire an organist, but it is still the performer who must make the music. Jones does this excellently. In the first piece, Dialogue, he immediately lets you hear all the colors and facets of the organ. But where he really excels for me is in the Gregorian pieces. Playing Gregorian themes is complex: you must not only follow the composer's wishes, but also be very familiar with the breath and heartbeat of those ancient chants. If you don't know those, it is almost impossible to get that soul into it. Jones masters that breath 100%, which ensures a recognizability that is literally breathtaking.
As a listener with a great love for liturgy and the sung word, I can only conclude: mission accomplished. This is a true masterpiece where everything rings true.
Oh yes, after listening, the question inevitably arises: why would an organist of this caliber have traded full-time music for a career as a financial adviser (as mentioned in his curriculum). Perhaps understandable—a musician's life is, sadly, hard and uncertain. But when you deliver a CD of this caliber, one thing is certain: the organ remains his true calling. A recording that will captivate many an organ lover and deserves a place in every organ collection!
regent-records.co.uk
PHILLIP COOKE: Organ Music
1 Dialogue
Three Meditations on Plainchant Themes
2 I Jesu dulcis memoria
3 II Christus vincit
4 III Salve Regina (Solemn Tone)
5 Epitaph
6 Praeludium for organ pedals
7 Exultet
8 Lament
Two Hymn Tune Preludes
9 I Christ, be our light! (Farrell)
10 II Rhosymedre (Edwards)
11 Fantasia
12 Elegy
Two Recessionals on Plainchant Themes
13 I The St Edmund Antiphon 5
14 II O lux beata Trinitas
back cover in media library
Regent Records
barcode 802561059523
REGCD595
73:25
Session photographs by Phillip Cooke and George Richford
Cover image by Stuart Ashley (c) shutterstock.com