Organ Recitals are often dull, uncomfortable and full of 'experts' who take great pleasure in criticising every detail - regardless of who the recitalist may be. I too attended the Nathan Laube Recital at Christchurch Priory and yes, the usual bitchy critics were in attendance: BUT not one of them had a bad word to say!
Furthermore, I counted a number of highly regarded Organists who had indeed travelled a great distance (not over broken glass) to hear this young man give his English debut performance. I can only guess that they had watched the Youtube clips and decided they wanted to see Mr Laube perform live in order to make a balanced decision or judgement?
In fact, there was an excited buzz during the interval - for those of us present we felt we were witnessing something quite special. Nathan Laube did not use any trickery, long-over-the-top anecdotes to fill the programme or ludicrous hand gesturing and silly showmanship. The performance was controlled, disciplined and musically moving. Mr Laube does indeed have an enviable technique, he also has a mastery of registration and has a gift to memorise the music. But by far the most valuable gift is his musicianship which he shares with his audience in a completely open way - I was moved by the performance which conveyed a sense of spirituality so often lacking in so many of today's performers. The music spoke throughout.
In this sad an busy world, it is a rare thing to find inner peace and many Organists (even though they may strive to learn music from memory and perform it in church) do not seem to be able to communicate any kind of faith. I have had my fill of 'hollow' performances and went hear Mr Laube with a fairly cynical viewpoint. But I came away refreshed and inspired to raise my own standards.
Anyway, I enjoyed hearing a good tune being handled well and don't mind if the notes on the page are played from memory or from the score - as long as they communicate something of the wonder of creation in all it's beauty.
