During the years that I spent in the North West I made a number of visits to Ossett Town Hall to attend various organ concerts: that, coupled with numerous recordings in my collection I think it would be fair to say I had a pretty fair idea what that organ should sound like. That went right out of the window when the opening bars of IN LOVE FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME, wrapped me in an enveloping sound on the first track of NORTHERN CONVENTION 2006, [COSN 001].
So who was responsible for a sound that would put many an American installation to shame? None other than our very own Simon Gledhill who, 21 years earlier made his first recorded acquaintance with this very organ on his SPIRIT OF YOUTH LP. Following on from his opener, which British singer songwriter Paddy Roberts wrote for the 1955 film An Alligator named Daisy, Simon treats us to former Radio City Music Hall pianist Morton Gould’s PAVANNE, from his Symphonette No 2. The tempo is somewhat brisker for the next item, TOY TOWN TRUMPETERS by the sadly missed ‘Bill’ Davies, and Simon draws his segment of this CD to a finale by doing what is so often renowned for, and that’s interpreting a show or film Selection. In this instance it’s GUYS & DOLLS: a 15 minute brilliantly played and registered selection which comprises so many of the wonderful numbers from this award winning show, that other organists pass up in favour of the more popular ones.
The musical focus of attention then moves to the North East where another of my favourite performers, Richard Hills, puts the 3/18 WurliTzer through a further programme of carefully chosen items for the assembled Conventioneers. Richard’s opener is the Haydn Woods MONTMARTE from his ‘Paris’ Suite, which is followed by the equally lively novelty number HORSE BOX, composed by (again) sadly missed Vic Hammett. This mimics Vic’s own version on a long deleted Concert Recording LP made at Buckingham Town Hall, right down to the solo xylophone passage, Then comes 6½ minutes of pure ‘lush slush’ with one of the most tender of performances of HOW LONG HAS THIS BEEN GOING ON from the 1927 film Rosalie. I think THE LITTLE BRAZILIAN SOLDIER has to be a first in theatre organ recording terms, but it gives Richard a chance to show off some of the WurliTzer ‘percussive hardware’ before going all dramatic with the SATYR DANCE: a composition that I personally will always associate with Ashley Miller at Radio City. At this point in the programme, Richard is joined by Simon Gledhill at the piano, and together they clearly have fun performing Ronald Hanmer’s HOCUS POCUS, and then close out this section with THEMES FROM SKYSCRAPER FANTASY. This composition, with it’s transatlantic style and New York imagery always suggests to me the work of an American composer, but of course it was none other than an Englishman, Donald Phillips who gave it to us to enjoy.
The third and final artist is Lyn Larsen who is certainly no stranger to English audiences. His four tracks comprise of LOVERS BELONG TO SORRENTO & the SOUNDS OF WONDER, both of which are his own compositions: the latter being a popular concert inclusion with several of our own organists. Then come TEA FOR TWO and finally THE BROKEN ROSARY, which is very much in the Crawford style.
The CD closes with Richard Hills at the same instrument, namely the Ritz , Brighouse WurliTzer, who treats us to a 10 min selection from the 1948 film WORDS & MUSIC: a film that had more stars than you could shake a stick at, and of course the music of Rodgers and Hart. These last five items most certainly would be some of the final recorded sounds to be heard at the Ritz before the building was closed and the organ removed.
This highly recommended CD production is presented in an attractive case with the front cover shot of three artists seated at the Brighouse WurliTzer and the inner pages with brief notes and additional photos.
Finally, all proceeds from the CD sales go to the Northern WurliTzer re-installation funds.
Alan Ashton
