Organ at 70
Ourania Gassiou & Eleni Keventsidou
Royal Festival Hall, 28 June 2024

Bach: Allegro from Brandenburg Concerto 2. arr. Reger for keyboard (4 hands)
Franck: Choral No.2 in B minor
Cochereau: Scherzo symphonique (from 12 Pieces)
Liszt: Funérailles from Harmonies poétiques et religieuses, S.173 arr. Nicolas Kynaston for organ
Reger: Rhapsodie in C sharp minor, Op.65 No.1; Toccata in E minor, Op.65 No.11
Leighton: Martyrs – dialogues on a Scottish psalm tune for organ duet, Op.73

As a continuation of the Royal Festival Hall’s “Organ at 70” celebrations of the influential concert hall organ (see an earlier event review here, and an organ history here), the two Greek organists Ourania Gassiou & Eleni Keventsidou, described in the publicity as the “Greek goddesses of the organ world”, presented an unusual concert of music that included pieces composed or arranged for two players. Each player had solo moments, with Ourania Gassiou pairing Franck’s second Choral with Cochereau’s ebullient Scherzo symphonique and Eleni Keventsidou contrasting Liszt’s elegiac Funérailles with two of Reger’s most dramatic and virtuosic works from his Op.65. They concluded with a performance of Kenneth Leighton’s 1976 duet, Martyrs.

The pair opened in sparkling form with Reger’s piano arrangement for four hands of the Allegro from Bach’s 2nd Brandenburg Concerto, arranged further by the performers for the organ. Their sure grasp of the organ, imaginative choice of registrations, and impeccably clear articulation set the scene for the evening. Ourania Gassiou then played what was probably the only piece that most organists in the audience would know, César Franck’s Choral in B-minor.

With changed lighting on the organ front for each piece, this was a visual as well as an aural experience. The Franck Choral opened in a sepulchral mood in a thoughtful realisation by Ourania Gassiou, her choice of registrations and musically rhetorical playing exposing the emotional depths of the music. The diminuendo at the end was particularly well controlled. As green flashes shone on the pipes, she followed with Cochereau’s Scherzo symphonique, a transcription by Jeremy Filsell of a recording of a rhapsodic 1974 improvisation in Notre Dame. In what would make a very good film score, the jovial little melody darting around the different parts of the wide-spread organ, which is spread across the entire width of the hall, rather than being in a more focussed case as is more usual in organs.

As the organ pipes were enlivened by green dots, Eleni Keventsidou took over the console for an arranged by Nicolas Kynaston of Liszt’s piano Funérailles. Telling the story of the failure of the 1868 Hungarian Revolution, the descriptive elements were explored well on the organ. Eleni followed this with two pieces by Reger, the Rhapsodie in C sharp minor and the Toccata in E minor, both featuring Reger’s characteristically anarchic approach to structure with rapidly changing moods and textures. The Toccata paid homage to Bach and the Stylus Phantasicus compositional style of the 17th century.

They finished with a memorable performance of Kenneth Leighton’s organ duet Martyrs: dialogues on a Scottish psalm tune. It was commissioned for the Golden Jubilee of the Organ Club of Great Britain and was first performed by Nicholas and Stephen Cleobury in Westminster Abbey in July 1976. Leighton is known for building up large musical edifices from modest melodic and rhythmic roots. His music demands excellent control of the intense developing contrapuntal structure, something that Ourania Gassiou & Eleni Keventsidou managed in exemplary style, the inevitable build-up to the climactic conclusion controlled perfectly and a choice of registrations that occasionally gave the piece an appropriate Gothic horror feel.

Several of the pieces were directly related to the history of the Royal Festival Hall organ. Pierre Cochereau was one of the first to perform, in 1956, Nicolas Kynaston was a frequent performer over many decades, and Leighton’s monumental Martyrs was performed in 1981.