Anna Lapwood: Firedove
Sony Classical

Now and then a charismatic new musician emerges to bring renewed excitement to an instrument of long-standing, a terrific recent example organist Anna Lapwood. Her contagious enthusiasm and passionate advocacy have made new generations of listeners aware of the instrument and its vast sonic potential. Adding considerably to the reception she's received is her embrace of repertoire that encompasses classical and contemporary realms. She's the kind of artist who's as comfortable tackling Maurice Duruflé's Prelude et fugue sur le nom d'Alain Op.7 as Bob Dylan's “Make You Feel My Love” and Robbie Williams' “Angels.” Including treatments of soundtrack material doesn't hurt her cause either, with Alan Menken's “The Bells of Notre Dame” (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) and Hans Zimmer's “Time” (Inception) also part of the set-list for Firedove, Lapwood's follow-up to her well-received Luna. Contemporary composers are in the mix too, as shown by the inclusion of Rachel Portman's Flight, Poppy Ackroyd's Murmurations, and others.

The range of timbres Lapwood coaxes from the organ at Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim, Norway enables her to function as an orchestra unto herself, but she also smartly recognizes that a recording is often improved by the prudent incorporation of guests. In this case, The Chapel Choir of Pembroke College, Cambridge appears on three pieces, while Portman's Flight is elevated by saxophonist Jess Gillam, a star in her own right. Firedove organizes itself naturally into thirds, with the choir's three settings at the centre.

The album begins, appropriately enough, with a brief sampling of the Nidaros Cathedral's glorious bells before venturing into Menken's own bells-entered piece. Lapwood's richly hued organ transcription goes a long way towards capturing the orchestral richness of the composer's score and evoking the associated milieu of the story-line. Whereas “The Bells of Notre Dame” appears at the start of Disney's 1996 film, Zimmer's “Time” appears near the end of Christopher Nolan's Inception (2010). The piece seduces with calming introductory chords that swell to an enthralling climax before just as quickly reverting to peaceful quietude. Written for Lapwood by Italian composer Olivia Belli, Limina Luminis has become a favourite of the organist's and has been played at nearly every one of her concerts since its debut at the 2023 BBC Proms. Similar to “Time,” Belli's piece expands from a hushed state to a colossus of engulfing magnitude until it too decompresses for its final moments. While warming up to record, Gillam improvised on the main theme of Flight, and what she played was so arresting it was used as as unaccompanied intro to the work proper. Portman wrote the piece for violin and piano but allowed Lapwood and Gillam to create the stirring version for soprano saxophone and organ heard here. The saxophonist's inimitable tone is, as per usual, instantly identifiable and does much to make the duet as entrancing as it is.

With the onset of the middle part of the album, the title work by Julie Cooper is enhanced by both the heavenly wordless intonations of the choir and a stellar solo contribution from violinist Elena Urioste. Singing text from Christina Rossetti's “Echo,” the choir delivers a stirring rendition of Come to me by Swiss composer Ivo Antognini that's, unless I'm mistaken, performed a cappella, Lapwood perhaps deciding that nothing more than the beauty of the voices was needed in this instance. Dylan's “Make You Feel My Love” soars majestically in the choir's hands, but strap yourself in when the voices are joined by Lapwood's massive chords. The album's final third starts with a stellar, organ-only treatment of Williams' “Angels” before turning to Northern Lights, which Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo originally created in 2007 in Oslo as a choral piece, and moving on to the hypnotic gyrations of Ackroyd's Murmurations, Louis Vierne's Naiades, Hania Rani's Glass, and Duruflé's two-part closer.

July 2025