Recital St Saviour’s Eastbourne 6 July 2026

I am grateful to Paul Collins, Director of Music at St Saviour's Eastbourne for the invitation to play and to fulfill an ambition to play the Duruflé Suite Op 5. Recorded live on 6 July 2026, warts and all! 1. Dieterich Buxtehude (c.1637–1707), Prelude, Fugue and Chaconne in C major, BuxWV 137. Buxtehude was organist of the Marienkirche in Lübeck and one of the most influential organ composers of the generation before Bach. The ever-popular BuxWV 137 exemplifies the stylus phantasticus: a freely imaginative style in which dramatic flourishes, passagework and counterpoint follow one another in rapid succession. 2. César Franck (1822–1890), Prélude, Fugue et Variation, Op. 18. Franck was born in Liège but spent most of his working life in Paris, where he became organist of the Basilica of Sainte-Clotilde. The church’s Cavaillé-Coll organ inspired him to develop a richly expressive style of organ composition that treated the instrument with something of the breadth and colour of a symphony orchestra. Written in the early 1860s and dedicated to Camille Saint-Saëns, the Prélude, Fugue et Variation forms part of Franck’s collection of Six Pièces. 3. Marcel Dupré (1886–1971), Prélude et Fugue in F minor, Op. 7 No. 2. Dupré was one of the most celebrated organ virtuosos of the twentieth century. A pupil of Alexandre Guilmant, Louis Vierne and Charles-Marie Widor, he later became organist of Saint-Sulpice in Paris and taught an influential generation of French organists and composers. The F minor work is the second of Dupré’s three Préludes et Fugues, Op. 7. It begins in a restrained and elegiac mood, with a long, expressive melody unfolding above gently moving semiquavers followed by an equally gentle and serene fugue. 4. JS Bach (1685–1750), Trio Sonata No. 4 in E minor, BWV 528: II. Andante,Bach’s six trio sonatas for organ were probably assembled during his years in Leipzig, as teaching pieces for his eldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann. The central Andante of the Fourth Sonata is poised and lyrical. Its gently flowing melodic lines pass between the two hands in an intimate conversation, supported by a quiet, steady pedal part. 5. Maurice Duruflé (1902–1986), Suite, Op. 5, Prélude, Sicilienne and Toccata. Maurice Duruflé studied composition with Paul Dukas and served for many years as organist of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont in Paris. A meticulous and self-critical composer, he published only a small number of works. Completed in 1933 and dedicated to Dukas, the Suite, Op. 5 is Duruflé’s largest independent work for organ. The Prélude begins in an atmosphere of darkness and mystery. Its restless opening material is contrasted with a more lyrical second idea, although the movement’s underlying tension is never entirely dispelled. The Sicilienne provides a graceful interlude. Its gently lilting rhythm recalls the traditional pastoral dance, while its transparent textures, elegant melodies and subtly shifting harmonies reveal Duruflé’s extraordinary sensitivity to colour. The concluding Toccata releases the energy held in reserve during the preceding movements. Rapid, unrelenting figuration drives the music forward while powerful themes emerge on the manuals and pedals, culminating in an overwhelming major-key conclusion.