FREAK OUT. Tom Bell, organist; Ross Garrod, percussion. Grand organ of the Royal Hospital School Chapel, Suffolk, U.K. Regent Records REGCD540,2021

The title of this remarkable recording comes from a score indication in the final work featured on the disc: Black Host by William Bolcom, for organ and percussion, composed in 1968. In this score, the

performers are instructed to “go ape,” “freak out,” and finally “detonate” (figuratively, one assumes).

The title is well chosen, because the conception of the album, the organ it features, the space in which it was realized, and the works chosen are all Big with a capital B and Modern with a capital M. Tom Bell, an innovative and very successful organist, brings a similarly sized talent and technique to the enterprise. In short, the project is Brobdingnagian from start to finish.

The booklet includes a delightful word of advice. “Please note: this recording has an extremely wide dynamic range of approximately 40dB in order to fully experience the impact of the organ as heard in the building. We recommend listening in quiet surroundings on high-quality equipment.” I did my best to comply, and I do think I experienced the intended impact.

My favorite piece on the CD is Riff-Raff by Giles Swayne. By the time of its composition—it was premiered in 1983—contemporary classical music had swung markedly from the dogmatisms of Darmstadt and the rigors of the tone row. Music was starting to draw not only from major and minor triads again, but from popular sources, including the cartoon themes so many of us imbibed on television during the 1960s and beyond. (If any song really binds my generational cohort together, its more likely the theme of, say, The Flint- stones or The Addams Family than any Top 40 tune, and certainly any “classical” work.) The aesthetic deployment of naivete, the negation of barriers between “high” and “low,” the validation of all sonic sources, and (frankly) healthy revulsion at the cerebral sterility of serialism all helped inspire a witty, fresh, and highly effective approach.

Riff-Raff is just such a piece, not only a marker of a turning point in music history, but a fresh and engaging work for audiences today. It is a study in continuous variation, with the time-honored increase in intensity at length we return to our starting point, with the final chord identical to the first.

Bell plays the proverbial spots off this piece, which depends on absolute control of shifting patterns and, especially, rhythms to make its point. The excitement is masterfully escalated, and ones attention never flags. If the opening seems a bit diffuse, listen to it again right after you finish listening the first time. It will make perfect sense. Meanwhile, the carefully controlled attacks and releases here, as well as the rapid registrational shifts, are a small masterclass in themselves. I recommend this section in particular to students engaging the unique aspects of organ touch for the first time.

Another track I really liked is “A Refined Reflection” from the Baronian Suite by Stephen Paulus. The title refers to Michael Barone, whose baronial baritone voice and boundless enthusiasm have shaped the organistic tastes of countless admirers. This piece is complex and deeply lyrical; I almost have to go back to the Elgar Sonata for a comparable slow movement. The haunting songfulness shows Paulus at his best.

I have to confess that my enthusiasm for William Bolcom has waned with the years. Nowadays, I feel that a hymn treatment requires more than cheekiness, and a troubled nation more than exercises in basic vatic rage. Bells renditions of the two major Bolcom pieces that bookend this CD are, of course, superb; if you enjoy Bolcom, you’ll love these tracks.

Starting at the end. In the anguished, expressionist Black Host, the percussion, played by Ross Garrod, is tightly integrated and highly effective. Bell and Gar- rod work very well together, and the results are impressive. However, do not listen to this piece looking for any answers to anything outside of itself.

Returning to track 1: The opening chords of the Free Fantasia on “O Zion, Haste” and “How Firm a Foundation” are an engaging opening salvo to the whole CD, and both pacing and registrations are strong and convincing. The jazzy treat ment of “How Firm a Foundation” is clever and evokes authentic gospel music.

But—to focus just on hymns—there are so many profound treatments of the repertoire that they defy enumeration.

Think of the “Great Eighteen” and the Orgelbuchlein; the rich settings of Buxtehude and Pachelbel; the luminous conservatism of Samuel Scheidt; and the inventive elegance of Sigfrid Karg-Elert, Flor Peeters, Paul Manz, and so many others. The best chorale pieces focus one back on the spiritual intentions of the music. Bolcom’s, for me, focus more on the treatments themselves. These are undoubtedly ingenious; again, though: to each his own.

What is beyond dispute is Bell’s grand vision of organ music, and his wonderful choice of instrument, room, and repertoire. Also self-evident is his mastery of the facts—witness his program notes— and his palpable love of the music. Get this recording, listen to it, freak out, go ape, and (figuratively) detonate!

Jonathan B. Hall, fago, chM