May 11, 2025
Spivey Hall
Morrow, Georgia – USA
Alan Morrison, organ; Jeanné Brown, soprano.
Edward ELGAR/arr. G. Martin: Imperial March
George THALBEN-BALL: Elegy
Herbert HOWELLS: King David
arr. Roger QUILTER: Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes
Roger QUILTER: Love’s Philosophy
Percy WHITLOCK: Plymouth Suite
Florence PRICE: First Sonata for Organ
Gabriel FAURÉ: Après un rêve
Gabriel FAURÉ: Clair de lune
Gabriel FAURÉ: Mandolin
Henri MULET: Tu es Petra (from Byzantine Sketches)
Mark Gresham | 15 MAY 2025
Organist Alan Morrison and soprano Jeanné Brown have cultivated a longstanding musical partnership, and their joint performances have become a cherished tradition within the Atlanta classical music community, showcasing a blend of organ and vocal artistry. They reunited Sunday afternoon for a spring recital to close the regular concert season at Spivey Hall, delivering a program that highlighted not only the expressive power of the hall’s renowned Ruffatti organ but also an enduring artistic chemistry between the two musicians.
Sunday’s program opened with Edward Elgar’s Imperial March, as arranged by George C. Martin—a ceremonious curtain-raiser that set a tone of gravitas. Morrison played with a keen sense of pacing, building the work’s noble cadences with organ registrations that evoked a full orchestral palette.
George Thalben-Ball’s Elegy followed, its restrained lyricism serving as a poignant contrast. Morrison let the music breathe, letting the hall’s acoustics help shape elegant phrases and long, arching lines.
Brown joined Morrison for a set of English songs, beginning with Herbert Howells’ “King David” in an understated performance that allowed the poetry of Walter de la Mare to take center stage. She maintained a similar approach in Quilter’s arrangement of “Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes” and his setting of “Love’s Philosophy,”
Soprano Jeanne Brown (courtesy of Spivey Hall)
The first half concluded with Percy Whitlock’s Plymouth Suite, a five-movement work that moves between bustling vigor and hushed reflection. Morrison brought out the suite’s varied moods—from the playfulness of the “Scherzo” to the almost cinematic sweep of the closing “Toccata.”
After intermission came what proved the program’s apex, when Morrison offered a rare Atlanta performance of Florence Price’s First Sonata for Organ, a significant work that has seen a resurgence in recent years. Morrison’s interpretation emphasized the sonata’s unique blend of European romanticism and African-American idioms.
Brown returned for three songs by Gabriel Fauré—“Après un rêve,” “Clair de lune,” and “Mandolin”—each sensitively accompanied by organ, an effective pairing that highlighted Morrison’s adaptability and Brown’s tonal finesse. In “Après un rêve,” her sustained legato lines rode gently over Morrison’s subdued harmonic foundation. “Mandolin” provided contrast with rhythmic buoyancy and charm.
Morrison concluded the concert with Henri Mulet’s “Tu es Petra” from Byzantine Sketches, a favorite concert staple in the French organ repertoire, valued for its virtuosic demands and emotional impact, and a most fitting closer.
Morrison and Brown returned to the stage for an encore—a rendition of “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”—which offered a final statement of both expressive warmth and uplift, with Brown at last displaying the brilliant upper reaches of her range, ending the afternoon on a note of optimism and joy. ■
EXTERNAL LINKS:
- Alan Morrison: alanmorrison.com
- Spivey Hall: spiveyhall.org
Read more by Mark Gresham.
