If you want proof that a musical instrument is an extension of the player’s body then look no further than Martyn Rawles’ recital on the Lichfield Cathedral organ.
The only threat to this bond might have been the recent demise of a pair of organ shoes after 20 years service and having to break in some new ones – but we wouldn’t have been any the wiser if he hadn’t told us.
He explained that his choice of music was to tie in with the cathedral’s current wartime exhibition and that the choice of pieces written at that time by both sides of the conflict were limited, but this didn’t detract.
Martyn also included the delightful Where the Birds Sing by Grace-Evangeline Mason, dedicated to victims of the Northern Ireland Troubles which reminded me of the ethereal qualities of Pink Floyd’s Echoes.
He also managed to resist the temptation to popularise by including organ adaptations of well known orchestral music.
The only piece I recognised from the orchestral repertoire was Rachmaninov’s Prelude in C# Minor, but what I would have heard would have been an orchestral adaptation of the original keyboard piece.
The music industry annoyingly classifies any piece of music as a ‘song’, but here was an hour and a half of inspiring sound without a word being sung. If you wanted words there were plenty to be found in the four page programme describing each piece in depth, including themes in musical notation.
All this and CCTV projection from the organ console of Martin’s dexterity for just £10 a ticket.
This was the second of the cathedral’s four part fortnightly recital series, the next one is on 3rd October.