The mystical universe of Herman Vogt’s organ music revealed by Anders Eidsten Dahl – ResMusica

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Herman Vogt (born in 1976): Light shall shine out of the darkness (2020) in five movements; Re-on-re…exit (2016); The marvel of Torino (2012). Anders Eidsten Dahl at the Carsten Lund organ (1998) in the church of Bragernes, Drammen (Norway). 1 CD Lawo. Recorded in November 2020 and in May 2021. Booklet in English and German. Duration: 69:46

If there is a very personal music in the world of the contemporary organ, it is that of the Norwegian composer Herman Vogt. Fruit of his collaboration with the organist Anders Eidsten Dahlhis compositions reflect an inner and deeply spiritual journey.

Trained at the Norwegian Academy of Music, Herman Vogt studied composition and then perfected his skills at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. His musical universe is based on a classical base but nourished by a very particular approach in the treatment of melody and tonality. It is a discourse of contrasts between the simple and the sophisticated, from immobility to the eruption of an intense force that only the organ seems capable of translating.

For this album “Light Shall Shine”, the organist Anders Eidsten Dahl performs three works by Herman Vogt on the Carsten Lund organ in the church of Bragernes. This instrument contains sound elements dating back to the second half of the 19th century, later increased until 2009. This musical work is the fruit of a collaboration of more than ten years between the organist Anders Eidsten Dahl and the composer. His approach remains resolutely romantic carried by an instrument with expanded possibilities, mostly symphonic.

Three works are proposed here, including Re-on-re…exit composed in 2016. This mysterious title evokes the term “Resurrexit” where the prefix “ré” evokes the tonality and the fact of starting again, again. The theme of the play is the resurrection of Christ with everything the author imagines, from amazement to acceptance, passing through various phases evoking doubt, struggle, joy… In just over 15 minutes, the author takes us into his fantastic universe without any break, the organ carrying loud and clear a climate, an atmosphere and a vision magnificently expressed by the organist, attentive to the choice of colors of the organ. We will notice the beauty of the timbres of this instrument completely in the German neo-symphonic aesthetic, based on the balances, the blocks of sounds from one keyboard to another. All that is appropriate for such a musical discourse.

With The marvel of Turin (2012), the composer evokes in this work the Shroud of Turin, a linen sheet which would have wrapped Christ in the tomb. It is a free-form Fantasy where the portrait appearing on the shroud and which evokes the face of Jesus is musically evoked in the manner of a Ricercare where a truth is sought through the concrete elements of the sheet. Music of encounter, interrogative and disturbing. Some of the organ’s tutti are overwhelming and the resulting layers of sound envelop the listener to the extreme.

The masterpiece of this disc, Light shall shine out of darkness (2020) composed of five distinct parts is directly inspired by the second letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians which evokes by this text Christ as light of the world. Each part offers a particular climate: An ecstatic first part in continuous and sliding sounds on flutes, a second part evoking the light of the world by incandescent chords with contrasting dynamics. the third part built on a great charming melody speaks of Jesus taking children in his arms, a great moment of calm and peace. Once again the light of the world is present in this fourth part written like a march with its rhythms and its various projections. The end of the work speaks of peace, presented here as a prayer on the background stops of the organ, in a very orchestral paste. A version for large symphony orchestra exists, as well as for the piece The marvel of Turin.

This production brings together the beauty of a splendid organ, a musical work generating a sensitive emotional impact and an ideal interpreter who, through frequent contact with the composer, knew how to express the quintessence of this musical message, among the most fascinating of our time.

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Herman Vogt (born in 1976): Light shall shine out of the darkness (2020) in five movements; Re-on-re…exit (2016); The marvel of Torino (2012). Anders Eidsten Dahl at the Carsten Lund organ (1998) in the church of Bragernes, Drammen (Norway). 1 CD Lawo. Recorded in November 2020 and in May 2021. Booklet in English and German. Duration: 69:46

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The mystical universe of Herman Vogt’s organ music revealed by Anders Eidsten Dahl – ResMusica


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