John Gardner (1917-2011)
Complete Organ Music Volume 2
Tom Winpenny (organ)
rec. 2023, Christchurch Priory, UK
Toccata Classics TOCC0760 [72]

I am sure that I am not the only one to become acquainted with the music of John Gardner through his shorter choral works, especially those for Christmas. But throughout his long life Gardner was almost amazingly prolific, and he composed in just about every musical form, including opera. Some of his orchestral and chamber music has been recorded, but like for his almost exact contemporary Richard Arnell, a lot remains. This is Tom Winpenny’s second volume of Gardner’s organ music, a fine attempt to highlight yet another aspect of the composer’s output.

The music on this album comes from 1936-1988, or from Gardner’s age of 19 to 71. The composer’s son Chris points out in the notes to this disc that his father’s two favorite things in music were counterpoint and jazz, and the organ music is certainly influenced by both.

The Wedding March was the first organ piece by Gardner as a professional composer. It is charming, if a little light in substance. The Fantasy on Byrd’s Non Nobis, written for Gardner’s own wedding in 1955, is a more substantial piece, a fine example of his contrapuntal skill. We should point out that Gardner disavowed his compositions from before the early 1950s, though he had them bound and preserved. Since his death, his family has been releasing some of them as “Old Series” as opposed to his regular opus numbers. The two Old Series works here made me wonder why the composer did not want them published, especially the Introduction, Ground and Coda. I found it quite enjoyable, especially in it is clever use of the ground format, and, as Chris Gardner points out, its ambiguous harmony.

Skipping ahead to 1975, we have another example of Gardner’s skill with counterpoint, the prelude on the hymn-tune Dominus Regit Me, and the longest work here, the Variations and Fugue on Sine Nomine. The latter is Vaughan William’s great tune for the text “For all the Saints”. This fine set of variations starts with a slow presentation of the tune. The first ten variations range from the enigmatic to the dancelike. Variation 11 seems to take us far away, and the remaining fugue is quite imaginative.  

The Five Dances are probably the best-known of Garner’s organ works. They were written for Catherine Ennis, a long-time advocate of the composer’s organ music. The pieces cover a lot of emotional ground between them. Involta is a gentle demonstration of the composer’s sense of humor and his rhythmic abilities. The Pavan reminded me of being in a country church, while the Jig seems to combine all of Gardner’s musical characteristics into one small piece. As the composer’s son writes in his notes, the Jig has always been a great crowd-pleaser. Very different is the Lament with its bagpipe-like keening. The tempo marking for the fifth-piece, Fling, is simply “Fast”. It is exactly that, and highly enjoyable.

Tom Winpenny’s abilities as an organist are only exceeded by the scope of his recordings,. They range from Peter Racine Fricker to Florence Price, as well as discs of Messiaen’s complete organ music. His sense of touch is especially right for Gardner’s music, and he seems in tune with the composer’s sense of humor. I also liked his choice of the organ at Christchurch Priory; the instrument lends itself well to Garner’s music. As I said earlier, this disc is Winpenny’s second of Gardner’s organ works. It is a splendid addition to Winpenny’s discography, and to the increasing range of Gardner’s music available.

William Kreindler

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Contents
Wedding March, Op.17 (1952)
High Heaven Fantasy, Op.151 (1980)
Prelude on Dominus Regit Me, Op.127 (1975)
Variations and Fugue on Sine Nomine, Op.128 (1975)
Introduction, Ground and Coda, Op.28 (Old Series; 1936)
Coronation Postlude, Op.40 (Old Series; 1937)
Fantasy on Byrd’s Non Nobis, Op.30 (1955)
Five Dances for Organ, Op.179 (1988)

First recordings, except Five Dances