 |
 |
 |
|
Sacred to Secular
Decker Plays Decker, Volume 1
Pamela Decker, organ
Flentrop organ, additions by Paul Fritts
St. Mark's Cathedral, Seattle
World premier recordings!
Review from The American Organist, June, 2006
Here is an opportunity to experience one of America’s most gifted composer-organists playing one of the country’s celebrated organs. Anyone who has scanned through Dr. Decker’s scores knows that her music is not for the faint of heart! She is a stunning virtuoso, and composes music that utilizes her formidable technical and musical abilities to the fullest. While much of the music is loud, fast, and furious, with thick, complex textures, Decker is also capable of creating quiet, introspective music, such as her Prelude on “Herzlich tut mich verlangen”on this recording. Its quietly dissonant harmonies aptly evoke the emotions of the Passion. Other works include the boisterous Tango Toccata on a Theme by Melchior Vulpius (2001); the monumental Fantasy on “Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott (2002)”; Retablos, a three-movement work based on the chants, “Pange Lingua,” “Ubi caritas,” and “Victimae paschali” (1995-97); and an organ demonstrator commissioned by Wayne Leupold (here without narration) entitled Home Suite Home: Across America (2002). Decker is a most qualified interpreter of her own work. The Flentrop is an ideal instrument to convey her unique, compelling creations.
Review from The Diapason, August, 2006
Christa Rakich
At last, we can hear this stunning music as the composer intended, effortlessly. Volume One, Sacred to Secular, opens with Tango Toccata on a Theme by Melchior Vulpius. It could have been called “Vulpius meets Piazzolla.” This 1609 hymn doesn’t know what hit it. I had to pull the car over. Cleverly, Decker does not at first divulge her tango intent rhythmically, but harmonically. Once we are hooked by the unique twist of this harmonic language applied to old Vulpius, then she unleashes a toccata reminiscent of Messiaen’s Dier parmi nous. It’s a crowd-pleaser of a piece, a great end to a big program. Here it sets the stage for setting of Ein’ feste Burg—five contiguous variations with hints of Duruflé in the concluding toccata—and Herzlich tut mich verlangen. They are less settings than explorations of the capacities of these tunes, and we never knew they could do this.
Retablos (triptych), based on three Gregorian themes, displays a wide range of technique and mood, from ominous to jubilant. Pange Lingua finds its expression in a driving dance with shifting meters and strong accents. The ethereal Ubi Caritas could be music for an episode of The Twilight Zone. Decker is the High Priestess of Toccatas, and the ending of Victimae Paschali has a tear-your-hair-out quality. The text describes the glorious battle between life and death, and Decker’s playing is fierce.
Home Suite Home characterizes five American cities, and is meant to demonstrate the resources of a large organ. The Flentrop/Fritts at St. Mark’s in Seattle surely qualifies. New York’s sophistication and influence is painted with principals and the hymn tune Foundation. This is followed by San Francisco revivalist jazz, Cajun fiddling, Chicago blues, and a Tango for Tucson. In Volume one, Decker takes us from the serious to the light-hearted, and all with solid structure, intellectual rigor, and panache.
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
Program Notes
Click on the album cover above to read full program notes!
Tango Toccata on a Theme by Melchior Vulpius (2001)
Fantasy on “Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott” (2002)
Herzlich tut mich verlangen (O Sacred Head, Now Wounded) (1997)
Retablos:
I Pange lingua (1995)
II Ubi caritas (1996)
III Victimae paschali (1997)
Home Suite Home: Across America with the Pipe Organ (2002)
I New York: The Principal City (to John Ferguson)
II Flutes for San Francisco (to Phyllis Stringham)
III Cajun Strings (to Michael Barone)
IV Chicago Reed Blues (to Anthony Baglivi)
V Tango for Tucson: It Takes
Tutti to Tango (to Wayne Leupold)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
