Thomas Trotter Tackles Organ and Overture

Author: Richard Lawless

Widely-celebrated British organ virtuoso Thomas Trotter took the stage in Middlebury's Mead Chapel last Sunday afternoon, delivering a terrific 90-minute set with pieces ranging from baroque to contemporary on the chapel's powerful organ.
Trotter is internationally renowned for his unsurpassed skills in organ performance. He has played throughout Europe with such prestigious orchestras as the Vienna Philharmonic, London Philharmonic and Royal Philharmonic. He is the organist at St. Margaret's Church in London's Westminster Abbey, and is also visiting professor of organ at the Royal College of Music in London. Trotter continues to perform both as a solo artist and with the world's leading ensembles while furthering his study of the organ.
Trotter's set commenced with three pieces by Bach: "Toccata," "Adagio" and "Fugue." During these technically complex selections, Trotter effortlessly drew out the melodies from the organ, seamlessly using both hand and foot keys in perfect harmony.
The next piece was Stanley's "Voluntary Op. 5, no. 1," which was divided into four movements: "Adagio," "Andante," — the "rather uninspiring," — as Trotter joked, "Slow" and "Allegro." Trotter remarked that Stanley was precise in how he wanted his pieces to sound, and this sentiment was evidenced in Trotter's manipulation of the different stops (or tiers) of the organ made to sound like different horns.
The organist switched to more contemporary fare for his next piece, playing Weir's "Ettrick Banks." The song mimicked the sound of boats along a river, using the organ almost as a piece of percussion, alternating between high and low notes in a rhythmic fashion. This was followed by graceful flourishes of dissonance that flowed together much like currents in the river Weir, to which the piece spoke.
The next set of pieces was a selection of two movements from Messian's "L'Ascension," "Alléluias sereins" and "Transports de joi." The first theme's absence of harmony was intriguing, while the second made use of the organ's clarinet stop. Discordant waves of organ washed away each expression, bringing in new ideas that were only to be swept off in a few moments before thunderous bursts of organ noise broke the pattern.
After intermission Trotter continued his stellar performance with Weber's "Overture: Oberon." Meant to represent an orchestra, Weber's piece allowed Trotter to demonstrate the remarkable range of the organ's sounds, from horns to classic pipe organ voices, as well as showing the breadth of his technical skill as his hands and feet glided over the organ's overwhelming display of keys.
The final piece on the program was Durufle's epic "Suite Op. 5," which was divided into three parts, "Prélude," "Sicilienne," and "Toccata." Each movement differed remarkably from the others. The somber minor key tumult of "Prélude" contrasted sharply with the ethereal melodies of "Sicilienne." The final strech of Durufle's 22-minute opus came with the chaotic frenzy of "Toccata," which found Trotter tackling the most technically astounding piece of the program and emerging with flying colors to a triumphant applause.
Trotter's encore piece was a lighter affair, putting the audience in a humorous spirit after the stern and emotional climax of Durufle's piece and ending the afternoon's concert on a playful note.