BY SAMUEL COTTELL
Cameron Carpenter
International Touring Organ
Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House, 12 November
Illuminated in a blue and purple hue, Cameron Carpenter’s own construction – the International Touring Organ – boasts five keyboards and 32 pedals and was the centrepiece of this performance at the Sydney Opera House, partaking in the ‘issue’ of placing an electric organ in front of a pipe organ in a concert hall. Carpenter emerged high above at the Opera House Grand Organ, wearing a sparkly, lined t-shirt, jeans and velvet jacket, with Mohawk to match. Two screens below him focussed on the consoles displaying his crafty finger work and another screen focussed on the board showing his jewel-encrusted shoes.
To commence the evening was Bach’s Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor. Beginning at the pedals, he initiated the set of 20 variations by outlining the eight bar theme on which the rest of the piece is built. His approach to the rhythms was extremely interesting and created many surprises throughout.
Next was Carpenter’s arrangement of the Prelude from Act 1 of Wagner’s ‘Die Meistersinger’. There was a measure of excitement as he detailed the subtle nuances of the harmonic structures and highlighted certain aspects of the inner voicings and counterpoint with his creative choice of organ registrations.
Marcel Dupre’s ‘Variations sur un viex Noel’, Op. 20 was intended to display the many registers of a typical organ and Carpenter was able to use this to his advantage and introduce the audience to the full capabilities and sonic resonances for the touring organ. His performance was stunning and displayed a wide range of intriguing colours: the bass was booming and made the entire hall shake, and the upper registers were crystal clear and shimmering.
Carpenter’s own piece ‘Music For an Imaginary Film’ was next. The piece was an extended one consisting of unfolding episodes of musical ideas that rarely developed but functioned as a means to demonstrate the capacity of the organ. There were moments of boldness and booming bass notes, but there were also extremely quiet, introspective moments. This work was exceptionally performed and Carpenter highlighted the character of each musical episode with lively panache and energy.
The final piece was Carpenter’s arrangement of Scriabin’s Piano Sonata in F# minor, Op. 30. Detailed inner harmonic voicings and melodic lines were brought the fore and and a more introspective rendering of the work illuminated aspects that many pianists would fail to demonstrate, making it a successful, yet highly personal, imagining of the work. At times the lines were blurred and the large chords that are effective on the piano were not as effective on the organ. Perhaps the speaker system may have had something to do with this. Carpenter stated earlier in the week that it was ‘not ideal’ to use the house speaker systems but rather the speaker systems designed specifically for the organ. I think these custom speakers could have illuminated some aspects of the Scriabin further. When Scriabin is translated to the organ it is surprisingly not as dramatic and bold as we listeners are accustomed to.
It had appeared we had not heard all of the capabilities of the organ and returning twice to the stage to give some more popular pieces ago, demonstrating, literally, the bells and whistles of this fine machine with his fast paced and exciting rendition of ‘Stars and Stripes Forever’, which was a glistening and sparkling fanfare.
Carpenter proved the organ could be an instrument that is not limited to specific stereotyped roles. This concert was informative, engaging and daring, and is a fine example of the way classical music concerts should be. The purists might not agree, but then again, Carpenter puts up a solid fight with his lucrative recording and touring contract.
Image supplied, CAMI and Thomas Grube.
Cameron is an Angel of the Organ..