Saturday’s event was more than just an organ recital.
The performance by Richard Birney-Smith on St. John’s Presbyterian Church’s new Viscount Schmidt Classique Kombination pipe organ was a demonstration of the versatility and range of the digital console and system, that has infused new life into the organ pipes rescued from the old St. John’s church.
Birney-Smith, concert organist, harpsichordist, conductor and currently organist and music director at Grace Anglican Church in Milton, chose works that expressed the different tones and colours that the new organ can achieve. Harpsichord, trumpet and cornet, flute — the organ produces a range of musical sound.
From the sombre richness of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, to the refinement of French organ music from the 17th and 18th centuries, English Ecclesiastical works, and the powerful 20th-century piece, Carillon de Westminster by Louis Vierne, every work demonstrated a different aspect of the organ.
Between the set works, the audience was treated to a piano/organ duo by Anita Weber and Brittany MacLean, on a grand piano given new tone and richness by the team at Schmidt Piano and Organ Service, and a solo vocal performance of Ave Maria by Amelia dePiero.
The audience was also invited to join in hymns of praise, accompanied by Birney-Smith on the organ. That’s where the new instrument found its full voice, combining with human voices in songs of praise and worship.
At the end of the recital, Rev. Dr. Daniel Scott thanked Birney-Smith for his performance. “You gave us a great gift,” he said.