ŒUVRES・WORKS

SONATA FOR ORGAN AND HORN, OPUS 60, BY RACHEL LAURIN
(…) Sonata for Organ and Horn has three movements and lasts 16 minutes. It is a well-crafted tonal work that is a fine contribution to the repertoire. The first movement is in sonata form, contrasting a bright fanfare-like theme that has arpeggiated figures and flashy scales with a gentle, flowing second theme. The slow movement is inspired by a painting “Ragged Lake” (1915) by Canadian artist Tom Thomson (1877-1917) which resides in the Art Gallery of Hamilton, Ontario. The painting is a landscape with trees, a lake, and clouds, and the music is free-flowing, pensive, and ethereal, with wonderful colors in the organ and horn that gradually become more entwined as the movement proceeds. The third movement is a celebratory fugue in three voices between the two instruments, and this mood is carried all the way to the end. Some works for horn and organ have occasional problems with the mix of timbres between the two instruments. Laurin has done a fine job with the registration of the organ in this work such that the balance of the two instruments is effective throughout and the color choices are complementary. The range for the horn is low A[flat] to high A (optional B[flat]), and the part itself is well-written and idiomatic to what the horn does well. This piece could serve well as a focus of a collegiate recital of music for horn and organ, or as a recital piece that provides some welcome timbral variety. I also recommend the fine recording (Raven label OAR-943) performed by Damian Rivers-Moore, horn, and Karen Holmes, organ, the latter being the person who commissioned the piece.
The Horn Call Journal (USA), October 2018・International Horn Society

BIRMINGHAM CITY ORGANIST THOMAS TROTTER WILL PERFORM HIS 800TH SOLO RECITAL NEXT MONTH
(…) Thomas has a role in fostering new talent, through the Organ Scholar Programme, in which THSH welcomes a new organ student each year, and by commissioning new works, one of which is included in his 800th recital on February 10. “I love commissioning new work and Town Hall Symphony Hall has supported me in order to be able to do that so I’ve commissioned a piece by a Canadian composer called Rachel Laurin. She’s not so well-known over here, but she’s written some very exciting organ music. I learnt one of her pieces recently, the Étude Héroïque, Heroic Study, and it has been such a hit wherever I’ve played it and so I thought ‘she is the perfect person to write me a piece for this occasion’ and she’s very excited about it”.
Birmingham Mail (Birmingham, UK), 17 January 2020