I recently had the honour of playing at the Pantheon in Rome as part of their International Organ Festival.
The Pantheon has been described as “The best-preserved monument of ancient Rome, a privileged space between art and faith.”
Arriving the day before my performance, I looked forward to rehearsing in this amazing space.
Rehearsals quickly become concerts, with thousands of tourists visiting, choosing to stop, sit down and engage with what they were hearing.
“We were there while you were practicing and I was so excited to hear you play Widor’s Toccata! Bravo!”
From Rob Riordan-Fulcher on Facebook.
The programme consisted of:
- Frederik Magle (b. 1977) – Præludium from Anastasis Mass (Anastasis-Messe)
- Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583–1643) – Toccata per l’Elevazione (Fiori Musicali, Op.12 (No.31, Messa delli Apostoli))
- Olivier Messiaen (1908–1992) – Apparition de l’église éternelle
- Johann Sebastian Bach – Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 645, from Schübler-Choräle
- Frederik Magle – Improvised suite in four movements on Danish and Italian songs and hymns
- Charles-Marie Widor (1844–1937) – ‘Toccata’ from Organ Symphony No. 5
Shortly before the performance began, I was given two Italian themes, including the Triumphal March from Verdi’s opera Aïda on which to make an improvisation as well as two Danish themes:
I Danmark er jeg født (lyrics by Hans Christian Andersen and melody by Poul Schierbeck)
Hil dig, Frelser og forsoner (Hymn by N.F.S. Grundtvig with melody by C.Chr. Hoffman)
It was a real family affair with my family initially joining to listen. However, a breeze when performing meant my sheet music began to fly away and along came my children to the rescue!
