Music at St Patrick’s | Jennifer Chou and Joseph Yu
February 14, St Patricks Cathedral Melbourne, VIC
The programme of music for trombone and organ, performed by Jennifer Chou and Joseph Yu, was obviously curated for Valentine’s Day, and it was lovely to see a number of couples complete with red roses and adoring gazes at home in the vast and beautifully decorated St Patrick’s Cathedral.
The programme opened with Khachaturian’s Sabre Dance (1942), with its fiendishly difficult rhythms transcribed for organ by the aptly named Hervé Désarbre, co-incidentally the organist of the Ministry of Armed Forces of France, played with militaristic precision by Jennifer Chou – pardon the puns, I couldn’t resist, although I’m fascinated by the idea of civic position such as this for organists.
The rest of the programme a selection of organ music from the French Romantic, including movements from the Suite Gothique (1895) by Léon Boëllmann including the wonderfully moody Toccata, and the gorgeously lush Andante sostenuo of the Organ Symphony Gothique (1984) by Charles-Marie Widor. Jennifer Chou got the most out of the magnificent Fincham & Sons Organ, from the booming 32’ bass in the Toccata to the most delicate and pleasing flutes in the Prière à Notre-Dame, both by Boëllmann.
The music for trombone and organ including a number of very effective transcriptions of much loved and romantic music, such as the Salut d’ Amour (1888) by Edward Elgar, Liebesleid (1910) of Fritz Kreisler and Romanze by Max Reger (1902). Trombonist Joseph Yu filled the cathedral with a warm and golden tone which matched the glow of the setting sun through the west windows.
Brenda Portman is a contemporary composer from the US who is a composer of mainly sacred music. Spiritus (2022) is a work commissioned especially for trombone and organ and is a series of movements based on the seven gifts of the Spirit named in a passage from Isaiah based on popular hymn tunes. We heard Wisdom, Counsel, Knowledge and Devotion.
These modern works were a wonderful addition to the program. I particularly enjoyed Wisdom which started with Joseph walking around the altar playing what sounded like a free improvisation based on the hymn tune Slane (Be Thou My Vision). It was a heavenly sound.
Throughout the concert, Jennifer and Joseph really played into the space. The kind of sound you immediately associate with the great cathedrals of the world but at the same time fresh and interesting.
Trombone and organ are a beautiful and ancient pairing of instruments, you can clearly hear the articulation of the brass distinct from that of the organ, so you always hear the two instruments, sometimes merging and other times speaking to one another, amplified in this case by the acoustics of the cathedral setting.
The last piece in the program was Thoughts of Love by Arthur Pryer, a virtuoso trombonist in his own right. It was a fun and coquettish way to round off the program. The concert kicks off the 2025 St Patrick’s Cathedral Music Series, which features Faure’s Requiem on Sunday with the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School Choir and National Boys Choir of Australia Concert, and a Celebrity Organ Recital, featuring Johan Vexo (Notre-Dame de Paris). For tickets go to Music at St Patrick’s | Melbourne Catholic. Grab your loved ones and get to a concert soon!
