Todd Wilson at Northminster Baptist Church, September 12, 2008
There is, of course, no such thing as a perfect organ recital, but
this one came as close to perfection as any I remember. All the
elements were there: a fine instrument, recently enlarged by organ
builder David Finch; an acoustically responsive room; an enthusiastic
audience; and a superb organist, Todd Wilson. Wilson began with
Marcel Dupré's Cortege and Litanie. At first the sound was
quiet and mellow, but slowly and subtly grew in intensity. This
extended crescendo typified Wilson's complete control of dynamics
throughout the program. Next was J. S. Bach's Passacaglia and
Fugue, which Wilson played cleanly with a bright sound and
articulation closely matched to the room acoustics, with a
powerful result. David Conte's melodic Soliloquy followed,
a piece dedicated to organbuilder Walter Holtkamp, Jr. (aka "Chick"), who
followed in his father's pioneering footsteps in the 1950's, for
several decades. It is no coincidence that the Holtkamp firm was
located in Wilson's home for many years, Cleveland, OH, where there
are abundant examples of Holtkamp's work. There are also many Holtkamp
organs in the southeast, largely because of the influence of Warren
Hutton, who had studied at Oberlin in Ohio and was for several decades
organist at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
The first movement of Widor's Fifth Organ Symphony was next (the
last movement is the popular Toccata). I had both heard this
before and not heard this before (this is not a Zen riddle);
I had been present a number of times when this was played, and
thus was familiar with it, but I had never really "heard" it the
way I did this time. Wilson then played two hymn preludes by the
well-known jazz musician George Shearing, There Is a Happy Land,
and I Love Thee, My Lord. He showed his unusual skill at
registration here by using the Zimbelstern at one point (this is
a tinkling percussion stop, above all a baroque sound, but here
in modern jazz it was an inspired choice!). The recital closed
with Reubke's monumental Sonata on the 94th Psalm, which
was given a monumental performace, with the full range of sounds
available on the organ. After an extended round of applause,
Wilson played a short verson of Tea for Two (from
Youmans & Caesar's No, No, Nanette!)
as an encore, which was just the right touch.
Wilson's talent was evident in a number of ways: he played entirely
from memory; his command of registration reminded one of Bach,
who made organ builders of his day cringe when they saw how
unconventionally he would use stops, and then be amazed at how
well they worked; his command of the notes was flawless; his
choice of selections on the program was inspired; and above all
he played with his ears and not just his hands and feet.
We thank Northminster Baptist Church and the Stribling family
for providing and sharing this wonderful instrument, organbuilder
David Finch and his wife Susan, and host organist Billy Trotter,
for making this memorable event possible.
-Glenn A. Gentry