Mendelssohn - organ sonatas
Susan Landale - Calliope CAL9751
William Whitehead - Chandos CHAN10532
Jos van der Kooy - Challenge Classics CCS72315

Mendelssohn wrote his organ sonatas in the mid-1840s, around the same time as Elijah. The music embraces variations, fugues and Lutheran-type chorales, and also a ‘sacredsong’ style which he employs in the four Andante Religioso-type movements. Because of his fame, these sonatas were issued virtually simultaneously by publishers in London, where they had been commissioned, Leipzig, Paris and Milan. It is no surprise that in this Mendelssohn anniversary year three new recordings of the organ sonatas have been released in as many months, featuring organists from contrasting backgrounds playing on very different instruments. William Whitehead plays on the restored Lincoln organ in Buckingham Palace ballroom, an instrument similar to many that Mendelssohn would have encountered on his visits to Britain. Whitehead extracts every ounce of colour from the instrument, choosing well-contrasted registrations, and tempi that are generally spot-on. He plays intelligently and with energy, although the results can be a little four-square. Some of the slower movements cry out for more affectionate handling - as does the Allegro of the fifth sonata; on the other hand, his first sonata Adagio is a model of simplicity and beauty, the Allegro maestoso e vivace of the second sonata is elegantly musical, and the fourth and sixth sonatas receive convincing performances. Textures are crystal clear throughout; thanks to the Chandos engineers, every note can be heard. The recording’s main limitations are the ballroom’s acoustic, which is less than generous, and the slightly wearing direct nature of the organ’s speech. The Dutch organist Jos van der Kooy has chosen to record the Mendelssohn sonatas on the great Müller organ at St Bavo’s, Haarlem. The recorded sound is remarkably clear, given the reverberant acoustic of the church. Some may find van der Kooy’s employment of rubato in the slower movements ver-enthusiastic, interfering with the music’s line; however, his performance of the first sonata’s opening movement is excellent, and he judges well the long accelerando in the first movement of the third sonata. The sparkling Allegro con brio and crisp fugue that open and close the fourth sonata are especially fine, while the delicate pedal rubato and contrasting registrations he employs in the fifth sonata’s Andante con moto are among the disc’s highlights. However, these St Bavo performances seem a little impersonal – definitely not an accusation that could be levelled at Susan Landale. She plays on three restored nineteenth-century organs by the German builder Buchholz, with whose instruments Mendelssohn was known to be familiar. The organ in St Bartolomaei’s Church, Demmin, sounds especially well, sparkling yet poetic – ideal for the tender Andante tranquillo of the third sonata. It also suits the fourth sonata, in the first movement of which the sounds are warm and bright; the performance of this sonata is delightful. The organ in the church of St Marien, Barth provides some beautiful and interesting sounds for the second sonata; Landale’s performance of the final fugue is inspiring. I wasn’t quite so impressed by her playing of the first sonata on the organ of St Nikolai, Stralsund, but the sixth sonata is marvellous, the final movement being notably contemplative and affecting. Throughout, Landale shows an affinity with the music, her expressive handling of the Andante movements neither over-indulgent nor too dry. The main drawbacks with this disc are a lack of clarity in textures (the very first track in particular sounds congested), the laboured nature of the playing in places, and occasional rocky ensemble, possibly due to the acoustic. Each of these discs is worth buying – but if I had to choose, I would go with Susan Landale’s recording.

Reviewed by Anne McAlister