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A respectable crowd of 100 gathered at the Community of Christ Temple in Independence on Monday night for a recital by UK- and Boston-based organist David Briggs. I arrived not knowing the evening's programming, but was immediately pleased by Briggs' choices. All the repertory's superstars were present: Messiaen, Franck, Dupré, and Bach. The program also included a few surprises, including an original theme-and-variation piece and transcriptions of Ravel and Strauss.

Messiaen's Apparition de l'église éternelle was a great opener. I was new to this performance space and the Temple's Casavant Frères 5685-pipe organ, which Briggs took for an impressive test drive in the Messiaen. If any of the many older arts patrons in attendance were feeling sleepy on this Monday night, they were soon roused with the work's massive crescendo–diminuendo form.

Several crunchy clusters resolved to open-fifth or major-chord sonorities in a steady ritualistic pattern. The sub-bass vibrations were so deep at times as to sound like a muffled jackhammer. The power of the mid- and high-registers grew towards the central crescendo. The registration for the quintuple forte (fffff) was almost too much for the space, almost.

The other highlights of the evening were found in the programming surprises rather than the repertory staples. Brigg's Variations on 'Laudi Spirituali' was a bit of a hymn to insurance agencies, commissioned by the Worshipful Company of Actuaries, a London trade association. The theme was a once-popular Victorian hymn, subsequently adopted by the company to accompany a ceremonial song.

For me, Briggs' composition really hit its stride around the third variation, where 'wrong note' neo-Baroque figurations were coupled with a slow moving pedal-reed melody. The fourth variation used a watery, vibraphone-like effect, with the Swell Undulants playing a mildly dissonant incarnation of the theme. The sixth and final variation saw a massive, full sound at times ominous and reminiscent of the Messiaen registrations. The ending was nicely constructed using unusually harmonic transitions to reach a resolution in C major.

The program closer, Richard Strauss' symphonic tone poem Töd und Verklarung (Death and Transfiguration) came in the form of a masterful arrangement by the performer. Strauss' original instrumentation was respected in Briggs' timbral choices for the opening Largo section and the orchestration was very clear. The following Allegro molto agitato was rich and powerful, with strong brass registration carrying the melodies. It was truly one of the most challenging moments on the program with the myriad stop changes and variety of tones. The fourth Moderato section of the piece displayed virtuosic finger work and leapt between the Casavant Frères organ's manuals as nowhere else in the program. The energy only sagged a bit towards the very end of this long section of the piece, noticeable perhaps only because of the Moderato's excellent initial momentum. Despite being a true showstopper and impressive performance, kudos also has to be given to Briggs for taking a massive Straussian orchestration down to one performer and doing so successfully.

Conversely, I was a bit disappointed with the transcription by Seutin of Ravel's Pavane pour une infante défunte. The light textures and homophony worked well, however the registration and arrangement weren't as successful in other parts, where inner voices and rhythmic patterns were lost in the texture.

Dupré's Prelude and Fugue in G minor and Franck's Fantaisie in C major were also nice inclusions. The Prelude's swirling, airy, chromatic textures were spooky and fun, while the Fugue's saltarello subject was powerful, with its lilting rhythm making for an impressive conclusion. Briggs had mentioned his experiences studying Franck's Fantaisie with master organist Jean Langlais in his notes and Langlais' influence on the work's tempo rubato was readily apparent. The organist brought an excellent feel to the rhythmic pace of the piece.

In all, the evening made for quite a nice show with several unexpected gems shining through, while organ devotees got their fill of repertory staples. The space and the instrument were beautiful and Briggs made sure to gesture with an acknowledgement to the organ during his final applause. 

REVIEW
The Greater Kansas City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists
Dome and Spire Series: David Briggs, Concert Organist
Monday, September 19, 2011
Community of Christ Temple
1001 W Walnut St, Independence, MO
For more information visit  http://www.kcago.com/ and http://www.cofchrist.org/dome_spire/

By Topher Levin

Classical Editor and Contributor

Christopher (Topher) Levin is a composer, pianist, music theorist, and music blogger based in Kansas City, MO. His compositions have been performed at music festivals across the US and in Europe. He has spent two summers in Paris, France studying music at the Ecole Normale de Musique through the EAMA program. His trio for clarinet, piano, and percussion is published in the SCI Journal of Scores.

Topher holds degrees from the University of Missouri-Kansas City (M.M.) in music theory and (M.M.) in composition and from James Madison University in Virginia (B.M.) in composition. Primary composition teachers have included John S. Hilliard, Paul Rudy, Zhou Long, James Mobberley, Chen Yi, Claude Baker, Narcis Bonet, Michel Merlet, and João Pedro Oliveira. His piano teachers have included Patricia Brady and Karen Kushner. Topher maintains a piano studio of 22 students.

Having recently completed a Master's thesis on the beautiful complexities of Chinary Ung's trio, Spiral I, Topher turned his writing attention to the more informal blogging medium. He has taken to it quite well, sharing posts on strange and wonderful music and art found across the web with a modest but growing number of blog followers. He looks forward to writing for KCM and sharing with its readers the stories of all the amazing musicians performing in Kansas City.