There is Nothing Like a Dame #2602
. . . a celebratory retrospective of the life and work of the esteemed British recitalist, recording artist and teacher, Dame Gillian Weir.
Ms. Weir trained as a pianist in her native New Zealand, but a scholarship to the Royal School of Music took her to London, where studies with leading organologist Ralph Downes changed her life. A win at the St. Alban’s Competition in 1964 ignited a career that has taken her around the world and earner her promotion by Queen Elizabeth II as Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services to music at the 1996 New Year Honours. Her repertoire is broad and inclusive, from Marchand to Meyerbeer to Messiaen, the latter composer’s music her specialty, which she has championed since 1964.
Glamorous and galvanizing, artful and articulate, Dame Gillian’s insightful interpretations have been critically acclaimed through the years, and she remains in demand as a coach and teacher, her enthusiasm for music…and for life…undiminished as she celebrates here 85th birthday (b. 17 January 1941)…while we share moments from her extensive discography.
Hour 1
JEAN-FRANÇOIS DANDRIEU: Magnificat Verses (Plein jeu-Duo-Basse et Dessus de Trompette-Récit de Trompete séparée ou de Cromorne-Dialogue). FRANÇOIS ROBERDAY: Fugue & Caprice No. 9 in F (1969 Kuhn/Leonhardskirche, Basel, Switzerland)
LOUIS MARCHAND: Basse et dessus de Trompette et de Cornet, fr Book 1 (1792 Dondaine-1969 Kern/St. Maximin, Thionville, France)
FRANÇOIS COUPERIN: Tierce en taille, fr Messe pour les Paroisses (1970 Kuhn/Predigerkirche, Zurich, Switzerland)
ARTHUR HONEGGER: Fugue (1971 Beckerath-1988 Mander/Clare College Chapel, Cambridge, England)
J. S. BACH: Fugue in F, BWV 540. BACH: Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele, BWV 654 (2000 Woehl/St. Thomas Church, Leipzig, Germany) Priory 800
MARCEL DUPRÉ: The World Awaiting the Savior, fr Symphonie Passion (1987 Nicholson/Oratory, Birmingham, England)
Filler – COUPERIN (see above)
Hour 2
JULIUS REUBKE: Fugue, fr Sonata on the 94th Psalm (1952 Phelps/Aeolian-Skinner/First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston, MA) Priory 751
GIACOMO MEYERBEER: Coronation March, fr Le Prophete (1861/1903 Hill-1978 Mander/Ulster Hall, Belfast, Ireland) Priory 6000
PETR EBEN: Walpurgisnacht, fr Faust (1871 Willis-1975 Harrison/Royal Albert Hall, London, England)
BACH: Wir glauben all’ an einen Gott, BWV 680 (1970 Phelps-Casavant/Deer Park United Church, Toronto, Canada)
LOUIS VIERNE: Impromptu, Op. 54, no. 2 (1974 Phelps/Hexham Abbey, England)
OLIVIER MESSIAEN: Le banquet céleste (1954 Harrison/Royal Festival Hall, London, England)
MESSIAEN: Le Fils, Verbe et Lumiere (vii.), fr Meditations sur le Mystere de la Sainte Trinité (1962 Möller/Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, DC)
GUY BOVET: Hamburg, fr Trois Préludes Hambourgeois (1954 Harrison/Royal Festival Hall) Priory 866
Filler – BACH: Fugue in F, BWV 540 (see above)
Except where otherwise indicated, all performances… some of which had not previously been issued…feature Dame Gillian Weir and can be found in an imposing 22-CD box issued by Decca Records (484 1435). In addition, you can hear more of and from her in these archived programs:
#8457 – Gillian Weir in Concert
#9320 – Gilliam Weir at Spivey Hall
#0010 – Nothing Like a Dame
#0812 – Conversations with a Great Dame
PIPEDREAMS is supported in loving memory of Lucinda and Wesley Dudley by their family, with additional support from Walter McCarthy, Clara Ueland, and the Greystone Foundation, from Ed and Wanda Eichler, and from the Dobson Pipe Organ Builders of Lake City, IA and C. B. Fisk, Inc. of Gloucester, MA, members of APOBA, the Associated Pipe Organ Builders of America, a collaborative of designers, creators, and maintainers of pipe organs found in religious and educational institutions, concert halls, and residences throughout the United States and beyond. An APOBA resource guide and member prospectus is available at APOBA.COM.
