The fun sounds of the past

BY ANGELA CROMPTON

A musician described by one reviewer as "the funniest virtuoso of the classical organ in the world" performs in Blenheim on Sunday.

In the days before the electronic evolution, loud music usually came from the organ in the local town hall.

Reviving that tradition, Christopher Hainsworth is bringing his music to Blenheim during a tour of the country.

His concert at 2pm on Sunday will be in the Methodist Wesley Centre, but music fans who don't usually go to church shouldn't be discouraged from attending. There will be none of the "boring, sanctimonious" sounds people typically associate with the organ, he says.

As the official organist at the Beziers Cathedral in the south of France, Hainsworth does not dislike church music. However, he wants to reintroduce people to the sounds enjoyed in the 19th century, when organs produced more volume than any other single instrument.

It made them a popular form of entertainment. "You only had to pay for one person, not a whole orchestra."

France has been home for Wellington-born Hainsworth for 30 years, but he comes home each year to share his music with New Zealanders.

Two years ago, a Wellington newspaper praised his "flamboyant" style of playing, then described him "playing up a storm" by using a whole arm and both feet to push all the pedals at once.

He laughs when those words are read to him now, but says Sunday's programme is designed to be a fun, mixed one, with some of the music "really fast and really loud".

The programme, titled Menu plaisir ... An All-organic Musical Banquet, has a theme, too.

"I'm linking two of my favourite art forms, food and music, and I will be talking about them."

More intense, serious sounds will be served for the main course, followed by "desserts".

Dinner ends with a serving of birthday cake – celebrating Frederic Chopin and Samuel Sebastian Wesley's 200th birthday.

Good dinners usually include good wines, and varietals will be reflected in the music, Hainsworth says. Concertgoers can listen out for some light, bubbly champagne sounds, for example.

And what about a Marlborough sauvignon blanc? "I've still got [time] to think about that – and do some tastings, too!" he laughs.

To leave a pleasant aftertaste, a piece by Wesley will be played in honour of the venue.

Hainsworth tested the Wesley Centre organ last year when he travelled through Blenheim en route to a concert in Kaikoura. He describes it as small but beautiful.

"It has lovely sounds, and everything works on it. I could sit there and play it for hours."

His favourite organ in New Zealand is the one in the Wellington Town Hall. Flick the right buttons and levers, and sounds resembling trumpets, oboes and strings can be heard.

"There's so much more variety than a piano, which gives you the same sort of sound all the time."

The organ Hainsworth plays in the Beziers Cathedral was built 400 years ago and is in another class of its own.

"You feel all that history pouring out of it when you play."

Tickets for Sunday's concert cost $12.50.

- The Marlborough Express