Herald HAVPCD 310

Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford is unique among English churches in being both a cathedral and a college chapel. With its Norman arcade and later perpendicular pendant lierne-vault, it is architecturally one of England's finest ecclesiastical buildings, and like many English cathedrals is blessed with excellent acoustics.

The organ is a 43-stop, four-manual tracker instrument, built by the Austrian firm of Rieger in 1979 to the design of Simon Preston, the director of music at the time. The lovely 17th-century organ case survives from the Father Smith organ of around 1680, but was made somewhat taller below the impost in order to accommodate the new Swell organ in 1979, a change that some have criticized for changing the elegant proportions of the original. The Rieger organ has an outstandingly well-engineered mechanical action, an 18th-century French stop-list, but - a little incongruously with the 18th-century French concept - is scaled and voiced in a predominantly North German style.

Clive Driskill-Smith is the young sub-organist of Christ Church Cathedral and was described in an article in the British newspaper, the Evening Standard, as "the star of a new generation", a description that appears to me to be exactly on target. Driskill-Smith seems to prefer playing mostly "core repertoire", and on this compact disc he gives a virtuoso performance of several fairly well-known works mostly from 19th- and 20th-century France and Germany.

The compact disc takes its name from the first track, which features one of Théodore Dubois' Twelve New Pieces, his Fiat Lux, dedicated to Liverpool City Organist W. T. Best. This playful toccata-like movement makes an excellent beginning to what is in its entirety a brilliantly played program. The Fiat Lux is followed by Marcel Dupré's Variations sur un Noël, where the fugue is particularly effective on the clear chorus of the Rieger organ, and where the mechanical action is exploited to make every note perfectly articulated and clearly heard. Driskill-Smith then takes us from the sublime to the ridiculous with Sigfrid Karg-Elert's deliberately irreverent Valse mignonne, a manifestation of the composer's fascination with the Wurlitzer theatre organ, and his desire to bridge the classical and popular genres of music.

The fourth track on the compact disc is devoted the the second of Paul Hindemith's Three Organ Sonatas, surely among the outstanding compositions of the 20th century. Here the neo-classical design of the organ is particularly well-suited to the music. We are then again treated to some perfect articulation and phrasing in Maurice Duruflé's Scherzo, op. 2. After this, there is a change of both period and mood with Mozart's Ein Orgelstück für eine Uhr (K. 608), where again the brilliance of the classical choruses comes into its own. The very forceful way in which Driskill-Smith launches into this work is particularly impressive. Another interesting contrast is provided by the juxtaposition of the Mozart with Jehan Alain's Intermezzo, a lovely contemplative work that probably deserves to be heard more frequently than is usual nowadays. Clive Driskill-Smith saves the real fireworks for the end with Max Reger's Fantasie über den Choral "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme". This seems to be Driskill-Smith's "party piece" and is both extremely difficult and very brilliantly played. It is the longest piece on the recording and occupies around thirty percent of the compact disc.

Clive Driskill-Smith can hardly be blamed for playing the organ in his own church, which is in any case an outstanding example of its period that I would not like to see altered. I must nevertheless confess that my one misgiving about this recording is that two or three of the pieces - the Dubois, the Karg-Elert and the Reger in particular - are not really very suited to the instrument. I found listening to Fiat Lux played on chiffy flutes a little disconcerting. Nor is there a shortage of more romantic organs in Oxford on which these pieces would probably come off much better - the instruments that immediately come to mind being the Willis organs in Oxford Town Hall and Wadham College Chapel, and the Hunter organ in Hertford College Chapel. I would not, however, let this criticism of the instrument deter anyone from buying the compact disc, which is entirely composed of excellent repertoire brilliantly played.

Review by John Speller (The Diapason)
August 2008

Readers who remember Clive Driskill-Smith's three visits to Australia will, I imagine, want to hear him on his home ground. Suffice it to say that this CD makes compelling listening. His playing is technically flawless, beautifully paced and, just as we heard here, thoroughly musical. I am not exactly a fan of Rieger organs, but the sound he gets from the Christ Church instrument, (modest in size) is most beguiling.

Dubois' works are of uneven quality, but Fiat Lux - from which the CD gets its title - and the Toccata are justly popular. Fiat Lux makes an arresting opening to the program. Highlights would have to be the Dupré Variations and Karg-Elert Valse mignonne. The latter, at Scotch College a couple of years ago, had the audience agog; in this version it's even more cheeky and quite delicious. In more serious vein, it is good to hear the Hindemith Sonata 2 again. It's the most approachable of the three and in this performance succinctly and incisively played.

The largest work on the disc is Reger's Fantasie über den Choral 'Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme' and it is brilliant. So often we hear these huge Reger works on huge organs, and the modest size of this organ (43 stops, no 32s) makes for clarity amidst the complexity of the score. The work is cannily registered for maximum effect and I challenge the anti-Reger brigade not to be moved by this performance. Driskill-Smith gives David Goode, the young British Reger specialist a run for his money.

This CD is highly recommended (and it's not expensive!).

Review by Bruce Steele (Organ Australia)
December 2007

Sub-organist of Christ Church Cathedral and winner of the 2002 Calgary International Organ Competition, Clive Driskill-Smith is already a seasoned international performer at age 29. His stunning technique serves to bring clarity and musicality to everything he plays, never falling into the trap of empty virtuosic display. His varied program of French and German works displays the scope of his artistry. He opens with Dubois' Fiat Lux in which he plays the cascading passagework with lucidity and strength. He breezes through the thorniest passages of Dupré's Variations sur un Noël with apparent ease, again demonstrating absolute precision and control. A pleasant diversion is Karg-Elert's theatrical, coquettish Valse mignonne, played with tongue-in-cheek humor. Hindemith's Sonata No. 2 is solid, clearly phrased, and colorfully registered. In Duruflé's Scherzo, Mozart's Fantasy, K. 608, Jehan Alain's Intermezzo, and Reger's Fantasie on "Wachet auf", Driskill-Smith consistently turns in strong, clear, well-proportioned performances. His tempos are well paced, allowing the listener to comprehend every musical facet and turn of phrase. The Rieger organ matches his playing style, with its bright, vigorous tone, set in a moderately resonant space. This young musician's light is already brightly burning.

Review by James Hildreth (The American Organist)
September 2007

The Christ Church Rieger is like marmite; you either love it or hate it. There's no denying that it's an individual sonority, but its critics sometimes forget that it fights one of the the most unsympathetic acoustics in Christendom; that it sounds as impressive as it does is testament to the finesse of the voicing. And just as the building tests the organ, the organ and building in combination test the technique of the performer; it's a frightening instrument to play, and if you can get it right at Christ Church you can get it right anywhere. From the seamless crescendo in the opening bars of the Dubois, Clive Driskill-Smith makes it all sound disarmingly effortless. To return to the marmite analogy, this is an organ best spread thinly, and one of the many joys of the disc is the programming - the Rieger certainly gets to show its very considerable teeth, but at well-spaced intervals. If you are among those who doubt that this is a beautiful musical instrument, listen with open ears to the ravishing flute registers in the Mozart, or the crystalline mutations in the Duruflé and Alain (in which I think I detect the hand, or foot, of an unaccredited accomplice ... ) Only the Karg-Elert fails to convince completely, despite committed and stylish playing; it's just too wholesome a sound for this brand of musical decadence. Elsewhere (especially in the Reger, which is a triumphant tour de force), the clarity of the sonorities, as well as the finesse and musicality of the articulation and perfectly balanced registrations, reveal textures and detail usually obscured. You won't hear this organ better played by anyone, and Herald's recording catches the vein of tonal warmth in the instrument as few others have. Excellent notes on the music and the organ are a bonus.

Review by Stephen Farr (Organists' Review)
August 2007

First of all, this disc is an exceptionally fine example of sensible and effective program building. Many more live concerts structured like Clive's recorded program would surely increase the public's enthusiasm for organ recitals.

He opens with the Dubois Fiat Lux (Let there be Light), a slight but engaging work that I had never heard previously. Slight, as I said, but most thoroughly engaging. The audience is now warmed up (and, I trust, latecomers have been seated). Thus the audience is already smiling as he goes on to the Dupré Variations on a Noël with its Gallic wit. Not only are Clive's registrations consistently appropriate, his tempi are always just right. When I learned the Variations back in grad school, I couldn't believe the metronome markings in my printing of the work. I went to the University Library, listened to Dupré's own recording, and found that on that recording compared to my copy, even he didn't play some of the variations that fast! Clive takes a convincing tempo every time, and his performance simply dazzles.

Having displayed his virtuosity with the Dupré, Clive moves to the highly amusing Valse mignonne by, of all people, Karg-Elert. It's the Algonquin Hotel all over again, and he somehow makes the Rieger tracker sound like a theatre organ! I've heard the Rieger countless times during my stays in Oxford, and I can't fathom how Clive does it, but he makes it work.

Now the audience has ears warmed up, in diverse ways, so he launches into the Hindemith Sonata 2. It's not, I confess, a work that I much enjoy, but Clive plays it more than convincingly. He slips in the elegant Scherzo of Duruflé, then turns to a fine version of the Mozart Fantasia K.608, which he plays with more vigor than I have often, if ever, heard. Another "break" is the lovely Alain Intermezzo, and then Clive turns to his longest work on his program, the Reger Fantasie über den Choral "Wachet auf". Symphony orchestras end their programs with a long major work - organists need not always end with a French toccata. (Of course, the French-toccata-ending can work well, but Clive shows how well a big program can end with a really important piece).

In closing, Clive has technique to burn, but that technique is always employed in the service of his sensitive interpretive artistry. If it's possible to wear out a compact disc, I'm in danger of wearing out this one! This disc is one of the "finds" of the year.

Review by Victor Hill, Ph.D. (Journal of the Association of Anglican Musicians)
October 2006

The title comes from the first piece on the CD, the well-known warhorse by Théodore Dubois. What a performance and what a title - let there be light! Driskill-Smith is an exciting player with a formidable technique and a sensitivity of interpretation to match. He begins the piece quietly, gradually building up to a wonderfully thrilling climax. There is much more to come, and while most of the music is well known, I would urge organ music lovers to buy this disc as the performances are so refreshing. From Dubois we move to Dupré, with his Variations sur un Noël. Again, the technique is brilliant, the interpretation faultless. What a surprise comes next! Karg-Elert had a fascination for the cinema organ, and his Valse mignonne explores the style. Driskill-Smith performs to perfection - switching idioms effortlessly. The Rieger organ sounds remarkably good too! Reginald Dixon would have been proud of organ and organist here! In stark contrast (literally) we then have Hindemith's second Sonata for organ followed by the racy Scherzo opus 2 by Duruflé. Mozart's F minor Fantasia is given a fine performance, with Alain's Intermezzo as a fitting entr'acte before Reger's massive Fantasie über den Choral 'Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme'. This is a first class recording by one of our most gifted younger organists. I hope for more soon. Very highly recommended.

Review by Dr David Baker (The Organ)
April 2006